at http://www.pandora.com/ you can type in the kind of music you like and Pandora will immediately set up-for free- a radio station that streams into your computer that music and other music like it. I'm listening right now.
edit: I have been listening for 45 minutes now and there have not been ANY ADS! This must be too good to last...but I'm liking it so far.
Monday, March 31, 2008
It all depends on what you choose to look at
Photography by nature has an interesting duality: it captures reality exactly and it captures reality distorted. It all depends on what you choose to look at. I often post photos of the natural beauty around here, and largely the county is gorgeous. There are parts however, which, if I chose to present ONLY those, would give an entirely different impression.
The town of Comer has seen booms and busts, and mini-booms and mini-busts. It is going through one of the latter now. The Chinese restaurant moved to Danielsville. The Comer News editor, who was extremely well-loved, died and the space is still empty. "The Warehouse" sign is the best part of a crumbling building. The lonely newspaper stand in front of an old sign for a former senior center is sad. The rusty thing by the Farmer's Market stand has long ago seen better days. The picket fence topped by a weird collection of things fronts an industrial lot with junk inside.
The two bright spots for me, aside from Blue Bell Gallery, are Cup of Karma Cafe and Carmine's Pizza Time, going-strong restaurants that bracket Comer News. What would we do without Carmine's and Karma Cafe?! I love you! So, here's another view of Comer...
The town of Comer has seen booms and busts, and mini-booms and mini-busts. It is going through one of the latter now. The Chinese restaurant moved to Danielsville. The Comer News editor, who was extremely well-loved, died and the space is still empty. "The Warehouse" sign is the best part of a crumbling building. The lonely newspaper stand in front of an old sign for a former senior center is sad. The rusty thing by the Farmer's Market stand has long ago seen better days. The picket fence topped by a weird collection of things fronts an industrial lot with junk inside.
The two bright spots for me, aside from Blue Bell Gallery, are Cup of Karma Cafe and Carmine's Pizza Time, going-strong restaurants that bracket Comer News. What would we do without Carmine's and Karma Cafe?! I love you! So, here's another view of Comer...
Sunday, March 30, 2008
mmm, mull!
The Danielsville Volunteer Fire Department hosts an annual chicken mull fundraiser. This is a dish only found in NE Georgia and it well-loved by the locals here. A bunch of friends and I went last night to the annual event, it being my first time. They showed me the ropes, because there is a definite process to eating mull. The thickened soup/stew is accompanied by hot pickles, cole slaw, and saltine crackers. One must crumble LOTS of saltines into the bowl of mull, and if brave, season it with Tabasco. Sweet tea is of course on hand and for dessert there was cherry or apple crumble to choose from.
Fire Department guys roam around with a pitcher of more mull and refill you as much as you want. Mull is made with milk, butter, seasonings, and either shredded or ground meat. In the old days rabbit was used quite frequently, my old timer friends tell me. Today the meat of choice is chicken. Tee shirts are available, they say, "DVFD 25th annual Chicken mull: no bones about it just good mull." It was an enjoyable, very local, evening.
Mull this over:
According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the dish known in northeast Georgia as chicken mull is a stew of chicken meat (ground or cut into bite-sized or smaller pieces), broth, milk, butter, vegetables, and seasonings, thickened with crumbs of soda crackers. It is also called chicken stew, chicken soup (rarely), and in south Georgia, chicken jallop. Because grinding, cutting, and lengthy cooking can tenderize tough meat, chicken mull may have originated as a way to make tough old roosters and spent hens palatable.
Mulls are served in bowls and eaten at home, in restaurants, in hunters' camps, and at special events such as church socials, community gatherings, and fund-raisers. Like other regional stews served to large groups (for example, Brunswick stew, Kentucky burgoo, Carolina hash, and Virginia sheep stew), mull can be prepared in large pots, outdoors or under a shed.
Mull is traditionally a cold-weather dish. Northeast Georgians speak of the "mull season." According to local lore, almost any meat or combination can be used, including goat, dove, squirrel, and it is rumored, rat and roadkill.
In rabbit mull or crow stew, rabbit or crow replaces chicken. Turtle mull contains chicken as well as turtle and sometimes such additional meats as beef, pork, and even beaver. Jallop is sometimes made from catfish.
To make chicken mull, pieces of chicken are simmered in water in a kettle or Dutch oven about one hour, until done. When the pieces are cool, the skin and bones are removed and the meat is ground or cut, then restored to the broth. Milk and butter are added and cracker crumbs are stirred in until the desired thickness is achieved. The consistency varies, but typically mull is similar to cooked oatmeal.
Other ingredients may include baking soda; such vegetables as celery, onion, tomato sauce or paste, tomatoes, ketchup, lemon, and garlic; and such seasonings as salt, red and black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Traditional side dishes include sweet pickles; onion rings, cucumbers, and tomatoes marinated in vinegar; slaw or salad; and green beans. Chicken jallop is sometimes served over hamburger buns.
Fire Department guys roam around with a pitcher of more mull and refill you as much as you want. Mull is made with milk, butter, seasonings, and either shredded or ground meat. In the old days rabbit was used quite frequently, my old timer friends tell me. Today the meat of choice is chicken. Tee shirts are available, they say, "DVFD 25th annual Chicken mull: no bones about it just good mull." It was an enjoyable, very local, evening.
Mull this over:
According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the dish known in northeast Georgia as chicken mull is a stew of chicken meat (ground or cut into bite-sized or smaller pieces), broth, milk, butter, vegetables, and seasonings, thickened with crumbs of soda crackers. It is also called chicken stew, chicken soup (rarely), and in south Georgia, chicken jallop. Because grinding, cutting, and lengthy cooking can tenderize tough meat, chicken mull may have originated as a way to make tough old roosters and spent hens palatable.
Mulls are served in bowls and eaten at home, in restaurants, in hunters' camps, and at special events such as church socials, community gatherings, and fund-raisers. Like other regional stews served to large groups (for example, Brunswick stew, Kentucky burgoo, Carolina hash, and Virginia sheep stew), mull can be prepared in large pots, outdoors or under a shed.
Mull is traditionally a cold-weather dish. Northeast Georgians speak of the "mull season." According to local lore, almost any meat or combination can be used, including goat, dove, squirrel, and it is rumored, rat and roadkill.
In rabbit mull or crow stew, rabbit or crow replaces chicken. Turtle mull contains chicken as well as turtle and sometimes such additional meats as beef, pork, and even beaver. Jallop is sometimes made from catfish.
To make chicken mull, pieces of chicken are simmered in water in a kettle or Dutch oven about one hour, until done. When the pieces are cool, the skin and bones are removed and the meat is ground or cut, then restored to the broth. Milk and butter are added and cracker crumbs are stirred in until the desired thickness is achieved. The consistency varies, but typically mull is similar to cooked oatmeal.
Other ingredients may include baking soda; such vegetables as celery, onion, tomato sauce or paste, tomatoes, ketchup, lemon, and garlic; and such seasonings as salt, red and black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Traditional side dishes include sweet pickles; onion rings, cucumbers, and tomatoes marinated in vinegar; slaw or salad; and green beans. Chicken jallop is sometimes served over hamburger buns.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
'Doh! I forgot about the video!' says Hillary
Axiom #283: If you're going to lie about your experience, at least make sure there's no video proof of the truth.
"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her staff said she misspoke when saying she landed under sniper fire during a March 1996 trip to Bosnia as first lady. "I did make a mistake in talking about it the last time, and recently,'' Clinton told reporters in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. "I made a mistake. I have a different memory. That happens. I'm human. For some people that's a revelation."
Well...she made four mistakes. She "misspoke" 4 times. And let's call it what it is: a lie. And she is all too human, because she forgot about the CBS video, and that is the revelation, because she is usually very careful about remembering which lie she told at which time.
Clinton said, "I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement.''
Just? Please...no more four more Clinton years. Please.
Vote Ron Paul.
"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her staff said she misspoke when saying she landed under sniper fire during a March 1996 trip to Bosnia as first lady. "I did make a mistake in talking about it the last time, and recently,'' Clinton told reporters in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. "I made a mistake. I have a different memory. That happens. I'm human. For some people that's a revelation."
Well...she made four mistakes. She "misspoke" 4 times. And let's call it what it is: a lie. And she is all too human, because she forgot about the CBS video, and that is the revelation, because she is usually very careful about remembering which lie she told at which time.
Clinton said, "I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement.''
Just? Please...no more four more Clinton years. Please.
Vote Ron Paul.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Good God, man! This changes everything!
Google has a new feature, "Street Maps." You can now click on most any city, address, and street maps, and view what is going on in some one's back yard. Or any old drug deal going on in the street. Like here. Take a look
Here's how it works. Go to http://www.maps.google.com/. Click on "Street View." A bunch of cameras pop up at many locations around the US. Click on a camera. When the blue outlined streets appear, move the guy to the street you want to view. Or type in an address.
Between viewing addresses on the street and the fact that the FBI is eavesdropping on you even when your cell phone is turned off, well, they've got us pretty well covered, don't they? My only consolation is that Google does not have any street views available in Georgia. Yet.
Here's how it works. Go to http://www.maps.google.com/. Click on "Street View." A bunch of cameras pop up at many locations around the US. Click on a camera. When the blue outlined streets appear, move the guy to the street you want to view. Or type in an address.
Between viewing addresses on the street and the fact that the FBI is eavesdropping on you even when your cell phone is turned off, well, they've got us pretty well covered, don't they? My only consolation is that Google does not have any street views available in Georgia. Yet.
Monday, March 24, 2008
This is so gorgeous
Where I live, I mean. I drove around a five mile radius at dusk on a 68 degree evening and took photos of most things I saw. Here you go:
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Amish in ascendancy
The list of failed United States FDIC banks has grown from two to five in the last couple of weeks. Here is a list of insolvent banks. The latest world Big World Bank to teeter on the verge of insolvency is United Bank of Switzerland. Yes, it's true, a Swiss bank.
The current financial crisis is not one of liquidity, as the Federal Reserve says. It's really an issue of insolvency. Here is a list of insolvent banks, with their writedown, rundown, or losses in the millions or billions next to their name. UBS is United Bank of Switzerland. You will notice the first few sound familiar. After Bear Stearns went bankrupt, and the Fed opened up an emergency take-out window, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Bros took advantage of the fire sale. That resulted in a downgrading of their S&P rating. To negative.
Here is a good article from Bloomberg about the Swiss Bank situation
So what's this have to do with the Amish? Our country is in a deep crisis, with a current account deficit that cannot be sustained, a falling currency, and an energy crisis, all at once. Just before the Soviet Union fell, it was enduring the same. The US is now the world's largest debtor nation, and for a country with the world's largest economy, if (when) we default, the world economy comes with it. The cycle of things will stop. I don't know how to build a home, make a tool, grow some food, coordinate with my neighbors, create fire, or use a horse for transportation. But the Amish do.
Name - ($) writedowns so far (does not include loss reserve increases or remaining exposure). The list on the original page offers a hyperlink for each bank, so you can check it out for yourself.
Goldman Sachs - $5.4B
IKB - $2.71B + 10.2B
Morgan Stanley - $16.1B
Merrill Lynch - $22.5B
Lehman Brothers - $5.4B
Citigroup - $46.6B
Washington Mutual - $1.6B
DZ BANK AG - $2.1B
HSBC - $26.5B
UBS - $19.2B
ABN AMRO Group - $2.4B
Wachovia - $3.2B
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) - $3.6B
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group - $510M
HBOS PLC - $2.5B
Comerica Incorporated - $63M
Fifth Third Bancorp - $155M
US Bancorp - $690M
Royal Bank of Canada - $544M
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce - $3.2B
Bayerische Landesbank - $2.8B
Bank of Montreal (BMO) - $639M
Credit Suisse - $3.1B+$2.85B (est.)
Wells Fargo - $1.4B
Natixis-$1.8B
Mizuho Financial Group Inc - $3.2B
WestLB AG - ?
Barclays PLC - $3.1B?
Commerzbank - $855M
Deutsche Bank - $3.2B
JP Morgan Chase - $3.7B
SunTrust - $222M
Bank of America - $7.2B
The current financial crisis is not one of liquidity, as the Federal Reserve says. It's really an issue of insolvency. Here is a list of insolvent banks, with their writedown, rundown, or losses in the millions or billions next to their name. UBS is United Bank of Switzerland. You will notice the first few sound familiar. After Bear Stearns went bankrupt, and the Fed opened up an emergency take-out window, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Bros took advantage of the fire sale. That resulted in a downgrading of their S&P rating. To negative.
Here is a good article from Bloomberg about the Swiss Bank situation
So what's this have to do with the Amish? Our country is in a deep crisis, with a current account deficit that cannot be sustained, a falling currency, and an energy crisis, all at once. Just before the Soviet Union fell, it was enduring the same. The US is now the world's largest debtor nation, and for a country with the world's largest economy, if (when) we default, the world economy comes with it. The cycle of things will stop. I don't know how to build a home, make a tool, grow some food, coordinate with my neighbors, create fire, or use a horse for transportation. But the Amish do.Name - ($) writedowns so far (does not include loss reserve increases or remaining exposure). The list on the original page offers a hyperlink for each bank, so you can check it out for yourself.
Goldman Sachs - $5.4B
IKB - $2.71B + 10.2B
Morgan Stanley - $16.1B
Merrill Lynch - $22.5B
Lehman Brothers - $5.4B
Citigroup - $46.6B
Washington Mutual - $1.6B
DZ BANK AG - $2.1B
HSBC - $26.5B
UBS - $19.2B
ABN AMRO Group - $2.4B
Wachovia - $3.2B
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) - $3.6B
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group - $510M
HBOS PLC - $2.5B
Comerica Incorporated - $63M
Fifth Third Bancorp - $155M
US Bancorp - $690M
Royal Bank of Canada - $544M
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce - $3.2B
Bayerische Landesbank - $2.8B
Bank of Montreal (BMO) - $639M
Credit Suisse - $3.1B+$2.85B (est.)
Wells Fargo - $1.4B
Natixis-$1.8B
Mizuho Financial Group Inc - $3.2B
WestLB AG - ?
Barclays PLC - $3.1B?
Commerzbank - $855M
Deutsche Bank - $3.2B
JP Morgan Chase - $3.7B
SunTrust - $222M
Bank of America - $7.2B
Friday, March 21, 2008
Randominity
Random things goin' on:
--"It's not funny going to work and worrying that a zombie might be around the corner." Yah, that'd put a crimp in your day. Workers at Southern Water's treatment plant in Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK said they have been scared to enter tunnels after being followed about by a "humanoid figure" as they went about their jobs. Yikes! Read the news story, it's funny and creepy.
--Last night I watched George Clooney in "Michael Clayton." I LOVE movies like this, billed as a legal, intellectual thriller. So deep on so many levels, but entirely watchable because you don't notice how deep it is while you're watching it. Have you seen it? I loved everything about it. I'm always so grateful when Hollywood makes a movie for adults.
--I lunched yesterday with a friend and an elderly man. He talks a lot about being in the Navy way back when, which I love. He tells good stories, and laces them with a wry wit. He is also a gentleman. He doesn't have family around and is blind in one eye and cannot drive. So I invited him out.
We ate at the Tanner House, a new restaurant in town everybody is crowding to. Down south restaurants are successful only when they offer a LOT of home cookin', cheap. That's what this place bills itself as. And it's practically the only thing southerners will flock to.
It was like Cole Farms inside an old house. In Gray, Maine, where I'm from, there's this restaurant called Cole Farms that has been there forever. Well, since the 1950s, which in the business world is almost the same thing. Cole's has quite a history to it, apart from the food, and quite a bad one at that. As far the food goes, originally it was a hamburger stop and it was what it was & was very good at what it was. Then it diversified and offered a larger menu and sit down service. In the 60s and 70s it was still great, offering things like meat loaf and homemade mashed potatoes and great stews and turkey dinners for just a couple bucks. Then it coasted in the 80s and in the 90s it expanded and started offering fru-fru things like Mexican taco bowls and please stop into our gift shop. Where you could buy a postcard of a moose. Or a lobster.
Its website touts the following:
RELAXED, FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE
HOMESTYLE GOODNESS
FABULOUS DESERTS
Like the fabulous painted deserts in Arizona, perhaps?
Now it's just so bad the only thing a friend of mine will eat is dry toast. Regulars who sit at the counter bar bring their own condiments because the syrups for example are so watered down. The last (final) time I ate there I ordered pancakes. There was a hair in it. Not ON the pancake, IN it. But people still flock to it for reasons unknown and incomprehensible to me and it still has quite a following. In my opinion it's a waste of money but I guess those folks have money to waste. I do have something to say about the desserts, both at Cole Farms and at Tanner House. In a moment.
Sigh. So Tanner House was like early Cole Farms. I ordered a strawberry muffin, grilled or toasted, and a bowl of corn chowder. The muffin was as big as a walnut, I swear, and microwaved, too long at that. The chowder was like cream corn straight out of the can, I could stand a spoon up in it. The guy at the next table said. "What's corn chowder?" I think the cooking staff don't know either. My friend had a half sandwich with soup, and the sandwich came on Wonder bread. The best thing looked like my elderly friend's beef stew. I've become convinced there is no such thing as a good restaurant experience any more.
The desserts at Tanner are made by Mennonites in a nearby community. They looked FANTASTIC. Same with Cole Farms, the pies, cakes, and muffins are all made fresh every day and still deserve their stellar reputation.
--I hear the geese quite often. I realized I am always in the habit of looking north when I hear them, being from Maine and they are always traveling south. Here in GA though I need to look south. They are always heading the other way now that I am down here! It's always nice to hear a flock of geese. I love being in a place where you can hear not just geese but all kinds of birds. I left my window open the other night and even though it was 58 degrees in the apartment by dawn, it was worth it to listen to all the night birds as I fell asleep.
Have a good day everyone!
--"It's not funny going to work and worrying that a zombie might be around the corner." Yah, that'd put a crimp in your day. Workers at Southern Water's treatment plant in Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK said they have been scared to enter tunnels after being followed about by a "humanoid figure" as they went about their jobs. Yikes! Read the news story, it's funny and creepy.
--Last night I watched George Clooney in "Michael Clayton." I LOVE movies like this, billed as a legal, intellectual thriller. So deep on so many levels, but entirely watchable because you don't notice how deep it is while you're watching it. Have you seen it? I loved everything about it. I'm always so grateful when Hollywood makes a movie for adults.
--I lunched yesterday with a friend and an elderly man. He talks a lot about being in the Navy way back when, which I love. He tells good stories, and laces them with a wry wit. He is also a gentleman. He doesn't have family around and is blind in one eye and cannot drive. So I invited him out.
We ate at the Tanner House, a new restaurant in town everybody is crowding to. Down south restaurants are successful only when they offer a LOT of home cookin', cheap. That's what this place bills itself as. And it's practically the only thing southerners will flock to.
It was like Cole Farms inside an old house. In Gray, Maine, where I'm from, there's this restaurant called Cole Farms that has been there forever. Well, since the 1950s, which in the business world is almost the same thing. Cole's has quite a history to it, apart from the food, and quite a bad one at that. As far the food goes, originally it was a hamburger stop and it was what it was & was very good at what it was. Then it diversified and offered a larger menu and sit down service. In the 60s and 70s it was still great, offering things like meat loaf and homemade mashed potatoes and great stews and turkey dinners for just a couple bucks. Then it coasted in the 80s and in the 90s it expanded and started offering fru-fru things like Mexican taco bowls and please stop into our gift shop. Where you could buy a postcard of a moose. Or a lobster.
Its website touts the following:
RELAXED, FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE
HOMESTYLE GOODNESS
FABULOUS DESERTS
Like the fabulous painted deserts in Arizona, perhaps?
Now it's just so bad the only thing a friend of mine will eat is dry toast. Regulars who sit at the counter bar bring their own condiments because the syrups for example are so watered down. The last (final) time I ate there I ordered pancakes. There was a hair in it. Not ON the pancake, IN it. But people still flock to it for reasons unknown and incomprehensible to me and it still has quite a following. In my opinion it's a waste of money but I guess those folks have money to waste. I do have something to say about the desserts, both at Cole Farms and at Tanner House. In a moment.
Sigh. So Tanner House was like early Cole Farms. I ordered a strawberry muffin, grilled or toasted, and a bowl of corn chowder. The muffin was as big as a walnut, I swear, and microwaved, too long at that. The chowder was like cream corn straight out of the can, I could stand a spoon up in it. The guy at the next table said. "What's corn chowder?" I think the cooking staff don't know either. My friend had a half sandwich with soup, and the sandwich came on Wonder bread. The best thing looked like my elderly friend's beef stew. I've become convinced there is no such thing as a good restaurant experience any more.
The desserts at Tanner are made by Mennonites in a nearby community. They looked FANTASTIC. Same with Cole Farms, the pies, cakes, and muffins are all made fresh every day and still deserve their stellar reputation.
--I hear the geese quite often. I realized I am always in the habit of looking north when I hear them, being from Maine and they are always traveling south. Here in GA though I need to look south. They are always heading the other way now that I am down here! It's always nice to hear a flock of geese. I love being in a place where you can hear not just geese but all kinds of birds. I left my window open the other night and even though it was 58 degrees in the apartment by dawn, it was worth it to listen to all the night birds as I fell asleep.
Have a good day everyone!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Presidents say the darndest things!
2000:
If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator.
2007:
oops... he really didn't mean to say that, again, did he? Oy! he did!
"A dictatorship would be a hack of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
It’s good to be king, if just for a while
To be there in velvet, yeah,
to give ‘em a smile
It’s good to get high
and never come down
It’s good to be king
of your own little town
Yeah, the world would swing
if I were king
Can I help it if I still dream
time to time
It’s good to be king
and have your own way
Get a feeling of peace
at the end of the day
And when your bulldog barks
and your canary sings
You’re out there with winners,
it’s good to be king
It’s good to be king
and have your own world
If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator.
2007:
oops... he really didn't mean to say that, again, did he? Oy! he did!
"A dictatorship would be a hack of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
It’s good to be king, if just for a while
To be there in velvet, yeah,
to give ‘em a smile
It’s good to get high
and never come down
It’s good to be king
of your own little town
Yeah, the world would swing
if I were king
Can I help it if I still dream
time to time
It’s good to be king
and have your own way
Get a feeling of peace
at the end of the day
And when your bulldog barks
and your canary sings
You’re out there with winners,
it’s good to be king
It’s good to be king
and have your own world
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