A Smorgasborg of Randomnesses

1. Today I'm gonna pull a Five-Dollar Beer and talk a bit about the food I consumed this weekend. I made sushi Saturday night. Actually, I made a Japanese style dinner which I ate with Eleven at my little oriental-style table. He brought sake. I whipped up a pretty good miso soup. And the sushi was actually quite easy, despite folks' warnings to the contrary. And it looked real pretty (except for a few mangled ones) when I was done. Only problem was the rice. I apparently need to finetune the recipe for this because it was much too sticky and wet and vinegary and sugary. Had it just been excessively sugary/vinegary but nice in consistency, it woulda been ok. Or had it been kinda mushy but great in flavor, that woulda been fine too. But it was much too dense and fragrant in that vinegary kinda way, so I was a bit disappointed. But I'll just have to practice, so if anyone has suggestions for how to make sushi rice (or a good recipe for the rice wine vinegar mix), gimme a holler.



2. I also decided this weekend that I am a big fan of the avocado. It is a very lovely fruit. Weird and purpley on the outside, but it cuts real smoothly and then... with a quick twist of the wrist... you're inside. It's got a lovely, fat, woodie pit inside which I kept just for shits and giggles. And its meat gives away to the scoop of a spoon just like butter. I was an avocado virgin before this weekend--I'd tried them but never actually prepped one myself--and it was much fun to wrangle with. The only problem is I'm not quite sure how to tell when they're ripe--mine was yellowy inside and tasted rather nasty and bitter, so needless to say, I was not pleased. Any tips, anyone?

3. Just yesterday I started reading Albert Goldbarth's newest book of poetry, Combinations of the Universe. It is QUITE a good book so far, one of my favorites being "Some Cloths." Check it out if you can get your hands on it.

4. On Friday I went to see Rasputina at the Grog Shop. The band Murder By Death opened for them and I was surprised because I actually enjoyed them. But as always, I was super-fidgety because I couldn't wait to see Rasputina as I'd never seen them in concert before.



Thankfully, Melora (the lead singer of Rasputina) requested that we all sit our asses down on the floor once we came on. This was much-appreciated because unfortunately, unless you're in the front row at the Grog Shop, there's not much you can see, especially when the two lovely ladies performing have to sit down to wail on their cellos. This made for a much better concert, despite the fact that Adam's foot was jammed into my ass and Eric's knee was pressing into my ribs through most of the show. But damn, if those women can't wail on the cello! (Check out some audio samples here.) Melora was weird and amusing between songs as I'd been told, and she actually busted into a short homage to "I Like Big Butts." They also busted into quite a few cover songs, the most memorable being "Barrucada" whose introduction made everyone laugh once they realized what song it actually was. My favorite song that they performed was probably also my favorite from their new album, Frustration Plantation, a lovely little gem called "If Your Kisses Can't Hold the Man You Love." Because, as we all know,

"Neglected girls shouldn't worry
That's what God made sailors for!"

I'd definitely recommend checking them out if they roll into your town.

Random Question of the Day:
What's your favorite poem?
(Feel free to include a link, of course.)

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