’The Flower Vendor’ by Diego Rivera
First: Big Al has been feeling under the weather, and has decided to live life (real life, that is…) to the fullest for now. I know we all wish him well, and applaud his mindful and magnificent choice.
Second: Over the past few weeks I’ve been receiving some distressing emails from some erstwhile commenters at the Café, so I’d like to clear the air a bit about that.
I’ve never enjoyed kerfuffles on the boards, but most especially the ones I’d allowed myself to get drawn into, as they often produce ‘heat, but no light’, as some say. Most often, I’ve felt kinda dirty, if that makes sense, but I was indeed raised by guilt and shame, so…it makes sense to me. If I behave in a deplorable manner, that‘s far worse, of course (save the recent exception of the man I deliberately insulted, and mercifully went on to greener pastures). Now one man I behaved stupidly toward by way of teasing-gone-wrong, I did apologize to by email. The others? Not so much: ‘ack! semantic racist word games! you don’t try to understand me, beyotch!’; well, you get the drift, enough of that.
Still and all, what I would like to do is express my regret over my part in any contretemps on the boards, because sometimes my temper flares too quickly, and I forget to count to ten (or seventy-seven) before I respond. I’ll also try my best to offer absolution to those who’ve made egregious comments to me or my belief system, given that it’s the spiritually sensible thing to do. If they return, and I guess for all, I’d like to ask for the following here at the Café:
Please don’t castigate me for things that I never said or implied, because that sincerely gets my dander up.
There may be some reasons for my periodic crankiness, but they’d sound like self-serving excuses, so I’ll not even go there.
Please don’t drop in lengthy, four-foot-long articles that aren’t On Topic on a diary; I’m a slow reader at the best of times, and I have iffy eyes. I’ve long had a silly habit of trying to read the links and respond. Plus, there’s always an Open Menu to use for just about anything you’d like to highlight or talk about. At the top of the Categories list on the right sidebar just below the Recent Comments list is ‘Open Menus’ If we spy a new comment on an Open Menu, we can click in to check it out. Exceptions are if you have major breaking news you believe shouldn’t wait, of course akin to: ‘Sarah Palin explains her son’s arrest for domestic violence’ and such, or you provide the Cliff’s Notes version as THD does sometimes. ;-)
If I’ve asked you not to contact me again by email, please don’t, unless invited to. And allow me to paraphrase and borrow two of Barry Ritholtz’s Rulez (said to be the gold standard online): don’t engage in troll-like behavior or engage in curmudgeonly assholery.
Please refrain from declaring that #AllLivesMatter. Once again: of course they do, but for far too many blacks, First Americans/First Nations folks, Latinos’/as, their lives have never counted for much, and the police state ramp-up is teaching them that historical truth. Plus, ya start soundin’ like this Freedom Guy:
one response he was given:
Please don’t tell me that I only care about the larger BLM/police state because we have a black son and Native American daughter; you might note that we’d adopted two babbies of color long before the movement. That theme also ignores the many, many allies of the movement who are not people of color.
Third:
I’d been thinking to add a new post on food, with some recipes and preparation and purchasing tips. Are most of you vegans or vegetarians, or more on the occasional omnivore side? I’m the latter, but mainly I cook to make food count, and cook a lot of vegetarian dishes, and use a lot of spices and veggies as medicine. My default is usually traditional Mexican and Puerto Rican, but I’ve been learning East Indian for the medicinal spices, and some Thai recipes especially for the peanuts. ;-) Italian for the yumminess and comfort, of course, and because: basil and garlic.
I’d likely link to specialty cuisine recipe websites, or even to a recipe itself. Your input of course would be welcome.
Part of my reasoning this time is that there are so many indicators that another mega-crash is coming our way, and might need to think about ways to survive it, both personally, and with community connections and endeavors ahead of time. Admittedly, my decades of community organizing are over since I can’t get out and about any longer, or at least…for now.
There are indeed more bubbles predicted to burst, oppressions by austerity to come, but this is the final prediction for the year from THD’s friend John Michael Greer:
“The simple reality remains that here in America, we’ve poured nearly all our remaining options for constructive change down the ratholes of the future, and the one option that could still accomplish something—the option of changing our lifestyles now, in order to decrease the burden we place on the planet and what’s left of the industrial economy—is considered unthinkable right across the political spectrum. That being the case, those of us who are doing the unthinkable, while we insulate our homes, sell our cars and other energy-wasting items, learn useful skills, and pursue the other pragmatic steps that matter just now, might want to lay in a good supply of popcorn, too; it’s going to be quite a show.”
And yep; it’s entirely correct to imagine that the next US President will be D. Trump s he predicts (see the rise of right wing demagogues and parties in Europe as austerity immiseration grows, and also the extreme punishment of Jeremy Corbyn). The Greek workers are getting quite restless again.
On the other hand, it may be because I haven’t adjusted to small, boutique blogging yet that this seems like a worthy idea. Except the soul food, of course.
davidly
Greyson Smythe
LeMoyne
juliania2
ohiobarbarian
stephenadavis1
wendyedavis
café babylon 
Some Southern cooking tips.
1. Cook collards in water to which oil and black pepper have been added. Lard is traditional but of late we are using coconut oil.
2. Grits go with butter (you can eat that again), salt (you can eat that again), and pepper.
3. Okra is best tempura’d. Or in a tomato-based gumbo with whatever. OK, maybe that’s just an opinion. But so is yellow summer squash.
4. My grandmother used to make a hoecake made of cornmeal and water and cooked with hot oil in a cast iron frying pan. When done right, it comes out fried toward crisp on the outside and solid but moist on the inside. You can cook it without oil but it takes some experimentation. The name “hoecake” after all was because it was cooked over a fire using a hoe as a griddle.
5. And one tonic. Into hot water, add 1 tablespoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon coriander, 1 tablespoon ginger, and 1/2 tablespoon black pepper. Heat it into a drink that can be best called a “toddy”. Heavy-duty anti-inflammatory after yard work.
BTW, John Michael Greer is my friend in the same sense that Lewis Mumford or Thomas Paine or Ta-Nehisi Coates is my friend. They challenge my thinking.
ach, i hadn’t meant to imply that you endorsed greer, but that it was you who’d turned us on to him. (I should have remembered the ‘h/t’ whatchacallit)
thanks for the food ideas; i’ll try to include them when i get the diary up. hard not to say that a shot of jack daniel’s might be good in the toddy, though, and disguising okra slithery-ness is always best. ;-)
Did someone mention garlic? Just finished a batch of basil/scape pesto for tonight’s pasta a few minutes ago. This will also be applied to chicken, spread for home-made bread and garden potato recipes in the next few meals.
I’ve been trying to expand my next door neighbor focused and county and state congressional district politicizing critiques of late. The formerly great state of WI water control give-away is underway. I think (in our state anyway) the Republican affiliated Fascists might be seeing the writing on the wall as to how long they will hold an unobstructed majority, from the state legislature through the WI supreme Court, with elections beginning on April 5.
The state civil service laws were just dumped into the sewer for crony service rules that the “gov,” will sign this coming week. Rules for CAFO style fish farming to potentially usurp 10,800 streams and springs and freshwater sources are introduced, and public hearings were held after the minimum required 24 hour notice. The public would be on the hook for the pollution clean up from these operations as we are for mega dairy operations currently turning several county’s groundwater into undrinkable muck coming from the faucet.
Rules governing sales and transfers of public ownership of municipal water supplies are proposed to be dropped. Where now legal disclosure of all potential transfers are required to be publicized by our public service commission and the rule saying these must automatically go to public referendum are being changed to just the opposite. PSC would require no disclosure of transfer deal details and citizens would be responsible to organize any oppositional referendum within 30 days to stop any transfer to a private entity or we’d be f**ked. A state-wide Flint, MI.
Sincerest thanks for what you create here wendyedavis. Visiting when I can never fails to give me a view to ground myself in an unanticipated way with each word you connect. Visions. I don’t always understand all the conversations but don’t let it bother me one bit.
Living the grand rehearsal. ;)
ah, good to see you, mon roi de garlique! and yum on the pesto. i shocked all mine, blended it, and froze it in ice cube trays, kept the cubes for later. and aha! we got some piñons for christmas, so later may be sooner now. well, once extra virgin olive goes on sale BOGO. do you use baby spinach in yours, too?
jezum crow; it’s hard to believe that such resource rape of the commons can be happening. WI water law must be so different than CO’s, and it’s all contentious enough due to historical treaties, and various entities suing to get what they can, or filing on water that’s already been prioritized. brrrrr, Flint writ large. what an evil tragedy that all is, how many peoples’ health has been degraded forever?
but lol, is it poetic justice of a sort that your musical blessing got pulled from youtube once you embedded it? let me go find another version; it’s a lovely song and harrison is incomparable on guitar.
i know you’re an excellent chef, and we’ll look forward to your ideas.
Thanks for posting the music link. The other tune that came immediately to my mind when I read your posting was Desolation Row, “…cinderella sweeping up…” and the ending, “Right now, I can’t read too good, don’t send me no more letters no Not unless you mail them from Desolation Row.” Universal characters in the verses, personally symbolic to each and every listener and changeable with the times. I never deemed to presume specific people might have been being referred to by the writer of those lines.
A literalist mental flashback to my early teenage LP listening preferences. Timeless poetry. Was fun rehearing and re-playing.
Taking someone out for winter driving practice. Later. Thanks.
it is apt, how cool. but dayum, i kept waitn’ for “and shakespeare, he’s in the alley…”, and it never came. ooof, that was ‘memphis blues again’.
but what a huge cast of characters in ‘desolation row’! i’d forgotten; what a trip down memory lane. thank you
i do hope your winter driving lesson is going well. for your extra mouth, that is… ‘-)
Apologies, that was supposed to be Dylan and Harrison rehearsing, “If Not for You.”