what about the plastic animals?

The Crown Climbers

Here we are, resting inside the Statue of Liberty's crown, looking okay for having just climbed 344 steps.  Before we ascended the park ranger told us that people normally take about 15 minutes and that the fastest person took six minutes.  That turned out to be a mystery as it took us six minutes to get to the crown.

H. L. Mencken Was Right

Open request to anyone that would buy these products based on the ads above:  Please send me fifty dollars.  You should expect nothing in return and I will not provide anything in return for the money.  Why should you do this?  Well, I was going to request $500 but, because I'm a nice guy I'm going to reduce the price by ninety percent.  90% off!  How often do you get a discount like that? 

Actually, I think it may be illegal for me to offer you nothing in exchange for money so I will provide a certificate of authenticity that says you saved 90%.  If you just want 50% off send me $250 and I'll send you a certificate saying you voluntarily paid only half-price.

Return to Liberty

Some people showed up on my doorstep on Friday night demanding that we go to the crown of the Statue of Liberty on Saturday.  The same people were here back in February.  Good, healthy, exercise climbing to the crown.

Asparagus Shopping

My dad gets his asparagus at this farm stand, which is on a back road between Phoenix, NY and Mexico, NY.  Unfortunately, he prefers the bunches with the largest stalks, which his wife proceeds to boil until they are dead, dead, and more dead.  I wonder why asparagus is cooked like that when it is so much tastier when lightly boiled, sautéed or grilled.

At least he is getting fresh asparagus.  When I was a kid I think my mother bought canned asparagus, which she also cooked until they were well dead.  It made me gag and I successfully avoided asparagus for many years.

Lo, those many years later I had a job interview at Western Washington University in Bellingham.  For dinner the faculty took me out to a seafood place right on the water.  Much to my horror the grilled salmon I had ordered came with a large mound of steamed asparagus.  I knew I had to make a visible dent in the asparagus so I steeled myself and hoped for the best.  It was better than the best.  I actually liked it!

Despite my new found love of asparagus I didn't get the job.  It was a one-year temporary position and they really, really wanted someone to teach a soils class.  I didn't know anything about soils and was clearly unqualified to teach about them.  It would have been fun to live out there for a year.

I was tempted to visit Bellingham when I was out that way this spring.  I was curious to see if I would remember any of it from the whirlwind visit in 1990.  Alas, I did not budget enough time.

Mountain High, Valley Not So Low

Two views from Washington.  The first is of Mt. Adams from just outside of Granger.  The panorama is taken from Horse Heaven Vista above the town of Prosser.  One of these days, which may be a while at the rate I am going, I'll upload the larger version to Flickr.

Inuksuit in Morningside Park

 

There were 99 percussionists scattered around Morningside Park this afternoon playing Inuksuit by composer John Luther Adams.  The performance was presented by Miller Theater at Columbia University. I don't know that my little montage does the music justice but the concert was delightful.

In that one panning shot from the stairs you can see that the park was full of curious visitors.  A woman from Riverdale told me this was her first visit to Morningside Park.  She never knew such a beautiful park existed in Manhattan.

Photos can be found on Flickr.

Unlimited Free Rentals

As I understand it Blockbuster will throw in a free typewriter with every DVD that you rent.  It can't be easy working for Blockbuster, knowing that DVDs are soon going to be extinct.

Beer Bread

This bread turned out surprisingly good.  My father gave me this recipe.  I think it is from Parade Magazine.

Beer Bread

3.5 c all-purpose flour

3 TBS sugar

1 TBS baking powder

1.5 tsp salt

12 oz beer

1 egg, beaten

1-2 tsp water

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add beer and mix until just combined.  Form dough into a ball.  Drop dough onto a baking sheet dusted with corn meal.  Cut and X into the top of the dough.  Beat egg and water together and brush onto dough.  Bake on lower-middle rack until golden brown, about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and put on wire rack to cool.

The bread is sneaky because it smells yeasty, but the yeast from the beer isn't a leavening agent.  I used Blue Point Toasted Lager beer but I think most beers would work.  IPAs might be too bitter though.

Where Dinosaurs Roam

Granger, Washington is a town after my heart.  In 1958 woolly mammoth bones were found in a nearby quarry.  Many years later someone had the bright idea "Hey, we have these mammoth bones, let's put up a bunch of dinosaur sculptures and call Granger the town 'Where Dinosaurs Roam'".  Brilliant!  Nevermind that mammoths aren't dinosaurs and any trace of dinosaur fossils would have been wiped out by the previously mentioned flood basalt eruptions that covered the area several million years ago.

There are dozens of dinosaur sculptures in Granger and the local businesses have embraced the theme.  It was not clear to me if the medical clinic was for dinos or people.  The volcano erupting behind T-Rex is not part of the flood basalt eruption but rather houses the town park's bathroom.  Said bathroom, park and T-Rex are right next to Granger's sewage treatment plant.  Let's just say there was a good reason why I was the only person in the park.

Horseheads Free Library

Aren't most libraries free of horse heads?