The Unofficial John Westmoreland Memorial Tribute Webring

5 mile groundhog day

2012-02-02T16:52:00.001-08:00

5 mile wednesday

2012-02-01T13:24:00.001-08:00

Five mile Tuesday

2012-01-31T21:14:00.001-08:00

45 Mile January 2012.

2012-01-31T11:59:00.000-08:00

Warhol's TP

2012-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Steamed stir-fry vegetables & pasta.

2012-01-30T14:05:00.001-08:00

Not pictured: A half-dozen hard boiled eggs. Next: two cups of rice.

Black beans

2012-01-30T14:01:00.001-08:00

They really do cook pretty quick in a rice cooker.

January 28th, 2012.

2012-01-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

Quickie but satisfying turkeyburger from the Brunch Box foodcart downtown.

Peppermint tea, berry "ghetto" cake, cherry paté and lime macaroon at Pix Patisserie on SE Division.

Laurelhurst park.

January 26th, 2012.

2012-01-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

Bidding the difficult-to-photograph-even-for-a-cat Axl farewell, two views of Washington from the train [when we finally boarded one] and the first bowl of amazing barbacoa sopa [from Taqueria Portland] that I managed to completely consume -- it helps when the only thing you're eaten in more than 12 hours was two pieces of toast.

January 25th, 2012.

2012-01-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

Post-doctor breakfast and LP crawl at Easy Street Records on California Ave. Sometimes only basic, competently made diner food hits the spot, and this particular morning was a good example. They name each dish/combination after a different musician; I can't be the only person to ever avoid ordering the dish I wanted because I refused to ask for something named after someone I dislike. This is the "Little Richard," not the "Lil' Kim."

With the job done and the day sunny and dry for a change, we spent the day across the Sound on Vashon Island. Here, we attempt to spend more than a few minutes on the beach before the wind diced us into pieces.

IMPORTANT. FYI.

Restroom at the island's pharmacy/gift shop.

Still learning how to shoot panoramas in focus.

Dinner: Fantastic baked chicken, leeks and elephant garlic at home.

January 24th, 2012.

2012-01-25T05:55:00.000-08:00

Amazing brunch at Saigon Boat Cafe on Alki: Turkey banh-mi sandwich and roasted eggplant, in a style I've never seen before but want to learn how to replicate.

Tasty oatmeal-fig cookie and interesting-looking lemon-raspberry-type thing at Bakery Nouveau on California Avenue.

A very atmospheric [read: dark] dinner of chicken curry and roasted vegetables at Maharaja Cuisine of India down the street from the Bakery.

West Seattle: January 23rd, 2012.

2012-01-24T05:59:00.001-08:00

Dinner at Veraci -- a fine local ginger ale and a half Salumi Mole/half Original pizza -- then a migraine-soothing Guinness brownie at an "Irish" bar & grill in West Seattle.

Ballard, January 23rd, 2012.

2012-01-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

All glory to the Locks and Botanical Garden.

Seattle, January 23rd, 2012.

2012-01-24T05:57:00.000-08:00

Lunch at Shanghai Gardens -- so nice to be back in a city where the Chinese food isn't doused with MSG to make up for how crappy the ingredients are -- followed by a quick visit to Kinokuniya across the street, wherein I forgot every word of Japanese I know. Still waiting for that important email, by the way.

Lemon-curd topped bowl of honey-lavender ice cream at Molly Moon's, followed by some shopping at Archie McPhee in their "new" location.

January 23rd, 2012.

2012-01-24T05:55:00.000-08:00

On the train.

Etta James, RIP

2012-01-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

I don't know if my introduction to Miss James was the below duet with Dr. John, or her amused growling of "Rock & Roll Music" in CHUCK BERRY: HAIL! HAIL! ROCK & ROLL, but "I'd Rather Be Blind" would be the far better introduction:

James' live album ROCKS THE HOUSE and her Chess-with-strings sides are great, but you couldn't feel the full force of Hurricane Jamesetta until she went to Muscle Shoals, where they knew how to record and mix a singer's heartbroken wailing right, for the TELL MAMA sessions. "Steal Away" is my favorite at the moment -- no one could make desperate neediness so palpable, much less attractive, as James could:

Here's hoping that Etta James can finally reconcile with her biological dad, Minnesota Fats, in the afterlife -- although I'm somewhat hoping there isn't an afterlife today, unless it's one where she can't see the legions of dipshits on Twitter who can only grasp her importance as being Beyonce's real-life character in CADILLAC RECORDS. I really shouldn't look at trending topics; they can only make me wish my Twitter account had a neck so that I could slowly strangle it to death after I have the stark reality that the average Twitter user has the cultural education of a basic-cable package and the memory retention of goldfish rubbed in my face yet again. Oh well, here's some more soul to cleanse the palette, pun intended:

January 19th, 2012.

2012-01-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

Bookstore crawl and dinner at Alexis downtown.

January 17th, 2012.

2012-01-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

Lunch and meeting in Milwaukie.

Meeting, dinner and snowstorm in St. Johns.

January 14th, 2012.

2012-01-15T05:55:00.000-08:00

Me and Spanny D'copolla, we is pals.

January 10th and 13th, 2012.

2012-01-14T05:55:00.000-08:00

Homemade eggplant stirfry, and a curbside treasure.

Thai Cottage eggplant stirfry [I have my eggplant obsessions sometimes], Tom Kha soup and jaunty little pineapple Viking ship for dessert; date with [S]A.S. where we closed the place with [adjective] [noun].

Too long for Twitter, too short for a proper blog post.

2012-01-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing I can't record the audio of me using Dragon Dictate to write business cover letters; I imagine I sound like Charlie Brown struggling to be "Take a letter" Groucho Marx-level light and witty but ending up more like the Nixon in Robert Altman's SECRET HONOR.

Too long for Twitter, too short for a proper blog post.

2012-01-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

Deploring Christopher Hitchens' post-September 11th shift in politics while admiring his writing skills is more wishy-washy [or cravenly dishonest, whichever you'd would prefer] than deploring the stupidity of some superhero comic book while admiring the drawing skill that was squandered on it. The key difference is that a Gil Kane comic never advocated for the U.S. to invade and indefinitely occupy sovereign nations on the flimsiest of pretexts in a war to eradicate abstract concepts like "terror" or "islamofascism."

January 9th, 2012.

2012-01-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

Dryer drum in the kitchen, dogs in daycare near the sidewalk.

January 8th, 2012.

2012-01-08T05:55:00.000-08:00

Moving day.

January 6th and 7th, 2012.

2012-01-07T05:59:00.000-08:00

Tasty tofu scramble at Proper Eats.

Acceptable omelet and milkshake at Patty's Home Plate the next day.

Killing time in the men's restroom after the Uhaul breaks down literally minutes after picking it up at the rental center.

One more PDX Fred Meyer grocery-run assist. I can believe that I can't believe that Velveeta apparently doesn't require refrigeration.

Caturday: Mozart improves everything.

2012-01-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

Fruit Friday: GRAPES GRAPEFRUITS

2012-01-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

Only Scott Thompson could wear what appears to be a wet T-shirt while wielding a knife in a hotel room full of sketchy, partially undressed strangers and still seem rather guileless.

January 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2012.

2012-01-04T05:55:00.000-08:00

Beer in a discarded Xmas tree, a delicious broccoli bowl at the Bye & Bye, some gutbucket chicken teriyaki at Bento, a sandwich at James John [I think] next door and a pensive Timmy at the front window.

TMI

2012-01-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

This is what every girlfriend I ever had during the winter looks like in my memory:

Every time I look at this GIF, I reflexively start riffing on my favorite pet topics to explore, just as I often did in any given relationship.

[By the way, my current thought experiment du jour is the idea that all of the Soviet leaders' corpses were embalmed and preserved like Lenin's, but Putin keeps them in his office. He has them dressed up to suit his daily whims -- Bermuda shorts, sandals & wifebeaters one day, French-maid uniforms the next, Cowboys & Indians or Robin Hood and his Merrie Men on Saturday mornings, "vicars and whores" on Sunday, reenacting WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S with his favorite henchman and Khrushchev's body -- with Medvedev often playing an Anita from WEST SIDE STORY-like role; ineffectually hectoring Putin and his gang's schemes while lining up pretty dresses for all his "girls" to wear.]

Anyway, I can't help riffing like like I would have in that moment just before my future ex's face would cement into the above white-knuckled rigor mortis until I finally stopped talking seconds or even minutes later. This is probably 90% of the reason why I've never married -- most of my relationships have been life in Voltaire's conception of God-as-comedian, except my audience is too deeply annoyed to laugh. I know why I'm attracted to ladies who were/are attracted to me despite loathing my sense of humor -- like the reason why I don't do any kind of live comedy, I love bombing with stuff I like far more than I do killing the same crowd, even with the same materal -- I'm sure we had lots of good times together but I'll never understand what these ladies get out of it before they finally got out of it.

Day One of "The One Percent-Off 2012"

2012-01-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Taibbi nails it:

"This widespread and growing movement against the twin corrupting influences of money on our politics and state patronage on big business is going on everywhere – on the streets, in these courthouses, in the homes of people refusing to move after foreclosure, even in the antitax movements and the campaigns against state pensions. The only place we can be absolutely sure this battle will not be found is in any national presidential race between Barack Obama and someone like Mitt Romney."

Kure Kure Tuesday

2012-01-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

You and me, we can't be friends if you don't love Gimmie Gimmie Octopus. That's the rule.

I'm pretty sure I saw this same scenario play out in Laurelhurst Park last summer, all the way down to the cannon and ridiculous mustache.

This is why it's OK to let your dog molest the UPS guy. Or the result after it happens a few times.

2012-01-03T05:55:00.000-08:00

The sheer number of FedEx Ground-employee abuse videos here suggests that it must be the division that got all the old RPS drivers. [And Wiki says … yes, it is.] You would think that those guys were ritually beaten with cardboard as children by how they treat packages they're entrusted to deliver now.

Monday morning aminal video: Alpacas on The March

2012-01-02T05:55:00.000-08:00

"I find your lack of Lanolin disturbing."

Resolved

2012-01-01T15:57:00.001-08:00

IN 2012, I WILL:

* Pull my personal website out of blog-mirroring mothballs, with pages for my random interests instead of throwing everything in one blog.

* Resume podcasting: Old movies, Where It's Done interviews, comics-staff oral histories.

* Go full-time pro and embrace the weirdness of making a decent living doing a handful of part-time jobs: writer/editor, designer/production tech, life-editor/efficiency coach, that other job that pays remarkably well but I keep forgetting about, baker.

* Resume exercise: The five-mile walks, doing morning stretches and situps/pushups as soon as my gut stops hurting.

* Offset 20 years of anonymous professional life by becoming the biggest camwhore on the Internet.

* Blog more, Facebook less, Twitter when it really takes less than 140 characters to express.

Can't stop the rock

2012-01-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

There is something undeniably delicious in seeing hometown guys who acted like douché rock stars after their band started consistently selling out Friday-night shows at chicken-wings bars 15 years ago now padding around with the spare tire and 10-yard, cataract-fogged stare of soccer dads.

[To be fair, the crowds were there for the band, not the joint's chicken wings, which tasted like Edward James Olmos' pockmarked nutsack looks. But it wasn't like they were selling out The Budokan or Madison Square Garden.]

On a purely unrelated note, you need to have this song in your life immediately:

Sunday Morning At The Movie Trailers: JOHN CARTER

2012-01-01T15:23:00.000-08:00

I was so worried there wouldn't be multiple bullet-time moments, a Lucasian number of identical CGI spearcarriers and at least one 300-style yellacious speech. Oh, and a new cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir," because all blockbusters are always 110% better with Kashmir. If only they could have gotten Will Smith to star/executive produce; then the ring of shit would have been complete.

A friend of mine said that "Edgar Rice Burroughs spins in his grave;" I said his corpse has survived far worse Tarzan movies. This will probably be another Conan 3D; here today, gone today.

December 30: the final photoblog post of 2011.

2011-12-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

In the Alberta neighborhood: A cool church and the makings of a halfassed gif experiment.

Didn't quite work. Then, a barbacoa taco from Taqueria Portland.

December 29: hand porn and burgers & fries from Violetta.

2011-12-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

I don't think I should blame the delicious but rather heavy food from Violetta's downtown [I was downtown doing some in-person production for an upcoming book] on the appendicitis-like abdominal discomfort I've suffered the last few days, but it probably didn't help. A turkeyburger and large chili fries; if they sold poutine, I probably would've eaten until I burst.

December 25, 26, 27: chowing down.

2011-12-31T20:23:00.000-08:00

An Xmas morning pancake, A Boxing Day fish burrito from Santa Cruz and the tablespread and my first plate at Ill's post-holidays recovery session.

Santa brought me a DVD of THE ADVENTURES OF MILO AND OTIS, a bag of Buchanan Hollow Nut Company's California mix, four bags of Swedish Fish, a chocolate-raspberry Florida Tropic ball, $50 in cash [!], two photos of my nephew, a lovely hand-knitted scarf, two winter hats and and a neat pair of gloves. Considering I was expecting to be gifted nothing at all, that's a damn good haul.

December 24: breakfast, dog and dinner. Also: COOKIES.

2011-12-31T20:15:00.000-08:00

Scrambled eggs and brown-sugar oatmeal, and some sensitive portraits of Tecsh/Timmy on his couch, then some kung-pao tofu takeout from Pho Jasmine. The cookies were a delighted salted white-chocolate oatmeal kind that were absurdly easy to make; whenever my organs are finally subdued, these cookies will be the ones I make next.

December 23: Zoo Lights.

2011-12-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

The zoo really shouldn't sell a seemingly unlimited number of tickets for the train that runs through this attraction, considering the hundreds of people who spend hours in the freezing cold in line for the next ride, which may or may not come. I saw an amazing number of inconsolably upset children and gray-faced parents while I stood by the merchandise kiosks near the exits, which were doing big business selling consolation merchandise to the families who wound up not-riding the train -- even as hundreds more poured through the admission gates.

I liked the blue-light donkey.

December 23: My Xmas sweater, pizza w/E&L, later ice cream

2011-12-31T19:57:00.000-08:00

The pizza was at the Mellow Mushroom in the Pearl, and was OK. The ice cream was an excellent [albeit pricey] banana and egh lemon-mint on a great waffle cone, at Salt & Straw on Alberta.

December 22: making cards, wrapping presents, mailing packages.

2011-12-31T19:09:00.001-08:00

Two of my better efforts at making quickie cards to send to my ever-growing menagerie of nieces, nephews and godchildren and their annoying parents. Rather pleased with myself that, despite my crippling depression and underemployed yet overworked schedule, I still managed to get the kids' gifts in the mail and to them on time.

December 20: blondies, gumbo, LOTR Pez

2011-12-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

For a Louisiana-diaspora dinner party, Elana and I made banana blondies with cocoa cream-cheese frosting. Then we celebrated the first night of the miracle of the oil by eating her roommate's remarkable sausage gumbo [with potato salad mixed in, which I guess is a thing that they do there] and pondering what guys who are born with cop-thick necks do when they want to become ballet dancers.

Could this Lord of The Rings Pez set be a leftover from when the movies were out, or are they still actively cashing in on them?

December 19: dinner and shopping.

2011-12-31T18:52:00.000-08:00

First, we went crazy over some fantastic tom-kha soup and basil eggplant at Thai Food Cafe on Killingsworth. Then we went to the mall, where I got called "old" by a Marshall's cashier who may have thought I was being anti-Semitic because 1.] I don't look like the self-hating Jew I am, and B.] I don't think Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song" is much better than the Xmas crap they play on an endless loop in these stores. I would have verbally torn the kid a new ass, but A.] I am old, and 2.] my heart goes out to any member of the tribe who's forced to work entry-level retail, even some punkass kid in this shitty economy. Then I apparently got hit on by a handsome guy at the Brookstone store; my gaydar clearly needs a new viewscreen, because I had no clue that was going on until after my shopping partner all but gave me a high-five and credited this reignited attractiveness to my new pants.

December 18: hippie chili, industrial beach, Fred Meyer.

2011-12-31T18:41:00.001-08:00

E&I had lunch at Proper Eats, where I ate remarkably thick chili and the biggest hunk of cornbread I've ever seen. Then we went down to the park/beach on the Northwestern most part of St. Johns, which is about as bleak and gray as you would expect it to be. Then we took in lots of color, sound and slow-moving shoppers at the Fred Meyer megastore on Lombard. then, I believe we hit the Goodwill, where I delighted virtuall virtually every woman I know by buying new pants.

December 15: Barbarcoa-burrito dinner

2011-12-31T18:36:00.000-08:00

As much as I like Santa Cruz's fish burrito, Taqueria Portland on Fessenden has them beat overall. Sometimes you just have to put a monkey penis charm on top your bill, especially when you and a friendgirl were just served by Jesus. Then you go for one more five-mile victory lap.

December 15: Rufus and brunch in the morning.

2011-12-31T18:29:00.000-08:00

Soup, bacon and French toast at James John Cafe. I have no memory of how the food was.

December 14: one of my last five-mile walks of 2011.

2011-12-31T18:27:00.001-08:00

I got really sick and/or busy right around this time.

December 12: making THE CURE for kidney stones.

2011-12-31T18:22:00.001-08:00

Mix a half-cup of [ideally fresh] unsweetened lemon juice with a half-cup of [ ideally light] olive oil. Drink as quickly as possible; do not smell it, do not taste it, just get it down your throat as quickly as you can. In my experience, the stuff tastes like a shoe store smells but it will break up the stone and lube your works to get it out in a matter of hours.

December 11: Spanakopita! dinner

2011-12-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a man just has to take matters into his own hands and make Espaniel D'Coppola himself. With Elana's help. Then eat half of it at a potluck dinner with Donna and the gang.

December 9: another five-mile walk.

2011-12-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

December 8: a semi-quick dinner at a crafts munch.

2011-12-31T18:13:00.000-08:00

I imagine nobody goes to Vino Vixens on Powell for its food, but this cranberry-cream cheese turkey sandwich was not too shabby.

December 7, 2011: a magazine release party which will live … in infamy.

2011-12-31T18:05:00.000-08:00

On this day, STUDY GROUP MAGAZINE #1 was released from the wilds of Floating World Comics and the Press Gang family of books into the big world beyond Old Town. Then we had some pretty good sandwiches and laffs at a bar near Voodoo Doughnuts.

December 5: the love that dare not speak its name.

2011-12-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

December 5: Business and Pleasure

2011-12-31T17:45:00.000-08:00

First, I had a burger and fries and Slim's with a potential business partner; then I made gingeries with a light lemon cream-cheese frosting.

December 4: On Sunday, nothing is ever open when you want it to be.

2011-12-31T15:50:00.000-08:00

We planned to go to a Thai place down the street from Pho Jasmine before attending the Lewis and Clark cat show down near the Lloyd Center, but this joint was closed. In fact, it seemed that every Asian restaurant [we were jonesing] in the area was either closed on Sundays or didn't open until dinnertime. I forget what the name of this place that we did find is called, but it was near a Safeway and near the hotel that was hosting the show. I had my hopes to finally drink a banana soda created and then promptly dashed, but the food was pretty good — the eggroll in particular left me semi-obsessed with them for several days afterward.

The cat show itself was good times, although you would quickly regret stepping out of the convention room for a bathroom or lunch break; like a boiled frog, the smell of cat piss rose so slowly in the room that you wouldn't notice it otherwise. Also, whoever laid out the floor plan for attendees was clearly a sadist, placing the hairless breeds closest to the parking-garage doors. You'll never see an animal more keenly aware of when people are about to open a door then when you see a Sphynx watching for the next blast of 40° air to come in.

Wow -- I even got a five-mile walk in today, no less. Go me.

December 3 roundup

2011-12-31T15:43:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon pills? Dog and cat, sort of getting along?? I managed to actually go for my five-mile exercise while it was still daylight out??? I would have thought I lost my mind until I saw this charming addition to this Stop sign on Fessenden.

December 2: Late Night Blondies with cream-cheese frosting

2011-12-31T15:38:00.000-08:00

The sprinkles were not my idea, but the results were excellent. I'm still gun-shy about using more powdered sugar to thicken my frosting — plus, I enjoy a little goopiness more than I probably should.

December 2: Pho Jasmine on Killingsworth

2011-12-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

Some jasmine tea, egg rolls, and Pad Thai chicken; an excellent welcome-back-to-Portland meal.

NYE Phonecleaning Photoblogorama

2011-12-31T15:21:00.001-08:00

I've been extremely sick and/or busy the entire month of December. Sorry. Here comes a few hundred photos to help me establish alibis as needed in 2012.

December 1st, I went for my five-mile walk late and encountered a bizarre pseudo-sculpture of shopping carts at the local Safeway.

Caturday NY Report: Little Man continues to win.

2011-12-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

Fresh off the wire from the home office:

Poor [S]mokey can't take the onslaught this evening.

Buhbuh-Birth DAAAAAY, buhbuh-Birth DAAAAAY

2011-12-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

It's Beethoven's birthday; go celebrate with Schroeder. An amazing resource, a slightly clunky but still undeniably effective use of multimedia as essay.

Hubert Sumlin, RIP

2011-12-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

The electric blues guitar pioneer and longtime Howlin' Wolf sideman died last Saturday at the age of 80.

It speaks to the widespread love and respect Sumlin earned in the music business that he could assemble such a remarkable all-star band [Levon Helm of The Band, David Johansen of the New York Dolls, Jimmy Vivino and Michael Merritt of Conan O'Brien's "Basic Cable Band"] for something as piddlyass as a guitar-instructional video.

Here, Hubert walks us through the elegantly simple but surprisingly hard to master guitar part of the classic "Smokestack Lightning."

Tico Tico Tuesday: Guitar Quartet vs. Hairless Blue Sphynx Cat Kneading a Stuffed Bear

2011-12-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

I regret only that I can't embed this curiously sensual YouTube mash-up here.

The Eagle Has Landed.

2011-11-30T21:57:00.001-08:00

Right on time for Zack's flight to NYC tomorrow, it's 60 copies of Study Group Magazine #1. I pulled more preview images and an excerpt from my Craig Thompson piece to run on the SG Tumblr and Facebook page prior to the issue's debut in Brooklyn this Saturday.

Sailor's delight

2011-11-30T21:49:00.000-08:00

Couldn't get a good shot when the sun turned the sky a soft orangey gold, but these are still lovely. Yesterday.

Five Mile Tuesday

2011-11-30T21:45:00.001-08:00

Slowly getting back into the swing of things.

Monday Night Neighborhood Mystery

2011-11-30T21:43:00.001-08:00

There are now three shopping carts within eyeshot of my front porch. The Safeway and Grocery Outlet ones I can understand, but Target? Their nearest store is three and a half miles away and virtually impossible to traverse on foot.

Another stroll through the (dog) park

2011-11-30T21:37:00.000-08:00

Still Monday.

The biggest substation I've ever seen across the street from a daycare center & church

2011-11-30T21:23:00.000-08:00

I couldn't get them all into the same frame, there are so many of them. Taken Monday after our press check.

Tico Tico Tuesday: Roy Clark

2011-11-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

It's somewhat disturbing the think about how much talent went into the making of the average episode of HEE HAW, a show that was much better than its reputation ever suggested. If Clark wasn't such a consummate/shameless showman, he'd be widely revered for his virtuosity.

Press Check 2: The Legend of Curly's Golden First Signature

2011-11-28T18:56:00.000-08:00

While Zack and I got coffee, the Brown techs moved on to prep the first signature of the book, which looked sharp and clean -- the two things one can only sacrifice a virgin goat to Ba'al in the hopes of getting consistently across a print run.

In this wide shot of the press, you can see the plates that were used to strike the covers leaning against the railing:

Signature one, hot off the press:

In the above and below photos, you can see the roller drums laying down our beloved Pantone colors 7447 (deep purple) and then 7405 (old yeller), which will combine to make a rich, charcoal-ish brown. Two-tone printing is awesome.

I love the smell of Pantone ink in the afternoon, and press checks are the closest thing to adult-playground playdates this country has to offer. Huzzah for printing locally! Eat it, China and the asshole comics publishers (not to be redundant) who use them.

Press check!

2011-11-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

Study Group Magazine Number One, people. The covers are printing as we type.

Classical Music Morning: Satie's Gymnopedie #1

2011-11-28T06:59:00.000-08:00

There's a lot to be said for working out guitar arrangements of piano compositions.

[Speaking of which, let's park this amazing archive of Classical Guitar Tablature here for later reference.]

Waiting for the last chopper out of Saigon

2011-11-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

Don't know what happened to this cart's pusher, but it smelled like Thanksgiving threw up half a stomachful of stuffing and burned doghair. Taken technically on Buy-Nothing Friday.

Thanksgiving at Ills'

2011-11-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

That platoon of turkey soldiers was particularly hard hit by the shifting heat/cold/heat in transport, but were still tasty.

The Thanksgiving Project, Part One: "WHAT."

2011-11-23T23:43:00.001-08:00

Those are cupcakes, but what's being done to them? WHAT. That ain't right, whatever it is …

The Thanksgiving Project, Part Two: JUDGMENT DAY

2011-11-23T23:11:00.000-08:00

I know the nature of blogging ruins multi-post jokes by putting the punchline on top of the set-up in most readers. For once, I want to see a bit scroll correctly on the actual blog's page. I guess it's my Thanksgiving gift to myself. Skip to the next chronologically newer post and then come back if you really care about spoilers.

Really.

You're very sweet if you really care about not ruining one of my stupid "humor" posts.

Oh, you. You're just trying to flatter me now.

OK, last chance to avoid seeing what Elana and I made to bring to multiple Thanksgiving dinners tomorrow.

TURKEY CUPCAKE ARMY 2011

BEHOLD, our invincible army of turkey-shaped carrot-cupcakes -- each one a super-soldier made of candyshell-almond heads, black-icing eyes, caramel neck joints, gummiworm wattles, honey-pretzel necks, cream-cheese-icing and sparkle-sugar skin, carrot-cake bodies, raisin-and-pineapple organs, dark- and white-chocolate-dipped pretzel-stick feathers with shredded-coconut highlights!

The Company of these recruits has already been broken down into three platoons currently preparing to storm and hold three familial beachheads tomorrow afternoon. Wait, is Thanksgiving too late for a Veterans Day military reference? Who cares? I HAVE FOUR DOZEN TURKEY-SHAPED CUPCAKES I DO AS I PLEASE NOW.

Bah, those cretins at the culinary institute LAUGHED at my groundbreaking theories of cupcake construction! But they're pay for their insolence!! Oh yes, they'll PAY WITH WHAT WILL REMAIN OF THEIR PANCREAS-ES!!! THE SUN HAS SET ON ITS FINAL BATCH OF INSULIN, FOOLS!!!! HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

Listen, and understand. These cupcakes are out there. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity or remorse. Or fear. And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are as wired on sugar and carbs as you will be drowsy on L-tryptophan tomorrow.

It turns out that the hardness of taking pictures in focus is directly proportional to how hard one is laughing while taking them. These are the least-fuzziest shots out of dozens I took. My face hurts.

"When you put your hand into a bunch of frosting that a moment before was your best friend's face, you'll know what to do."

Happy Turkey Day, peoples.

Tuesday Night Pizza, Wednesday Morning Brunch

2011-11-23T23:00:00.000-08:00

A tasty [fine crust] pepperoni/onion/artichoke pie at the Rialto pool hall/cafe's trivia night, and an open-faced Monte Cristo with spiced maple syrup, a pair of chocolate potato doughnuts and the sui generis Cobb salad from Tasty and Sons. The wait time at Tasty was about 45 minutes; it seems we were not alone in assuming that it would be relatively uncrowded the day before Thanksgiving. I imagine it would have required a time machine to get a table at the Screen Door today.

Context is for the weak.

2011-11-23T22:58:00.001-08:00

Plain, generic zinc pills, on the other hand, are for the cold-weakened immune system. Monday.

Five Mile Good Grief I Haven't Exercised In Three Days.

2011-11-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

Dinner with Elana: Frank's Noodle House

2011-11-23T22:48:00.000-08:00

Shanghai Baby Bok Choi

Cashew Chicken

I think I enjoyed the ambiance more than the food, but the food was good. Saturday.

RUFUS

2011-11-23T22:36:00.001-08:00

Not my dog, but a welcome addition to the household. I think he looks like a wampa with those teeth and eye-goop rivulets, but some claim he's more of a falkor. All we know for sure is you can't resist imitating his pronounced underbite when you look into his sweet face. Photos taken Saturday.

Dinner with Elana

2011-11-17T23:55:00.000-08:00

Hours of mushroom hunting and nighttime-pedestrian car-fearing left us hungry, so we went to Slim's for burgers and drinks, the former living up to their unexpectedly tony reputation. I forgot to ask for fries, obviously.

In the woods

2011-11-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

We hunted mushrooms, found zombie fingers and a dead-man's fist [which will eventually taste like peppercorns] among others, saw the aftermath of what looked like a tannen-bomb and stayed out and hiked so far that we had to walk up the park road in the dark to get back to the car. Totally worth it. [All this time, I should have been cranking on production for SGM #1 instead of frolicking in the forest. Don't care; touched moss trees.]

Freshly Frozen Soft Cream

2011-11-17T23:37:00.001-08:00

After lunch, E and I went to Forest Park to hike and hunt mushrooms. We discovered this semi-abandoned piece of roadside Americana and had to take pictures.

In particular, pictures of each other pretending to go to the bathroom in front of a sign on the far side of the building that reads "DO NOT GO TO THE BATHROOM HERE"

[inverse proportion: image composition and laughter]

Despite its vaguely creepy isolation, I would happily run a burger & ice cream stand there if it put a few coins in my piggy bank at the end of the day.

Lunch with Elana

2011-11-17T23:34:00.000-08:00

"Compost" and pumpkin-ginger-lentil soups and a chicken-veggie sandwich at Girasole. It was good, but I can see why a lot of people only eat there once. Tuesday.

Five Mile Last Sunday

2011-11-17T23:30:00.000-08:00

No backdating, we're keepin' it real. Real late.

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over.

2011-11-17T23:24:00.000-08:00

A nation can breathe a little prouder now that STUDY GROUP MAGAZINE #1 is done and off to the printers. Gaze upon the hardcopies and tremble:

Details are here.

Now, to catch up on a week's worth of photos. This will be quick.

5 mile 11.11.11 11:11

2011-11-12T00:09:00.001-08:00

Yeah I changed my mind; it's a lady's prerogative.

Raisin-cardamom Brownies

2011-11-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

Working on STUDY GROUP #1's finishing touches and having the kitchen to myself for the first time in a while.

"Old Fashion"

2011-11-11T21:29:00.001-08:00

Happy Holiday.

5 mile Thursday

2011-11-11T20:58:00.001-08:00

Too tired, too busy and too cold to go out today.

5 mile Wednesday

2011-11-09T21:08:00.001-08:00

I shall carb-load no more, forever. Blergh.

10 Mile Monday & Tuesday

2011-11-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I'm running late on my photoblogging again. Sue me, I'm on deadline.

RIP Bananies, Nov. 6, 2011-Nov. 7, 2011

2011-11-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

Throwing two ripe bananas into my standard blondie mixture; best idea I've ever had.

5 mile Sunday

2011-11-06T17:10:00.001-08:00

The school's clock did not fall back yet.

5 mile Saturday

2011-11-05T18:48:00.001-07:00

Rooting for Glen Johnson and James Kirkland tonight, although I expect their opponents to win anyway

5 mile friday

2011-11-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Reshuffling.