Because the top search term leading people to this site the past month was "firewhiskey recipe," I will gladly reprint an update in a simpler, less wordy fashion, than the recipe from my essay about alcohol in the Harry Potter books:-Slowly warm up half bottle of scotch on low heat, DO NOT BOIL!
-In a separate small pot, add various spices to about a cup of water (which can be heated to a near boil.) I recommend ample amounts of various hot chili sauces, cayenne pepper, chipotle, turmeric, nutmeg, and anything else in your spice cabinet that may have a kick.
-Mix the pots and poor into shot glasses. (Make sure it's not so hot to burn your mouth when you take the shots!)
-Chase with butterbeer.
In my original version, I used Dave's Insanity Sauce, which is a hot sauce so hot that it needs to be diluted. Since you may not be using this, there might not be any reason to dilute the spices in the cup of water, and if you wish, just add them directly to the whiskey. I'd appreciate feedback in comments!
Note on the spelling: In my original post on firewhiskey & butterbeer recipes, I spelled it "firewhisky." However, most everywhere else on the internet spells it firewhiskey, so I assume they're correct. (Generally, "whisky" is the Irish spelling, and "whiskey" everywhere else.) I don't have the books in front of me to look up how Rowling spells it, but I just noticed, in the Harry Potter Wiki, both spellings are used there for different brands: "Popular brands include Ogden's Old Firewhiskey and Blishen's Firewhisky."
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July 21, 2011
Firewhiskey Recipe 2011 - How to make Firewhiskey
July 13, 2011
Butterbeer Recipe 2011
Two years ago I published a short essay on the alcoholic magical beverages in the Harry Potter books, with my versions on how to make them, called "Firewhisky Recipe! Butterbeer Recipe!" It's since been one of the most viewed posts on this blog, and for good reason. They are delicious.
In anticipation of the final movie coming out this week, one of the top articles on The Huffington Post was "Butterbeer: How the Harry Potter Beverage Was Made Real." According to Jim Hill: "Based on surveys that UOR employees have done, the greatest Guest Satisfier in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter [the theme park in Florida], that piece-of-the-magic that people most wish that they could take home and share with friends and family... is a beverage. Butterbeer, to be precise."
"So -- that said -- what is actually known about this amber ale?," you query. Well, there are two distinct phases to the preparation / pouring of a glass of Butterbeer. First the bottom layer -- a slightly thickened mixture which tastes like a combination of butterscotch, cream soda and shortbread cookies -- is poured into the bottom of the glass. Then the Butterbeer's head -- which is this lighter, fluffier, less sweet version of marshmallow fluff -- is carefully placed on top of the brown brew that has previously been poured into this glass.
I fully sympathize with a Harry Potter-themed resort wanting to sell a version of the magical drinks, one that can be legally sold to kids and help them have an inspiring experience. (The "magic" in that secret recipe sounds like it's sugar and artificial flavoring, which would have the magical effects of a sugar-high and weight gain.) A close reading of Rowling's books will reveal that Butterbeer is not only magical but alcoholic. It's clearly the latter, because it has certain mild but well-known effects on the student characters after they consume it, such as the lowering of inhibitions. As I wrote in my essay two years ago:
In Harry Potter, after Harry has been attacked by a dementor, Professor Lupin gives him chocolate to restore him, not exactly advanced magic. All thru-out the books, Rowling understands that there are simpler magics & emotional forces more powerful than some of her sillier spells. What exactly is a potion but a brewed beverage with transformative properties? Alternately, when Ron is recovering from a strong potion, Professor Slughorn gives him a shot of mead which turns out to be laced with a powerful poison - not exactly the positive metaphor for drinking that parents fear. And there's of course two much more potent beverages in the Half-Blood Prince book - love potion & felix felicis (liquid luck). None of this fictional magic is far-fetched from what any teenager or adult has experienced from well-timed libations.At the time, I was righteously outraged by online recipes I found, not because they were non-alcoholic but because they were disgusting, using melted butter & butterscotch syrup. I'll reprint now the simple alcoholic itwaslost version, which I recommend smuggling into the cinema this weekend:
-a dark ale or black ale (I recommend New Belgium's 1554 black ale.)-a dash of butterscotch schnapps on top.
It's easy & inexpensive to make, available outside of Florida, it's sweet & butterscotchy but not sugary, and it might loosen you up and give you the courage to ask the witch you like to the ball. Cheers!
July 07, 2011
Annals of Failed Cocktailology: The Chilled Chocolate Mimosa
I had pretty vivid dreams last night, and I remember clearly inventing a cocktail called the chilled chocolate mimosa. It was a catering dream, where I was proudly showing my boss a drink I had created by adding chocolate syrup to champagne, & he was planning on adding it to an event's menu. We experimented by using high-quality chocolate and cream, & it was delicious. This morning, M.M.M. made homemade eggs benedict & Hollandaise sauce, and I set out to recreate the mixology of my dreams.
It was a colossal failure, & I do not recommend attempting it. The chocolate syrup would not dissolve in the champagne, & it tasted weird. When we dissolved good quality cocoa in cream and then added it to champagne, the milk curdled. It looked and tasted horrible. We have switched back to limeade mimosas for the day. If anyone has any solutions, let us know.
March 17, 2011
Three Years Ago: Chronicles: Legendary Costume Designer Asks: Are You a Poet?
Today, on Three Years Ago, our legendary series where we repost a post from exactly three years ago, I've dug up a rare "biographical" blog entrée. Thank heavens this is an unusual occurrence:
Last week, I was rejected from a graduate school program I had applied to, so I vowed to go on a 48-hour Steve Zissou-style bender, wake up next week, draft a new plan for the next few years of my life, then set out to find the shark that ate my friend & destroy it. Friday Night began with several pitchers of Piña Coladas with my friend Heather from Interlochen. The basic recipe for our concoction is as follows: Mix in blender:
-Half of a delicious fresh organic pneapple
-Half a handle of clear rum
-The meat of a fine mango
-Pineapple-coconut juice (I used the R.W. Knudsen brand, which conveniently sells this mix)
-About five strawberries
-Ice
Coincidentally, our friend Mr Golden was working next door at the Veteran's building repairing a model buffalo for an exhibition of ballet costumes designed by Willa Kim. After the ballet & some St Patrick's day beer, we crashed the art opening (as "volunteers", which we indeed ended up being.) One of my friends was free-wine-inspired to get herself a sugar-daddy in the guise of an rich older SF ballet alum. We missed the lecture, but when nonagenarian Willa Kim was being escorted out, the volunteers stopped her to tell her they had enjoyed working on her costumes. After some flattery, she turned to me & said:
Willa Kim: You look like you must be a poet!According to the imdb, Willa Kim is known by the nickname "Willa Killa". We then hit some schwanky downtown bars, & escorted my sloshy friend to the BART. The night ended by Mr Golden cleaning my clock at put-put golf at his Ingleside apartment.
Your hero: Well, uh, yes, I am.
Sycophantic escort: My, Ms. Kim, how prescient you are!
Willa Kim: He looks like a poet!
Your hero: It's all nonsense, tho. I mean, my poetry is nonsense.
Mr Golden: We're working on an epic with illuminations.
Willa Kim: Well, best of luck to you, &c.....
Sunday Morning, I had arranged (despite a dead mobile phone) to meet a blind date at a famous Mimosa Bar in the Castro, The Lime. As a co-founder of the dogmatic evangelical religious cult, The Mimosa's Witnesses, I was morally bound to investigate this mecca of Mimosa transubstantiation, which has bottomless flutes for $7 at Sunday Brunch. The place is ridiculous & perfectly over-the-top, with a bright-green nightclub decor, thumping music, packed with revelers at 11 A.M. Many of our fellow witnesses looked far more L.A. than S.F., with plastic breasts, &c. We should tithe them. Waiter: Hello, I haven't seen you here for awhile!As for my blind date, she had enormous false eyelashes & drove an orange Mustang sports car! Anyway, we must plan an official service with the regular Mimosa's Witnesses at this bizarre Castro day-club. As I explained to my date, just like there are hippie Christians & conservative Christians, these fake-boobed coked-up proselytes were worshipping under the same, broad tent as the Tahoe Mimosa's Witnesses & the Berkeley Mimosa's Witnesses.
Your hero: I've never been here before. This is my first time.
Waiter: Really!? You look just like one of our regulars.
Your hero: No, perhaps I have a Doppelgänger? Or perhaps you're mistaking me for Ralf from Kraftwerk.
My day proceeded by sobering up at Philz Coffee in the Mission & having my clock cleaned at chess with Mr Golden. The San Francisco semi-regular Sacred Harp singing was at an episcopal church on Fair Oaks (one of the cutest streets in that neighborhood), & was well attended, including two members of the awesome group Anonymous 4 (who, with their background in St Hildegaard, now have two excellent albums of American harmony, & are working on continuing that project. Listen to them!) Singing exultantly, mission accomplished, & I'm now accepting suggestions for what to do next with my life.
December 28, 2010
Three Years Ago: "Bring Your Mug To-night" & "Live Blogging from the Pomegranate Raspberry Mulled Wine & Whiskey 2007 Sendoff Festivus Eritrean Party"
Once again, we bring you Three Years Ago, an always special segment which celebrates this blog's continued longevity by re-posting posts from exactly three years ago. TODAY, a double header, starting with an advertisement for the day's Christmas party, "Bring Your Mug To-night", followed by the "Live Blogging from the Pomegranate Raspberry Mulled Wine & Whiskey 2007 Sendoff Festivus Eritrean Party". If you so desire, you could make the mulled wine recipe I printed in the first post (which I realize now is quite different from how I did it this year at my War on Christmas party; I suppose it evolves each year, this one had more fresh squeezed oranges, black currant juice, no poms or berries & less zest. I also used something like 14 bottles of two buck chuck.) Then, starting at 17.15 Pacific time, for the hardcore, relive the party minute by minute.
Several of the attendees who have R.S.V.P.'d to my invite for tonight's party are fictional, but it should be a smashing party. Bring a mug! I rather strained my back yesterday carrying a case of Charles Shaw Shiraz on the BART from the new Trader Joe's on College Avenue. In preparation for this epic mulled wine, I have had pomegranates & raspberries soaking in Jim Beam whiskey for two weeks in the window. In addition to the wine & whiskey, the following things will be added to the simmering Glühwein:
-The juice & zest from six large organic oranges.
-The juice squeezed from a dozen key limes
-Raspberries
-Red currants
-The seeds from a large pomegranate
-Many cinnamon sticks
-Nutmeg
-Cardamom
-Cloves
-Brown &/or unrefined white sugar, to taste
-More rum & more whiskey & more wine.
It's important, of course, not to let the cauldron ever come to a boil (which will decrease the alcohol content). Proselytes of the Mimosa's Witnesses will notice that Glühwein in an evening, festivus-time cousin to the Mimosa, replete with all the ingredients for secular transubstantiation. Check back to this website later, there may be Live Blogging. Here is from the original invite:
You can come earlier if you desire, & help me mull the wine, & there may be food.
The following costumes are discouraged:
-Keebler Elf
-Condoleeza Rice Elf
-Aphid or other Sternorrhyncha
-Disney Princess
-Sen. Arlen Spekter (R-Penn.)
-Cole Porter
-Luna Lovegood
-Amos or any other minor Old Testament Prophet
While these would be allowed, of course, some creative variation would be appreciated this year.
Bringing a mug would assist in transporting the mulled wine from the large steaming pot to your mouth.
My apartment is conveniently located across from the Ashby BART station:
This is a picture of a Barack Obama butter sculpture, by Duffy Lyon, the famous "Butter Cow Lady" from Iowa fairs. She has endorsed the candidate.
5:15. I am alone & I wash my hands, & make my delicious Puffed Millet Cookies.
5:30. Liam calls from the recycled paper office & tells me he is on his way, bringing friends.
5:40. Six bottles of Two Buck Chuck Shiraz are opened & emptied into a large cauldron.
6:40. Liam & friends have come & gone back to the store for more cheese & more bread. The past hour has been spent slowly warming up the wine & adding many many delicious ingredients. The third movement of Gorecki's Third Symphony, coming on randomly, made the de-seeding of the pomegranate much more emotional than it might otherwise have been.
8:30. Ten people are here eating cookies, Stolen, pineapples, & drinking Liam's amazing Raspberry Whiskey (which has been fermenting for two months), & my mulled wine. Cheeks are beginning to look a bit flushed.
9:00. A brief interlude to watch Leopard Slug sex.
10:15. Virtue's hit the rum.
10:30. The roses on the table have been replaced by a Trivial Pursuit board.
11:00. Liam creepily correctly answers "Fifty-four" to the question "What was the number of Gunther Toody's patrol car?"
11:30. Sixty-six-point-six percent of the party up-&-runs out the door towards the penultimate BART train.
12:00 A.M. My upstairs neighbor makes an appearance with her husband, erroneously thinking they have interrupted something between me & the remaining guest. They drink a glass of Glühwein & borrow The Princess Bride.
12:45. I am alone with a few glasses of mulled wine to go. A few hours ago I rejuvenated it with dark rum, sugar, & limes. It's sticking to my teeth, but I'm determined to see the sun rise, so, Merry Festivus to all, & to all a googily opulent yarblat.
December 13, 2010
Cocktail de Blake le Rat: Recette
This is a special recipe for a Blake le Rat Margarita I just mixoligized:
3 ice cubes1 ½ part gold tequila1 part triple sec2 part pear nectar½ fresh squeezed lime½ fresh squeezed lemon
May 05, 2010
Special Report: Is there a correlation between deep-fried beer-battered octopus brains & vivid dreamscapes?
On Sunday evening, I made Irma Rombauer's beer batter recipe from The Joy of Cooking (using Rogue's Dead Guy Ale) at Cosmo Wernicky & Olaf Mary's residence in West Oakland, California. We deep-fried fresh squid, baby octopuses [sic], brussels sprouts, mushrooms & squash blossoms. (We also drank plum sake from Berkeley.) It was delicious. And it left me thoroughly wiped-out, we couldn't even get to our art project. There was some debate about whether or not to take the brains out of the baby octopuses, but, since they were fresh (from the Berkeley Bowl) and cleaned, most were left in. The following text messages are from Monday morning:
January 11, 2010
Yonic Salmon Carpaccio
July 30, 2009
Firewhisky Recipe! Butterbeer Recipe!
Hermione is tipsy. Neville is serving drinks. Ron is sipping mead and Harry is partying with his professors. Liz Perle, a mother of two teenage boys and the editor in chief of Common Sense Media, which reviews books, movies and Web content aimed at children, said she was bothered by so many scenes showing alcohol as a coping mechanism. “Hermione is such a tightly wound young lady, but she’s liberated by some butterbeer,” she said. “The message is that it gives you liquid courage to put your arms around the guy you really like but are afraid to.” Seriously, Liz Perle!? Come on! This article actually transitions from the quotes of concerned parents to newsy pseudo-science like: "Even accounting for variables like friends’ drinking habits, the researchers found that children with high exposure to alcohol in movies were nearly three times as likely to binge-drink as those with the lowest exposure." In Harry Potter, after Harry has been attacked by a dementor, Professor Lupin gives him chocolate to restore him, not exactly advanced magic. All thru-out the books, Rowling understands that there are simpler magics & emotional forces more powerful than some of her sillier spells. What exactly is a potion but a brewed beverage with transformative properties? Alternately, when Ron is recovering from a strong potion, Professor Slughorn gives him a shot of mead which turns out to be laced with a powerful poison - not exactly the positive metaphor for drinking that parents fear. And there's of course two much more potent beverages in the Half-Blood Prince book - love potion & felix felicis (liquid luck). None of this fictional magic is far-fetched from what any teenager or adult has experienced from well-timed libations. I'd like to note that the other recipes for butterbeer on the internet sound DISGUSTING. One involves melting butter into cream soda & butterscotch-flavored syrup. And other variants on that. I guarantee these will have no magical properties except in the WC. Please drink butterbeer with real beer, and for the sake of American Society, have a mug with your 16-year-old friends & neighbors, especially when they are dealing with real 21st Century problems or celebrating something worth celebrating. They might need some liquid luck. When we made firewhisky a few years ago, I used one of the most powerful hot sauces on the market, Dave's Ultimate Insanity Sauce. It's not a hot sauce you can just splash on your food, it has to be heavily diluted for any recipe. I boiled a small pot of water & basically added every spice in the spice cabinet, some fresh herbs, & some of this terrifying Dave's sauce. Then I slowly heated some bourbon in a separate pan (the Half-Blood Prince warns not to boil alcohol lest it become impotent). Then mix them when they're hot, gird up your loins, & take a shot. In retrospect, it makes more sense to use scotch or Irish whiskey, & I'm sure this recipe can be finer tuned or made with any variety of potent spices or chili sauces. But I do recommend the hitting-it-with-everything strategy & serving it very hot. Other recipes on the internet have ways to ignite the shot, but this seems cheesy & unnecessary, & Rowling does not mention the firewhisky actually being on fire. Don't be so literal! The fire's supposed to be in your belly & soul. _________________________________________________________________
The movie Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince has gotten teenage drinking in the news. And it's true, after they point it out, there is a bunch of booze in the sixth movie. In the earlier books, there was always a bit of ambiguity about butterbeer, it was not really clear if it was even alcoholic. By the later books, it's more implied that it does definitely loosen the students up. And another drink appears in the later books called firewhisky, & I recall there being a funny scene when they go to The Hog's Head, the sketchier pub in Hogsmeade. Ron is excited that they might serve him firewhisky, but Hermione shoots him down. At some point, in the last book, doesn't Harry actually drink a shot? They're toasting the memory of a fallen member of the Order of the Phoenix, & I think she describes the burning feeling you get when you first sip whiskey.
Okay, prepare yourself, because these quotes from the New York Times might make you more nauseous than a butterbeer firewhiskey carbomb:
This article pretends to present the issue unbiasedly, but the concerned parents they quote are definitely weighed heavier. And by taking the drinking out of their context in the school & the other potions & spells, it might make it more alarming to paranoid parents that Hogwarts is a bad influence.
My friend Jenny Ruth came up with a simple recipe for butterbeer, but it involves a beer you can only get in Western America - New Belgium's 1554 Black Ale from Fort Collins, Colorado. Just add a dash of butterscotch schnapps to the top of a mug & it's extremely delicious & tastes exactly like I imagined in the books. The Black Ale is an old Belgian recipe - neither porter nor stout, but a very dark mild ale - and I'm sure the butterscotch will taste fine on top of any mild, dark ale; or any dark beer that's not hoppy.
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April 27, 2009
Magical Elixir Recipe
Thank you for staying loyal to this website during our necessary furlough. The true reason wasn't a budget deficit (altho it wasn't not a budget deficit), but that there was the Golden Gate Sacred Harp Convention. And very little time for sleep - on Saturday Night I was mopping up the floor at a cathedral at 2 am after a wild catering event, early Sunday Morning I was working the registration desk for the big sing.
How did I do it? My recipe for magic throat elixir - not that creative, but it does allow you to sing strong for two days straight:
-Boil a pot of water with a bunch of cut-up ginger.From the first photos to come in from yesterday's convention, Miss Beer is leading & Tim Eriksen is on the front bench (he held a singing school in Berkeley on Saturday & had a great gig at the Freight & Salvage Sunday night.)
-Brew tea. I recommend making it strong, with Good Earth tea & Lemon Throat tea.
-Add lots of honey & lemon. Also, maple syrup is delicious.
-Pour it in water bottles with some ice & drink all day.
February 02, 2009
Mildly Salacious Ad Banned for Obviousness
In "sports" news, the following entirely appropriate PETA ad was not seen on television yesterday during a "Super" Bowl (overweight millionaires who run for five seconds then stop for a litigious referee or commercial break do not comprise a sport):
Ad text: "Studies show vegetarians have better sex."
Duh! Everyone knows vegetarian men are attentive and vegetarian women are dirty. Is that really news, "football" fans?
January 25, 2009
Burns Night 250 Preview: Neeps, Tatties, Vegan Haggis
We're throwing our annual Robert Burns Night supper, this year in Lake Tahoe. We spent the afternoon snowshoeing from in fresh powder. Burns was born in 1759, so this Robert Burns Day marks his 250th birthday. It is also Mr Quill's Birthday! Hoorah!
A full & glitteringly written itinerary for a Burns Night supper is provided by RobertBurns.org, I recommend it. I have several adapted versions of Burns songs which have developed over the years, including "Gorgeous Borges:" ("Borges was a Gorgeous Boy / Gorgeous Borges, Georgeous Borges..." &c., to the tune of Rantin' Rovin' Robin - - see video below for the original 2004 Burns Night performance), & one of the anthems for the Mimosas Witnesses, "Morning Mimosa", to the tune of "No Churchman am I" aka "Big Belly'd Bottle". We'll work our way thru all the standard poetry (Ode to a Mouse, Tam o'Shanter, et cetera) as well as a few personal favorites, such as Cock up your Beaver:
When first my brave Johnie lad came to this town,
He had a blue bonnet that wanted the crown;
But now he has gotten a hat and a feather,
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!
Cock up your beaver, and cock it fu' sprush,
We'll over the border, and gie them a brush;
There's somebody there we'll teach better behaviour,
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!
The recipe for vegan haggis I'm using this afternoon is here, it's basically a lentil loaf. Any complaints about not using proper haggis can be sent to the governor's office in Alaska: veggie haggis has a long & rich tradition in Scotland, & it's also damned near impossible to procure real haggis in California. Miss Williams & Mrs Eley-Nelson will be in charge of the Neeps & Tatties. (I learned, Mr Mary, that what the brits refer to as turnips are in this country called rutabegas, now we know.)January 20, 2009
Recipe: Inauguration Luncheon at Ashby Ave, Berkeley, California
Did you hear Barbara Feinstein, as she was commencing the post-Inauguration fancy luncheon? She said the most-viewed webpage at the Inauguration site was the one with the recipes for the lunch. So, in full anticipation that this will be my most popular blog post ever, I'm publishing the recipe for my post-Inauguration-live-weblogging lunch-in.
I suggest pairing this with a dark beer, the earlier in the afternoon the better, I recommend San Francisco's rich Anchor Porter ("because porter is the new black president, bitch" as the Tracy Jordon slogan goes). Merry New Administration!Obama Nachos
-Preheat oven to 350°
-Pour a bag of tortilla chips onto a pizza tray. (I used Casa Sanchez Thick & Crispy Gruesos, a bay area favorite brand.)
-Sprinkle with shredded Tillamook cheddar cheese.
-Black beans
-Bake until the cheese is melted
-Add salsa (Casa Chicas RedGreen salsa, delicious from Zacatecas, Mexico), & guacamole, creme, whatever you want, to your taste.
June 05, 2008
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
This may seem like too simple a recipe to post online, but it's so delicious, we've been making it several times a week.-Take a big sweet potato, we get these delicious long ones which are white on the inside.
-Cut off the skin, slice diagonally into fry-shapes slices.
-Glass oven pan with a bunch of salted olive-oil.
-Dip both sides of each fry into the oil, then bake in the oven for about an hour until they're crispy.
-It's a really tasty snack. Perfect for a Barack Obama Victory Party:
"But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up...Barack Obama.
"He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to.
“You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future."
-Bob Dylan, June 2008
March 23, 2008
Purple Flags?
Last night, we were telling some late night house-callers about an all purple meal we had prepared Friday Night. It was baked purple potatoes (sliced thin in oil with lemon-thyme & purple garlic-onions, delicious), & buckwheat pasta in a white-wine/butter sauce with purple cauliflower, purple carrots, purple garlic-onions, portabella mushrooms, purple olives & capers. The result was a symphony of flavors, but only one color! This was a test-run & idea gathering mission for a whole purple meal, with aubergines & lavender things & beets tied up in strings. Our guests last night suggested either the cuisines of states that are half-red-state & half-blue-states. (Missouri cuisine? Florida cuisine?) Or cuisines from countries with purple flags.
Which leads us to the mystery. If you scan thru the flags of the world, none of them have purple in them! Why not? Internet searches to find purple flags found some alternate flags - like the Purple Flag of Chuvasia - & some sports flags - like the Sacramento Kings. "Purple Flag" is also slang for a person of gay persuasions, apparently. Still, why wouldn't any country anywhere have purple in it's flag? It's the royal color, the color of Christ on Easter, & a pretty strong hue all around. Luckily, there's a Wikipedia page with lists of flags by color - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flags_by_color - very useful for just such situations. I'll post some of the purple flags here:
This is from the Balearic Islands, an autonomous region of Spain off of the Iberian Peninsula. It may win for general classy color combination, & their groovy castle.
This one is also from Spain, from the port city of Málalga.
And this one was from the Spanish Second Republic. I suppose that could explain the color scheme of the Balearic Islands.
Other flags with purple in them were: 1) Montreal Flag has a Scottish thistle as one of its four flowers; 2) Gay Pride flag has a purple stripe; 3) Dominican Flag has a purple parrot in the center. Did you know the Gay Pride Flag employs the golden ratio?
I suppose, as far as cuisine, we could lean towards 1930's Tapas.
Any additional information on Purple Flags would be EXTREMELY HELPFUL. Or, if anyone knows why there is a dearth of them. It does seem a terrible loss. Or suggestions about purple foods or purple cuisine.
PURPLE FLAGS: THE SEQUEL
If you enjoyed this essay on purple flags, then, for no particular reason, I have reason to believe you will also enjoy the album "Stuck Home Syndrome" by Friends Around the Campfire. It's well worth the $5.99!
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___________________________________
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March 17, 2008
Chronicles: Legendary Costume Designer Asks: Are You a Poet?
Last week, I was rejected from a graduate school program I had applied to, so I vowed to go on a 48-hour Steve Zissou-style bender, wake up next week, draft a new plan for the next few years of my life, then set out to find the shark that ate my friend & destroy it. Friday Night began with several pitchers of Piña Coladas with my friend Heather from Interlochen. The basic recipe for our concoction is as follows:
Mix in blender:
-Half of a delicious fresh organic pneapple
-Half a handle of clear rum
-The meat of a fine mango
-Pineapple-coconut juice (I used the R.W. Knudsen brand, which conveniently sells this mix)
-About five strawberries
-Ice
Coincidentally, our friend Mr Golden was working next door at the Veteran's building repairing a model buffalo for an exhibition of ballet costumes designed by Willa Kim. After the ballet & some St Patrick's day beer, we crashed the art opening (as "volunteers", which we indeed ended up being.) One of my friends was free-wine-inspired to get herself a sugar-daddy in the guise of an rich older SF ballet alum. We missed the lecture, but when nonagenarian Willa Kim was being escorted out, the volunteers stopped her to tell her they had enjoyed working on her costumes. After some flattery, she turned to me & said:
Willa Kim: You look like you must be a poet!According to the imdb, Willa Kim is known by the nickname "Willa Killa". We then hit some schwanky downtown bars, & escorted my sloshy friend to the BART. The night ended by Mr Golden cleaning my clock at put-put golf at his Ingleside apartment.
Your hero: Well, uh, yes, I am.
Sycophantic escort: My, Ms. Kim, how prescient you are!
Willa Kim: He looks like a poet!
Your hero: It's all nonsense, tho. I mean, my poetry is nonsense.
Mr Golden: We're working on an epic with illuminations.
Willa Kim: Well, best of luck to you, &c.....
Sunday Morning, I had arranged (despite a dead mobile phone) to meet a blind date at a famous Mimosa Bar in the Castro, The Lime. As a co-founder of the dogmatic evangelical religious cult, The Mimosa's Witnesses, I was morally bound to investigate this mecca of Mimosa transubstantiation, which has bottomless flutes for $7 at Sunday Brunch. The place is ridiculous & perfectly over-the-top, with a bright-green nightclub decor, thumping music, packed with revelers at 11 A.M. Many of our fellow witnesses looked far more L.A. than S.F., with plastic breasts, &c. We should tithe them. Waiter: Hello, I haven't seen you here for awhile!As for my blind date, she had enormous false eyelashes & drove an orange Mustang sports car! Anyway, we must plan an official service with the regular Mimosa's Witnesses at this bizarre Castro day-club. As I explained to my date, just like there are hippie Christians & conservative Christians, these fake-boobed coked-up proselytes were worshipping under the same, broad tent as the Tahoe Mimosa's Witnesses & the Berkeley Mimosa's Witnesses.
Your hero: I've never been here before. This is my first time.
Waiter: Really!? You look just like one of our regulars.
Your hero: No, perhaps I have a Doppelgänger? Or perhaps you're mistaking me for Ralf from Kraftwerk.
My day proceeded by sobering up at Philz Coffee in the Mission & having my clock cleaned at chess with Mr Golden. The San Francisco semi-regular Sacred Harp singing was at an episcopal church on Fair Oaks (one of the cutest streets in that neighborhood), & was well attended, including two members of the awesome group Anonymous 4 (who, with their background in St Hildegaard, now have two excellent albums of American harmony, & are working on continuing that project. Listen to them!) Singing exultantly, mission accomplished, & I'm now accepting suggestions for what to do next with my life.
January 20, 2008
The Occasion of Ritual
| Date: | Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:30:57 -0800 |
| From: | "James Eliot Quill" <_____________@gmail.com> |
| To: |  "Liam Joseph Olaf Worland Golden" <____@yahoo.com> |
| Subject: |  Re: writing assignment #1 |
| CC: | "James Henry Welsch" <_@itwaslost.org> |
Next assignment, please.
On Jan 7, 2008 4:27 PM, liam golden <____@yahoo.com> wrote:
hello,
Today is the first day of our new project: Writing Assignments
The first Assignment is:
JQ - The Occassion of RitualJW - The Ritual of Occassion
250 words or more
due: 1/18/08
Liam Joseph Olaf Worland Mary Golden
______________________________________________________________
The Occasion of Ritual
The mention of the Occasion of Ritual leads me back to a certain lost ritual of Quill’s past. A bottle of whiskey is inspiration and incentive, but I require also some initiative, which results in a three or four shot head-start. But there is no occasion. Or, the occasion can affectionately only be called a last-minute panic. I am reviving a ritual that has been drowned in booze for years and in these first moments it can hardly be called such. My initial movements are hampered by the rust on my typing fingers and the prolonged mental searches for words. This has surprisingly little relation to the alcohol, but rather is only the shuddering of an engine that has nothing wrong with it other than sitting inactive in the Massachusetts winter for too long.
Wikipedia, that Borgesian fountain of knowledge (although that article, Mr. Welsch, is bunk), tells me that “a ritual is a set of actions…[that] may be performed at regular intervals, or on specific occasions, or at the discretion of individuals or communities.” An inebriated pondering of this information tells me that this means that any combination of two or more actions is a ritual. The metaphysical implications of a ritual are thoroughly drowned in an overly liberal definition.
Does ritual require occasion? Does anything prompt the ritual of the lighting of a cigarette? In fact, we are bombarded by occasion. We have ingrained countless series of actions that the slightest incitement will cause us to mechanically repeat. The ticket reads “Farmer’s Omelet.” The pan is buttered, the stovetop fired, three eggs cracked, three eggs whisked, eggs dropped in pan, the left hand swirls the pan as the right hand stirs, flame off, cheese, potatoes, onions, bacon, slam the pan against the side, left hand grabs plate, omelet folds upon it. These actions are automatic, but they remain worthwhile. Our obligation is to perpetually provide the illusion of new occasions for the application of old rituals lest the years pass us by in the same bars throwing the same darts with the same microbrew pints in our hands.
December 28, 2007
Bring Your Mug To-night
Several of the attendees who have R.S.V.P.'d to my invite for tonight's party are fictional, but it should be a smashing party. Bring a mug! I rather strained my back yesterday carrying a case of Charles Shaw Shiraz on the BART from the new Trader Joe's on College Avenue. In preparation for this epic mulled wine, I have had pomegranates & raspberries soaking in Jim Beam whiskey for two weeks in the window. In addition to the wine & whiskey, the following things will be added to the simmering Glühwein:
-The juice & zest from six large organic oranges.
-The juice squeezed from a dozen key limes
-Raspberries
-Red currants
-The seeds from a large pomegranate
-Many cinnamon sticks
-Nutmeg
-Cardamom
-Cloves
-Brown &/or unrefined white sugar, to taste
-More rum & more whiskey & more wine.
It's important, of course, not to let the cauldron ever come to a boil (which will decrease the alcohol content). Proselytes of the Mimosa's Witnesses will notice that Glühwein in an evening, festivus-time cousin to the Mimosa, replete with all the ingredients for secular transubstantiation. Check back to this website later, there may be Live Blogging. Here is from the original invite:You can come earlier if you desire, & help me mull the wine, & there may be food.
The following costumes are discouraged:
-Keebler Elf
-Condoleeza Rice Elf
-Aphid or other Sternorrhyncha
-Disney Princess
-Sen. Arlen Spekter (R-Penn.)
-Cole Porter
-Luna Lovegood
-Amos or any other minor Old Testament Prophet
While these would be allowed, of course, some creative variation would be appreciated this year.
Bringing a mug would assist in transporting the mulled wine from the large steaming pot to your mouth.
My apartment is conveniently located across from the Ashby BART station:
This is a picture of a Barack Obama butter sculpture, by Duffy Lyon, the famous "Butter Cow Lady" from Iowa fairs. She has endorsed the candidate.
April 30, 2006
Recipe: Butterbeer!
Ideas: "Firewhiskey", which Hermione won't let Ron order at the Three Broomsticks?
Maybe add a dot of Dave's Ultimate Insanity Sauce into a scotch-on-the-rocks?
__________________________________________________________________________________
Some song you don’t have to talk about; they just say it all:
“Mama get the hammer, there’s a fly on baby’s head.”
-Bob Dylan, on his new radio show, “Theme Time Radio Hour,” introducing a song by the Bobby Peterson Quartet.
-Richard Meltzer, critic, 1998
Hello Muscle palace Rupert's mail address it appears not to be being positively. nya The inside inside the cotton 3 all helped the mail does not see anh ass why .... And reply it entrusts certainly . I language ardency maybe too much without ? It peels anyhow and phyey the use method petty egg it lights and it gives. Only is like thatGoodbye
UPDATE: There's an essay about the booze in Harry Potter, written after the Half-Blood Prince movie, HERE.
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