Author: David T. Macknet

Singing Dune

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September 23, 2010

3:06 pm

4 Comments on Singing Dune

Glasgow

How does one pronounce the word “dune?” We were informed by our choir conductor that it should be pronounced “dyoon” rather than “doon” … because “doon” is how Scots pronounce the word “down.” So, when singing Whitaker’s Sleep, we are to make it clear that we’re singing about “dune” … by clearly pronouncing that “y” which is so absent from the written word. Right.

Woodlands 36 HDR

The evening hangs beneath the moon,
A silver thread on darkened dune.
With closing eyes and resting head
I know that sleep is coming soon.

Upon my pillow, safe in bed,
A thousand pictures fill my head,
I cannot sleep, my mind’s a flight;
And yet my limbs seem made of lead

If there are noises in the night,
A frightened shadow, flickering light;
Then I surrender unto sleep,
Where clouds of dream give second sight.

What dreams may come, both dark and deep,
Of flying wings and soaring leap
As I surrender unto sleep,
As I surrender unto sleep,
sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep
(etc.)

-D & T

Potato Aberrations

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September 21, 2010

8:52 am

6 Comments on Potato Aberrations

Glasgow

Finnieston 229 Finnieston 228 Finnieston 227 Finnieston 226 Finnieston 225
Prawn Coctail Sizzling King Prawn Flame Grilled Steak Roast Chicken Smoky Bacon

Our friend Jess mentioned how strange it was that there are such things as “Roastin Chicken” flavored potato chips. We find it strange as well, of course, but have grown accustomed to finding such strange flavors as “Ox Tail,” in addition to the other strange ones pictured. Of course, the really odd flavor in there has to be Cajun Squirrel.

Cajun Squirrel Crisps

D actually tried these, seeing as how they contain no animal products; nor do the Ox Tail ones, but … after the squirrel, he’s done experimenting with these abominations.

-D & T

On the Level

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September 10, 2010

10:57 am

3 Comments on On the Level

Glasgow, Photography

Tripod base is level? Check. Pan-tilt head on tripod is level? Check. Artificial horizon provided by the camera says we’re level? Check. Centered on the fountain, from directly in the center of the pathway? Check.

Kelvingrove Park 269

Kelvingrove Park 273 HDR

Fountain itself is level? Um … No. Not at all. And it’s just undergone some renovation. Apparently that renovation did not entail actually … propping the thing up. Just … adding new figures to it and painting a few of the existing ones. For this, it’s taken two years or so, and the fountain … is still crooked. How do I know? I overlaid a grid on this, just to check whether I was experiencing an optical illusion. Nope. Crooked.

Welcome to Glasgow, where things gently sink into the earth, and are renovated on the way down.

With new-cut sandstone, which will no doubt weather into looking like it fits in sometime in the next 50 years or so, and with with gold-ish paint applied to the … fat baby-things on the edges, how can they not call this renovation?

Oh. You mean, you expected something like, “make new,” which is, after all, what the word actually means? Nah – here in Glasgow, you replace the bits which are excessively worn, and keep on coming back, year after year, replacing things piecemeal. It provides steady work, and it only looks awkward all of the time.

-D

Zucchini Bread / Spice Cake

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August 31, 2010

8:21 am

6 Comments on Zucchini Bread / Spice Cake

Baking, Recipe

This is what happens when you’re used to buying at the store, where you can actually see the quantity you’re buying, yet give in to the convenience of shopping for groceries online: you end up with 10, large zucchini / courgettes. So, what to do? Well, some of them will be used later, of course, but today’s baking adventure was to double up the recipe below to make 4 loaves of zucchini bread!

Garam Masala Zucchini Bread 1.2
Garam Masala Zucchini Bread 1.1
  • 6 Tbsp ground flax seeds whisked into 1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp warm water
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2.5 cups grated zucchini
  • 3 cups AP flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 Tbsp of your favorite spice blend
  1. Grease 2 loaf pans
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C
  3. Blend flax, oil, sugar, and vanilla
  4. Add zucchini and mix
  5. Sift dry ingredients
  6. Add dry to wet and mix just to combine
  7. Divide between prepped pans
  8. Bake for 45-50 minutes (a toothpick should come out clean)

Delicious stuff, and a great excuse to both use up any excess zucchini you have around, and to use up those coarser bits of your spice blend.

-D & T

Note: the pictures above are from another batch, 2 years ago.

Savory Spice Blend

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August 30, 2010

8:00 am

3 Comments on Savory Spice Blend

Recipe

Now, this isn’t a recipe, per se, but merely a list of things that we like to throw together, to make what we call Popcorn Salt (although it contains no salt). It should more properly be called Tofu Rub, because that’s where it finds its most common application in our kitchen, although we’ve also been known to throw it into a savory cornbread (you know: veggie sausages in the batter, some nice chili on the bottom).

Lynedoch Crescent D 442

  • Rosemary
  • Cumin
  • White Peppercorn
  • Sichuan Peppercorn
  • Celery Seed
  • Yellow Mustard Seed
  • Brown Mustard Seed
  • Allspice
  • Dill Seed
  • Sage
  • Thyme
  • Oregano
  • Caraway Seed
  • Onion Powder
  • Garlic Powder
  • Nutritional Yeast
  • Chipotle Powder

In the past, we’d made enough to fit into a little spice jar, but grew tired of having to always make new. That’s why you’ll see the many layers of the same ingredient: D. knows the ratios pretty well for doing a single batch, but this was at least a triple batch. So, he had to go through the spices twice.

Not pictured here are the onion and garlic powders, the chipotle powder, and the nutritional yeast. The yeast gets blended, but separately and mixed in. The onion and garlic powders are just added and mixed in, as is the chipotle powder.

This stuff will really spice up just about anything – make your own mix up, balancing out the spices as you think you’d like them, and give it a try!

-D & T

Light Reading?

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August 28, 2010

12:56 pm

1 Comment on Light Reading?

Rant

By way of some light reading, I picked up Gordon Dickson’s novel Dorsai! Now, I know the book was published in 1959, so I didn’t expect for it to be particularly … progressive in its thinking about women. And, being Military Science Fiction, I knew that it was even less likely to treat female characters with any decency. I was unprepared.

“It is Woman’s ancient heritage to appreciate something without the need to know.”

“Surely you see that the oldest and greatest of the female instincts is to find and conserve the strength of the strongest male she can discover. And the ultimate conservation is to bear his children.”

Oh, so woefully unprepared.

Finnieston 210

It’s a problem, really, which hasn’t really been addressed even in modern science fiction novels: women tend to be woefully presented, weak, oversexualized, simply props for the manly men who actually have the adventure. Why should this be? It’s not as if the readers want female characters to be so mistreated. Do these authors believe that readers expect this? Do these authors believe this about women in real life? Or are these authors just as sexist as their characters?

I know, there are exceptions to this behavior – but they are exceptions, rather than the norm.

So much for light reading. Back to Hannah Arendt, Jürgen Habermas, and / or Bruno Latour. Definitely not light reading.

-D