09/05/2011
We are at war with the riddle
Some have given up the fight
And crawl backward toward the shelter
Of homes abandoned years before
Some charge relentlessly
And in their passion fall useless
Bleeding out in heroic fashion
Some attempt to take command
And strategize in vain
A means to control untrained troops
Some observe from afar
And in their impotence hope in the potency
Their knowledge may one day achieve
Some have turned the traitor
And rather than fighting the fight
Assist the enemy with their lies
Some are innocent in their incompetence
And fall before the blade
Without knowing what has happened
Some kneel before the oppressor
And think that if they confess its name
They shall be delivered
But the riddle remains
Some have given up the fight
And crawl backward toward the shelter
Of homes abandoned years before
Some charge relentlessly
And in their passion fall useless
Bleeding out in heroic fashion
Some attempt to take command
And strategize in vain
A means to control untrained troops
Some observe from afar
And in their impotence hope in the potency
Their knowledge may one day achieve
Some have turned the traitor
And rather than fighting the fight
Assist the enemy with their lies
Some are innocent in their incompetence
And fall before the blade
Without knowing what has happened
Some kneel before the oppressor
And think that if they confess its name
They shall be delivered
But the riddle remains
08/23/2011
Americans
Veins flowing thick with lust and greed
Holding fast to a morality
That says "get what you can, when you can"
"Don't ever get less than the next man."
Incapable of contentment, "no satisfaction"
Destined to wander the earth in abandon
Meting out the days of their lives
Counting their money and hiding their sighs.
Veins flowing thick with lust and greed
Holding fast to a morality
That says "get what you can, when you can"
"Don't ever get less than the next man."
Incapable of contentment, "no satisfaction"
Destined to wander the earth in abandon
Meting out the days of their lives
Counting their money and hiding their sighs.
08/10/2011
I've come to the edge of the cliff again--
Been here enough times that it's familiar now.
I know this moment, I know the steep path,
The rocky path, that leads here from the sea.
Time to jump. It is time once again,
To kill what I've become.
As I fall, the world falls with me.
The faces fade away, the words become silence,
And I plunge into the abyss, into the void.
Who is to say what shall emerge?
Been here enough times that it's familiar now.
I know this moment, I know the steep path,
The rocky path, that leads here from the sea.
Time to jump. It is time once again,
To kill what I've become.
As I fall, the world falls with me.
The faces fade away, the words become silence,
And I plunge into the abyss, into the void.
Who is to say what shall emerge?
08/06/2011
Destitution
A restless bird outside my porch, flew in panic
Back and forth, from steps to roof, from roof to plank,
All the while chirping with an anxious tone
I doubted not that somewhere a rat had found her home.
Something sly and cautious, creeping in the dark
Had crawled up to her offspring, still encased,
And broken them open, sipping it all out,
Sipping out hopes and dreams and happiness.
The poor thing must have lived a century distraught
Within a couple minutes, so adamant her chirps;
I finished sipping on my cigarette and went inside
Putting the event from my mind.
Restlessly now, it returns, like the eyes of a gator
Rising unblinking over the surface of a stagnant pool--
The thought, the mocking thought: "how trite."
Yet I would sip, and sip, and sip, feeling nothing.
A restless bird outside my porch, flew in panic
Back and forth, from steps to roof, from roof to plank,
All the while chirping with an anxious tone
I doubted not that somewhere a rat had found her home.
Something sly and cautious, creeping in the dark
Had crawled up to her offspring, still encased,
And broken them open, sipping it all out,
Sipping out hopes and dreams and happiness.
The poor thing must have lived a century distraught
Within a couple minutes, so adamant her chirps;
I finished sipping on my cigarette and went inside
Putting the event from my mind.
Restlessly now, it returns, like the eyes of a gator
Rising unblinking over the surface of a stagnant pool--
The thought, the mocking thought: "how trite."
Yet I would sip, and sip, and sip, feeling nothing.
07/26/2011
Oh, a storm is threat'ning
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin'
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
The floods is threat'ning
My very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
Kiss away, kiss away
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin'
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
The floods is threat'ning
My very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
Kiss away, kiss away
07/01/2011
Wow I just made the most kick-ass breakfast burrito ever. For any who would like to duplicate:
Makes 2.
Bacon:
Cook 6 pieces premium thick-cut bacon in large frying pan on medium heat to desired doneness (this takes a while but it's better when cooked slowly). Flip about every 3-5 min. Start cooking eggs about halfway through. When bacon is cooked, remove from pan and press between paper towels to remove grease. Leave grease in pan and keep the heat on as you will use it again momentarily. Cut bacon into small chunks with scissors.
Eggs:
Crack 4 eggs into bowl and beat until whites no longer separated from yolk (except little specks). Add about a quarter cup milk. Season with dash salt, pepper, garlic, and about a teaspoon of chives. Cook in medium frying pan on medium heat, scraping along bottom about once every 3 min. to bring up cooked eggs and let the rest get down to the surface. Try not to break apart too much. Continue until done. Remember to turn off the heat for this pan.
Burritos:
Use 2 large flour tortillas. In each tortilla place half the eggs and half the bacon chunks, and grate in a generous amount of extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Mold the filling into the correct shape, crossing the center of the tortilla, and oriented horizontally to you. On the ends of the filling, lift up about an inch of the tortilla on each side and fold over the filling. Holding these "tabs" in place, lift the side closest to you and fold over all the filling, grasping below filling on the side opposite you to hold it in place. The tabs on the side toward you should be tucked in, but on the side opposite they should be extending outward a bit. Fold these tabs up and back inward, pressing them into the ends of the burrito. Holding them there, roll the burrito forward, away from you, to close it. If you do it exactly that way, it should hold together pretty firmly, which is important for the next step. Take each burrito, and place the section where the closing flap meets the rest of it directly downward, in the frying pan with the bacon grease. Let it cook for about 15 sec. then roll it gently a quarter-turn away from the side with the flap (so it doesn't open). Cook another 15 sec and repeat twice more. Carefully remove, turn off heat, and wrap in paper towels to absorb excess grease. Let it cool enough to handle and enjoy.
Makes 2.
Bacon:
Cook 6 pieces premium thick-cut bacon in large frying pan on medium heat to desired doneness (this takes a while but it's better when cooked slowly). Flip about every 3-5 min. Start cooking eggs about halfway through. When bacon is cooked, remove from pan and press between paper towels to remove grease. Leave grease in pan and keep the heat on as you will use it again momentarily. Cut bacon into small chunks with scissors.
Eggs:
Crack 4 eggs into bowl and beat until whites no longer separated from yolk (except little specks). Add about a quarter cup milk. Season with dash salt, pepper, garlic, and about a teaspoon of chives. Cook in medium frying pan on medium heat, scraping along bottom about once every 3 min. to bring up cooked eggs and let the rest get down to the surface. Try not to break apart too much. Continue until done. Remember to turn off the heat for this pan.
Burritos:
Use 2 large flour tortillas. In each tortilla place half the eggs and half the bacon chunks, and grate in a generous amount of extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Mold the filling into the correct shape, crossing the center of the tortilla, and oriented horizontally to you. On the ends of the filling, lift up about an inch of the tortilla on each side and fold over the filling. Holding these "tabs" in place, lift the side closest to you and fold over all the filling, grasping below filling on the side opposite you to hold it in place. The tabs on the side toward you should be tucked in, but on the side opposite they should be extending outward a bit. Fold these tabs up and back inward, pressing them into the ends of the burrito. Holding them there, roll the burrito forward, away from you, to close it. If you do it exactly that way, it should hold together pretty firmly, which is important for the next step. Take each burrito, and place the section where the closing flap meets the rest of it directly downward, in the frying pan with the bacon grease. Let it cook for about 15 sec. then roll it gently a quarter-turn away from the side with the flap (so it doesn't open). Cook another 15 sec and repeat twice more. Carefully remove, turn off heat, and wrap in paper towels to absorb excess grease. Let it cool enough to handle and enjoy.
05/24/2011
I was reading this post by a blogger I follow, and it reminded me so strongly of the clam digging I used to do back in Washington State that I thought I'd make a post on the subject.
First of all, this...
...is not something real clam diggers use. If anyone ever tells me they have gone clam digging and then I get a picture like this one, I will make quite a point out of ensuring that they be subjected to endless mockery on the matter.
Ok so, first, the essential tools of a clam digger:
Shovel:
Most important tool. The longer and thinner the "blade" the better. Preferably should have a half-length handle like this one, but a full handle can be dealt with or sawed off. Most experienced clam diggers will actually sharpen the tip of the blade with a grind wheel till it is as nearly razor-sharp as possible as this speeds its penetration of the sand, a point the importance of which will be understood later. The blade can also be "oiled" with shortening or grease, and should definitely be rust-free to prevent drag.
Net:
These devices are often home-made and consist of a mesh net attached to a hard rubber or metal hoop. The net must be long and thin as in this picture. The device is attached to one's person by three short ropes which keep the opening facing front at all times.
Two-Mantle Gas Lantern:
This is the best method of lighting the area one will dig in as nothing really gets brighter and as easily portable as one of these. Clam diggers will often find a good "spot" with lots of clam holes and set the lantern in the center, digging around it then moving on.
Wheelbarrow:
Believe it or not a commercial clam digger can dig well over 200 lb of clams in the space of a couple hours. Some even bring two wheelbarrows and two assistants to move them and the lantern, just so they can contantly dig.
So this is what a clam field looks like in daylight:
Usually diggers will start digging well before daylight however, as early as 3-4am. Hence the lanterns.
This is a razor clam, the type I am most experienced at digging:
The basic strategy of "real" clam digging is to pull the clam out of the sand by grasping its extended neck, before it can swell its foot, providing it with numerous pounds of downward force that can make it difficult or impossible to extract, and retract its neck. As a clam can anchor itself in about a second, the entire duration of extracting the clam must last only a fraction of a second. To accomplish this, the blade of the shovel is set about two inches to the side of the clam hole, toward the ocean, and facing inward toward the shore. The shovel is grasped underhand by the handle with the right hand and the left hand is placed on the top of the blade. It is rapidly thrust downward at an angle that brings the tip vertically parralel to the clam hole at about five to seven inches depth, and then rapidly removed vertically to form a sharp V-shaped space. The neck of the clam should be exposed parallel to the vertical side of this space. Halfway through removal of this chunk of sand, the left hand releases from the blade and shoots down into the space, grasping the neck of the clam with the fingertips and pulling it entirely out just as the tip of the shovel blade reaches the surface. This process takes about .8 seconds. The clam is then thrown backward into the net and the digger moves on to the next clam hole. Usually if the neck breaks that means it was cut by the shovel and the digger should adjust the angle or depth of their initial thrust.
First of all, this...
...is not something real clam diggers use. If anyone ever tells me they have gone clam digging and then I get a picture like this one, I will make quite a point out of ensuring that they be subjected to endless mockery on the matter.
Ok so, first, the essential tools of a clam digger:
Shovel:
Most important tool. The longer and thinner the "blade" the better. Preferably should have a half-length handle like this one, but a full handle can be dealt with or sawed off. Most experienced clam diggers will actually sharpen the tip of the blade with a grind wheel till it is as nearly razor-sharp as possible as this speeds its penetration of the sand, a point the importance of which will be understood later. The blade can also be "oiled" with shortening or grease, and should definitely be rust-free to prevent drag.
Net:
These devices are often home-made and consist of a mesh net attached to a hard rubber or metal hoop. The net must be long and thin as in this picture. The device is attached to one's person by three short ropes which keep the opening facing front at all times.
Two-Mantle Gas Lantern:
This is the best method of lighting the area one will dig in as nothing really gets brighter and as easily portable as one of these. Clam diggers will often find a good "spot" with lots of clam holes and set the lantern in the center, digging around it then moving on.
Wheelbarrow:
Believe it or not a commercial clam digger can dig well over 200 lb of clams in the space of a couple hours. Some even bring two wheelbarrows and two assistants to move them and the lantern, just so they can contantly dig.
So this is what a clam field looks like in daylight:
Usually diggers will start digging well before daylight however, as early as 3-4am. Hence the lanterns.
This is a razor clam, the type I am most experienced at digging:
The basic strategy of "real" clam digging is to pull the clam out of the sand by grasping its extended neck, before it can swell its foot, providing it with numerous pounds of downward force that can make it difficult or impossible to extract, and retract its neck. As a clam can anchor itself in about a second, the entire duration of extracting the clam must last only a fraction of a second. To accomplish this, the blade of the shovel is set about two inches to the side of the clam hole, toward the ocean, and facing inward toward the shore. The shovel is grasped underhand by the handle with the right hand and the left hand is placed on the top of the blade. It is rapidly thrust downward at an angle that brings the tip vertically parralel to the clam hole at about five to seven inches depth, and then rapidly removed vertically to form a sharp V-shaped space. The neck of the clam should be exposed parallel to the vertical side of this space. Halfway through removal of this chunk of sand, the left hand releases from the blade and shoots down into the space, grasping the neck of the clam with the fingertips and pulling it entirely out just as the tip of the shovel blade reaches the surface. This process takes about .8 seconds. The clam is then thrown backward into the net and the digger moves on to the next clam hole. Usually if the neck breaks that means it was cut by the shovel and the digger should adjust the angle or depth of their initial thrust.
05/10/2011
An Ode to Fire
There was a day remembered as in a distant dream
When innocence o'ercame me and I danced with merry step
Down stairs doused in morning rain, kicking puddles in abandon.
But then she happened across my path, such circumstance
Impossible to have foreseen, and I, reacting too late
Caught but a glance, a glare, a scorning and unwavering rebuke.
Long did I persist in studying this regrettable event--
Perhaps it was her eyes, so crystal blue, as a glacier
Set upon its course; perhaps, my own instinctive shame
At injustice done upon her Sunday attire--whatever the cause,
My unease would not rest, I did, I must have an answer
To tell the world that I indeed was innocent of this unspeakable crime.
For now in mind I had crafted that which only mind could craft,
Something unnatural as fire: "Intention is the sole criterion
Of moral responsibility." This blade, this killing instrument I threw
In battle against the ogre Guilt, until at last its blood
Burned crisp within its veins. Perceiving my victory so I relished:
"Causality is but an argument of beasts; here is the domain of man."
A day ago I worked all night, and coming home discovered that my friend
Had fallen ill, and so I elected to watch our child through the day.
I sat her on my lap and sang to her; I held her hands with fingers as she walked.
I laid her down to sleep. I went out to the porch and had a cigarette.
I put it out and tossed it in our urn, unlike my friend who never bothers,
And went inside to see a film and rest at last.
But then a half hour later at the least, an explosion rocked the room,
A fire quickly spreading, grown vast unnoticed, from my inadvertent failure--
I suppose it was not out entirely. What a shame. What a small flame.
Read for context.
There was a day remembered as in a distant dream
When innocence o'ercame me and I danced with merry step
Down stairs doused in morning rain, kicking puddles in abandon.
But then she happened across my path, such circumstance
Impossible to have foreseen, and I, reacting too late
Caught but a glance, a glare, a scorning and unwavering rebuke.
Long did I persist in studying this regrettable event--
Perhaps it was her eyes, so crystal blue, as a glacier
Set upon its course; perhaps, my own instinctive shame
At injustice done upon her Sunday attire--whatever the cause,
My unease would not rest, I did, I must have an answer
To tell the world that I indeed was innocent of this unspeakable crime.
For now in mind I had crafted that which only mind could craft,
Something unnatural as fire: "Intention is the sole criterion
Of moral responsibility." This blade, this killing instrument I threw
In battle against the ogre Guilt, until at last its blood
Burned crisp within its veins. Perceiving my victory so I relished:
"Causality is but an argument of beasts; here is the domain of man."
A day ago I worked all night, and coming home discovered that my friend
Had fallen ill, and so I elected to watch our child through the day.
I sat her on my lap and sang to her; I held her hands with fingers as she walked.
I laid her down to sleep. I went out to the porch and had a cigarette.
I put it out and tossed it in our urn, unlike my friend who never bothers,
And went inside to see a film and rest at last.
But then a half hour later at the least, an explosion rocked the room,
A fire quickly spreading, grown vast unnoticed, from my inadvertent failure--
I suppose it was not out entirely. What a shame. What a small flame.
Read for context.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
