Watching the world wake up from history

Give A Little Bit

Milo — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:05:07 GMT

(Supertramp) I know that times are tough economically, and with the winter gift-giving season at hand it may be even harder to justify spending Somalians that you don't necessarily have. If you're stumped on what to give folks this year (because really, nobody needs that extra aardvark fur jacket, no matter how fashionable) consider making a donation in someone's name (or in your own.) Here's a list of 10 organizations that I like, and I'm sure that there are many others that you can think of too (add links and descriptions in the comments) The Electronic Frontier Foundation - http://www.eff.org - EFF is the leading civil liberties group defending your rights in the digital world. The EFF works on issues of Net Neutrality, NSA Spying, fighting baseless RIAA/MPAA lawsuits, online privacy, and much more. The American Civil Liberties Union - http://www.aclu.org - The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. The Center for Media and Democracy - http://www.prwatch.org - The nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy strengthens participatory democracy by investigating and exposing public relations spin and propaganda, and by promoting media literacy and citizen journalism, media "of, by and for the people." The Freedom From Religion Foundation - http://www.ffrf.org - FFRF has been working since 1978 to promote freethought and to keep state and church separate. (note: while my personal pagan JewBu beliefs and practices have become more important to me over the past couple of years, I think these folks are doing great work.) Deep Roots Animal Sanctuary - http://www.deeprootssanctuary.org/ - Based in Bloomington, IN. Deep Roots Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit animal sanctuary and animal rights advocacy group based in Southern Indiana. We are a grassroots organization dedicated to animal and earth liberation. (Note: I met the folks who started this over the summer, and they're really doing great work.) Planned Parenthood - http://www.ppfa.org - Planned Parenthood provides so much in the way of health care, from abortion access to HIV screening to general reproductive and sexual health services. In addition to the national organization, there are chapters in all 50 states and D.C., so you could donate to your local chapter, too. The Drug Policy Alliance Network - http://www.dpf.org/ - DPA Network is the nation's leading organization working to end the war on drugs. They envision new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights and a just society in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more. The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors - http://www.objector.org/ - Since 1968 the CCCO has been working with conscientious objectors to war in resisting selective service, helping service men and women already in the military, and resisting recruiting efforts in our nations schools. I've been a proud CO since before I turned 18, and am one today. Food First - http://www.foodfirst.org - The Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First shapes how people think by analyzing the root causes of global hunger, poverty, and ecological degradation and developing solutions in partnership with movements working for social change. (Note: I used to work at FF, and these guys rock. They work on food and water as a human rights issue.) Your local X. If X=infoshop, animal shelter, co-op, collective, queer rights organization (I like the work the Bash Back! is doing), support them with your time and moolah. A week's worth of beer money can make a huge difference. A commitment of time, either focused on a single project, or more generally can go really far. We're all in it for the duration, so we may as well do it together. Peace and Love to all of you. xoMilo [xp:TN:LJ:FB]

Political Asshole

Milo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:25:54 GMT

(Pansy Division) http://www.qzap.org/audio/Political_Asshole.mp3 In recent weeks there's been lots of discussion about the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Prop. 8 essentially repeals the short-lived right for men to marry men and women to marry women. Many reasons have been given, from the huge amount of funding that Prop. 8 proponents were given by the Mormon Church to the lack of support from African American communities against it. Currently all around the country gays and lesbians are mobilizing in their own communities against Prop. 8. First, let me say two things. In general I'm against marriage as it's defined today. For anyone. I don't want to get gay-married, and I don't want folks to get straight-married. That said, I think that if that's what you and your significant other want to do, then you should have the right to do it within your religion and under the eyes of your deities as is appropriate. Ultimately, however, I think that the push for marriage by the mainstream LGBT community has been a HUGE mistake. Here's why: Gay marriage is a selfish and narrow goal, and effects only those who are in long-term stable relationships with same-gender only partners. It leaves out bisexuals who wish to retain their bisexuality as identity, polyamorous folks who have more complicated yet still committed relationships, transmen and transwomen who are in process and may not have the appropriate boxes checked on their personal forms and papers, and finally the vast numbers of single queers in each and every community. Now that the LGBT community has had it's ass handed to it on a platter (again), and now that we're still about 5 minutes away from being rounded up and put into concentration camps for loving who we love and fucking who we fuck, and now that we've had a couple of weeks to lick our wounds, now is the time to write a new queer agenda... A truly queer agenda that is less self-serving, and will create change for more people in more ways and will provide a better future for ourselves, our parent's generation, and future generations of queers and straights alike. Issues to include: • civil unions for all americans, provided by the state (marriage to be determined by individuals religion or faith) • single-payer universal health care for all who reside in the US • healthcare visitation access based on patients wishes, not "immediate family" status • an end to "marriage tax-credits" • immigration reform that includes a provision to allow LGBTQ people who are being persecuted abroad asylum in the US • Education reform, abolishing NCLB, more public funding for public education, including arts education and health education. • broad-based health and wellness education including comprehensive sex education for everyone, young and old alike • ending the war on drugs, and funding treatment programs for those with addiction issues • prison reform • Ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and using the billions being spent on taking care of domestic issues Those are just the tip of the iceberg for the new queer agenda. As queers, we should be building coalitions with other movements and other people. We should be working at the forefront for peace, social justice, and the environment. We should be out and visible, not just in our workplaces and within the gay ghettos, but in our neighborhoods and cities and communities of all types. We should be out and visible within our churches and synagogues and mosques and places of worship, and we should be respectful of those who choose to participate, but also respectful when we choose not to. We should be making our own media. We should be publishing zines, making music and films and television. In addition to production, we should be consuming our own media. Tuning in to the community-affairs broadcasts on the radio, reading the blogs, and responding to all of them. Economically we should be supporting the LGBT and queer owned businesses in our communities. Go buy a second vibrator. Pick up a copy of Macho Sluts for your straight sister. Drink a chai and get a puppy biscuit from the queer cafe. Finally, we should not be passive when we are targeted by bigotry and homophobia. We need to be in the streets, and taking over buildings, and fighting back. Remember, it is the Compton Cafeteria Riots, the Stonewall Rebellions, the White Night riot, the ACT UPs and Queer Nations and Gay Shames and Bash Back! that make the changes, not the Log Cabin Republicans or the Democratic Lesbian and Gay Caucus or poor, misguided Barney Frank. “When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.” - Bayard Rustin [x-p:LJ:FB:TN:MS]

F*U I won't do what you told me

Milo — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:49:33 GMT

I'm not a Rage Against The Machine fan. I've never gotten in to them, and find their brand of aggro punk somewhat off-putting. I much prefer Crass or Consolidated (I really liked Consolidated back in the day) All that said, this track is a pretty good expression of where I am at the moment. I've read numerous blog posts, articles, and have endured a handful of emails from friends and family over the past week letting me know how terrible it would be if I didn't vote for Senator Obama. To all these people who I love let me just say "Yuck Fu!" I think it's terrible that because I voice my dissent, I'm perceived as just as much the problem as those who march in lock step with the GOP. When I hear that from my Dad, or my friends, or my lovers, I get so exasperated. To me it's undemocratic. It's the exact opposite of what this country is about. As an activist, an active participant for the past 16 years in the electoral process, I'm sick to death of voting my fears. I'm sick to death of having to choose evil, even if it's the lesser of two. I could rant and rave about what I think this great nation needs, but this isn't the time for it. Tomorrow, when I walk into the voting booth, I'm voting for a black candidate. Probably not the one that most of my friends are, but the one who actually represents my views on the issues that are most important to me: ending war, preserving the environment, supporting my rights to love who I want how I want, preserving a woman's right to make reproductive decisions (even and especially if they're not the decisions I'd make for myself or my loved ones), and on and on. So let me ask... if I'm not voting for the candidate that you are, should I stay home? [xp:lj]

Once Upon A Summertime

Milo — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:20:25 GMT

(Astrud Gilberto) It is the August evening of my memories, real or imagined. It's currently drizzly and not too warm. My birthday has passed, and I'm feeling that heady/fearful combination of school starting again soon. My mum calls it "saodojis"(sp?) in Portuguese. It's meant to connote a feeling of melancholy. I don't think that the translation is correct, but it's sort of where my head is at. It's been a while since I've posted anything. I've been somewhat busy... I went to PDX for a long weekend, and now that my laundry is done, I'm heading to Chicago for the Femme2008 conference. I suspect that I'm going to be the only cisgender boi there, but I sort of hope not. I'll post from the road if I get a chance. In other news, I'm behind on my many zine projects. I've not been cooking or baking as much as I'd like, but that will change with the seasons, I hope. I'm missing many, many friends at the moment. A rash of good luck has befallen some comrades and loves, and they've split the Brew City for points east and west at the end of July. There's certainly a hole where they should be, at the table laughing and drinking and talking art and film and politix and porn. My current crush par excellence is elsewhere, too. I've begun to figure that one out, but it doesn't make it any easier. At any rate, that's the news from Casa Del Fratney. I'm going back to my Gilbertos and heading to the kitchen for some much needed sustenance.

i want to talk about media distortion ad campaign telling lies

Milo — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:59:51 GMT

(Consolidated) I'm not usually a fan of politicians, and I think that Nancy Pelosi has dropped the ball on more occasions than I can count without taking my pants off. That said, Her Nancyness has a pretty good quote about the current campaign: "San Francisco values to me means that every child in our city has health insurance until they are 25 years old. San Francisco values say we don't have a minimum wage, we have a living wage. In San Francisco we respect the dignity and worth of every person and respect is the order of the day there. Issue like protecting the environment aren't issues for us they are values and ethics. "I think they highlight them because they are the force that are fighting health insurance for our children... they are the forces that are fighting increases in the minimum wage. So they sort of use their winks and nods about San Francisco values that they are talking about the fact that we respect our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, but what they are really afraid of is economic justice." She's pretty right on there. Now if she'd only put her money where her mouth is we might actually be ok (Actions > Words) x-posted Tribe.net/LJ

You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog

Milo — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:47:20 GMT

(Elvis Presley) Ok, I don't really want to talk too much about dogs, but I though I should share this with everyone... Especially if you're into Science! or Cute! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1028681/Pictured-The-puppy-born-legs-uses-toy-wheels-around.html Now that that's out of the way... Last weekend was the Milwaukee Zine Fest. It went pretty well, considering it was the first year and all. There was some coverage in the local press, which was cool. On Sunday I led a discussion with Joe Biel from Microcosm publishing about "Zinester Economics." It was surprisingly lively, and with a dozen people, I'd say well attended. In other news, everyone and their mother are moving. Our lovely housemate is heading east, our best animator/puppeteer film makers are moving east, my fave co-worker is heading west. It's madness like I haven't seen since 1999. Of note to some: I'll be in Portland, OR from the 31st-5th. If you're there and one of my tribe friends and want to hang out I'd be thrilled. I need dates for Voodoo Donuts, FoodFight!, and Mary's (the scary old strip club) among other things. Hope everyone is doing swell. Much Love, Milo

In the summer time when the weather is high

Milo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:53:11 GMT

(Mungo Jerry) It's been a while since I checked in, so I thought I'd just give a little update about what's going on in my world. * Tee-Shirts!!! A few weeks ago we printed up more "Zinesters Do It On The Photocopier" shirts in preperation for the various zine events happening around the country. * In the same vein, I've been working on a couple of new zines. Not that anything is finished yet, but at least I'm working on it. * Vacation! I'm actually taking time away from my dungeon. I'll be in Boston, MA. this weekend, hanging out at Hungry Mother http://hungrymothercambridge.com and generally relaxing. • We've had houseguests. First our friend Nat crashed with us on his way back to Australia via Japan and a trip to the G8. Then our old housemate J. came for the wedding... and we've got a smart mouse or two that keeps avoiding the live traps. * This past weekend our dear friends got married. It was lovely lovely. * C. and I went to the "members only" opening reception for the Gilbert and George exhibit at MAM. http://mam.org We got to see them speak about their work, and throw some rather racy and sly comments out there that most of the audience missed. OK, that's it for me. Let me know what's up with you all! xoM

Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars

Milo — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:51:01 GMT

(Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians) Howdy! It's been a while since I posted an update, so I thoght I'd hammer out a quick one. Life is pretty good, albeit busy here in MKE. It's PrdeFest®™© weekend here, and I'm planning on staying far away. It's sort of a bummer because a friend is giving a lecture that I'd love to check out, but I refuse on general principles. Work is the same, QZAP is moving forward, and I've started a bread blog! If you're inclined, you can take a look at http://allwekneadislove.wordpress.com. In other geeky news, I'm way behind the curve, but I've also started to use Del.icio.us. If you've got an acct. and want to be my friend/fan or keep up with what I'm grockin' on http://del.icio.us/miloblue I think that's it for now. It's warm and stick here, and now I must flip my laundry. xoMilo

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

Milo — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:43:48 GMT

(U2) So the rumors are true... Nazis are coming to PrideFest™©®. I'm not sure if I really care. PrideFest™©® is so commercialized, a-political, and has a cover charge ($13). It's not like I don't wear my queer badge every fuckin' day anyway. Supposedly there's also going to be a Queer Convergence that weekend for rad kweers who are planning events at the RNC. http://www.nsm88.org/activities/milwaukee%20summerfest.html (Nazi link) [[sigh]] I'm gettin' too old for this shit.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

Milo — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:26:44 GMT

(Peter, Paul, and Mary)

L'Amour À 3

Milo — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:33:38 GMT

(Stereo Total) there's quite a bit being written this week about the 1968 revolution that took place in Paris, as it's the 40th anniversary. I came across this which shows some of the graphics of the time. Beautiful! http://www.parismai68.net/ xoM (ps. the french reads "light wages - heavy tanks")

Only The Good Die Young

Milo — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:36:49 GMT

(Billy Joel) Yeah, I needed a sort of cheesy song title for this one... But you know you want to go see... ZOMBIE STRIPPERS!!! http://tinyurl.com/572blz The closest to us it's playing is Madison, so I'll probably have to wait till it gets put on DVD, but still... this looks god-awful! How Thrilling! xoM

Fraggle Punk Rock

Milo — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:07:04 GMT

(Allister) This past weekend was a lovely combo of things that make me very happy. I took Friday afternoon off (trying to burn vaca hours that I never seem to loose). Sam, the QZAP intern came over to scan zines, and for a "cooking lesson." I showed him how to make a basic yeast dough, plus the addition of herbs and a little assiago. We made 4 lovely pizzas. His boyfriend came over to help us eat it. From there we went to his BF's punk house for a basement show. I only stuck around for 2 minutes or so... Bromance from Chicago was up, and I'm friends with one of the band members. Unfortunately they weren't set up yet, and I had double booked, so I took off for the Riverwest Commons to see a different friend's band. "Infinity Is She" didn't kick it off till almost midnight, but they were well worth sticking around for. On Saturday I got up and started working on artwork to try out my new Gocco printer with. I got it mostly squared away, then C. and I went out into the cold sunshine to go to the CCC's Cupcake Competition to cheer on Ms. Schnookums. Her vegan banana monkey cupcakes came in 2nd. He blog entry is here http://people.tribe.net/mara_schnookums/blog?topicid=067b4d14-425d-415a-bfa6-7dbc8f7393a1 After that we all walked to Woodland Pattern Book Center for the tail end of the 2nd Annual Edible Book show. A bunch of the entries had already been tasted, but it was amazing to see the creations that people came up with. Books made from phyllo dough, cakes shaped like books, Twinkies with writing on them, paper leaves made from dehydrated woven vegetables... very inspiring. I think I want to enter next year. Saturday night I went out w/A. We tried to go to a new swank cocktail lounge, but the door gorilla said that I couldn't come in with sneakers on. So I took my shoes off in the loby and asked "is this better?" He wasn't amused. We then went to M's, thinking that it would be quiet, not realizing that it was a drag queen night. We hid in the back while finishing our cocktail, then moved to This Is It for one last one. On Sunday it was coffee, carrot juice, and IBP to ease the wee hangover. I also finished up the artwork, and made my first Gocco prints. I goofed up the first 2 print masters (screens) and had a little problem with the third, but managed to get a good batch of stickers printed. See the scan above to see what they look like. Sunday night C. and I made baked Mac-n-Cheese (YUM!) and I cut the stickers. We then retired to watch Tin Man, the 2007 Sci-Fi Channel adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. We watched the first of 3 parts, and it's beautiful. The story is a very contemporary telling of the Oz tale. Now it's Monday, and I'm back at work. Whee...

Hell's Bell's

Milo — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:29:08 GMT

(AC/DC) Our pal J. came over last night to get some help with a track for a film that he was working on. It's pretty amazing. For the past year he's been making a life-sized marionette, and finished it up a few weeks ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBJa6URZdX8 To keep with the theme, I also present you with this lovely tune from the Westboro Baptist Church folks. It's called "God Hates The World" http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=720_1179383603 Can you guess which chorus member is not inbred? I can't, either.

Radio Ga-Ga

Milo — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:48:30 GMT

(Queen) I feel like it's been awfully quiet here lately. At least from this transmitter :) Here's what's been going on in my world: * Lots of QZAP stuff. We've begun to use a multi-lingual plugin for Joomla. It runs the whole site (subdirectories, the gallery/Zine Archive, search, etc.) through Google Translation. It's not the best thing in the world, but it seems to work pretty well. Please, if you speak a language in addition to English, check it out and let me know what you think. http://www.qzap.org * I took this past friday off, and baked a traditional challah, vegan hamentashen, and spelt pita breads. We also made yummy baba ganouj, falafel, and had friends over for Purim/Shabbat. * I've been slowly putting together copies of my new zine. I'm stenciling each cover, so they're taking a while. It seems to be worth it, though. * I'm waiting patiently for a new toy. A week or so ago I ordered a Gocco printer. It's like an all-in-one silkscreen making device. It should be pretty cool. Hopefully USPS will have a prezzie for me today. * Got most of my taxes prepped. Ho-hum. * I've gotten super behind on getting packages out. I have at least 2 to send, but have just been a slacker. I'll try to get them out this week, though. I think that's it for now. Except for one more thing. My little sis and her crew opened their restaurant in Cambridge, MA last week. It's already starting to get good reviews on Chow Hound and elsewhere. If you live in Boston, or near by you should go check it out. It's not vegan, but certainly vegetarian friendly, with a focus on local sources. And the name is awesome. Hungry Mother. http://www.hungrymothercambridge.com xoM

A Hazy Shade Of Winter

Milo — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:59:40 GMT

(Simon and Garfunkle) Yes, it continues. But spring is coming soon. At least I keep telling myself that. I'm preparing. Last week I cut off 3 months of shaggy hair. Got my eyebrows waxed. Went to Chicago and saw Art, ate mediocre sushi and made yummy Brazilian food. Also finished my new zine ;) Photobooth is a crap program, but it was the best I could do with the tools on hand. Now I'm off to install a $500 light bulb. Wheee...

Dear God

Milo — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:45:29 GMT

(XTC) Dear God, Not to be disrespectful, ma'am, but are you SURE we ordered this much crap weather for this winter? Will you be appeased if we leave burnt offerings in the bowl of our snow-bong? Sincerely, Milo P.S. Audrey Kawasaki is AMAZING! I took a bunch of her images and figured out how to mke them the background fro the AsusLauncher on the EeepBook. http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/2007/index.php

Black Or White

Milo — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:18:42 GMT

(Michael Jackson) Yesterday C. sent me this super duper rad Flash game called SHIFT. If you like that kind of thing, this is a great time waster. http://armorgames.com/play/751/shift Also, QZAP is back online. We're still working on it, but here it is... enjoy! http://www.qzap.org

Remember (Walking in the sand)

Milo — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:27:57 GMT

(The Shangri-las) WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!! Seriously though, friends... is it ever ever going to not be winter? Milwaukee is like Portland or Seattle, except that snow is the new rain, and it's SO 2 months ago. One of the worst parts about winter is the fact that it sucks all my energy. I don't want to cook. I don't want to work. I'm un-creative. My normally overactive libido is shot. [sigh] Not much is going on here... I've been slama-jammin' on getting the new QZAP up and running. We're still a ways away, but each day it's getting closer. And it's getting cooler, too. Very excited about that, I am. My EeepBook came yesterday. It's cute. It's a toy. It runs linux, and is actually light enough to carry around. I'm happy about it, I think. Maybe tomorrow I'll post a pic from the built-in camy-cam. xoM

What's New, Pussycat?

Milo — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:13:36 GMT

(Tom Jones) From the BBC's "Day in Pictures" >> Children have been learning how to make radish dim sum in the shape of a mouse to celebrate the Chinese Lunar Year in Hong Kong. << I'm not really into children, but these are super cute! Awww... :)

Take It On The Run

Milo — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:01:40 GMT

(REO Speedwagon) Well, it's been an evil cold weekend here in Milwaukee. Mostly I stayed in and baked bread, lounged around and read some books, and did the dreaded laundry. Today was an off day for me, since I didn't have to go to work. While thinking about MLK I remembered Bayard Rustin, an unsung hero in the Civil Rights Movement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Rustin In other news, we're making slow but steady progress toward getting QZAP up and running again. Vee Five here we come! I also splurged on a technotoy. Tomorrow should bring the arrival of my new baby, a black eeePC. I'm excited and maybe a little chagrined, but I think I can justify the purchase. I've also been working on the usual - 3 zines at one time. After not self-publishing for 6 months, I'm starting to go crazy(er). More on that later, of course. Anyway, I'm still alive. Surviving the evils of winter. Keeping inside too much. I want to go for a bike ride and lay naked in the sun. Soon, soon, says little milo. Soon. xoM

I Just Can't Get Enough

Milo — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:55:18 GMT

(Depeche Mode) Well, 2007 ended with a bang (sort of). I did the usual holiday rounds, then decided that i really didn't need to go back to work till the 2nd (tommorow, yay). Came back to Milwaukee, called in "on vacation," and then got down to business. C. helped me clean my office. I'm actually able to work in there now, and my desk isn't covered with 18 months worth of bank crap, City of Milwaukee crap, stickers, ephemera, zines and more crap. I even replaced the bulb in the Hello Kitty/Buddha shrine. Once I got my office back, I set the P3 blade server up on the desk, plugged in a crappy LCD and some CAT5, and fired that puppy up. It sounds like I've got a Cesna in my office when it's running, so I shut it down at night. The important part of this story is that even though there are some weird linux problems, we've officially got a Koha ILS box up and running. It's basically all configured, and I've already created a catalog entry for one of my zines, 2 books, and have created a couple of user records. [pause] The next day C. and I tackled the dining room. It's clean, too. In fact, most of the house is clean, my laundry is done, and the telly is working enough to watch movies and play Wii. In the process, we found many, many issues of Lesbian Review minus the back covers, and a box of Deviant Recipes waiting to be distro'd. If the DR crew has any ideas about this, please let us know. Then K. came up from Chicago. We cooked, and cooked, and cooked, and also totally geeked out on MARC records. These are used for library cataloging. [unpause] SO, with his help, we've determined which fields we need to *really* start cataloging zines. I now need to sit down and write documentation on how to do it, but that shouldn't be so bad. I also discovered that our barcode reader works just fine for inputing ISBN numbers into this frankenstein system. Yay! Then came NYE. Last night we ate fancy food, had fancy cocktails, smoked fancy politicians, and generally had a good time. I missed a bunch of you, but next year perhaps, non? So that's it. I'm off to work tomorrow. The Man will be happy to see me, no doubt. Chicago on Friday to look at furniture with Mum. And, to make it extra special, it's 11°F right now (-11.66° C) Hope everyone had a lovely new years, and may 2008 bring all that you wish for (just be careful with that) xoM

You Kant Always Get What You Want

Milo — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:06:55 GMT

Nerdy Funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M-cmNdiFuI

Pump

Milo — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:57:01 GMT

(Aerosmith) A few days ago I said that I would post my pumpernickel recipe, so here it is. It's a bastadarzation from "Beard On Bread" by James Beard (1973 edition) 3/8 C corn meal 3/4 C cold water 3/4 C boiling water 1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp butter 3 tbsp molasses 2 tbsp dark honey 1.5 t caraway seeds 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa 1 tbsp instant espresso (or coffee) 1/4 C warm water 3 t. active yeast 1 C whole wheat flour 2 C dark rye flour 2 C AP flour 1 egg white --- flour for kneading, and extra kosher salt and caraway seeds 1) Add cornmeal to cold water and mix well 2) Pour into boiling water and stir until thickened 3) stir in 1 tbsp butter, salt, sweetners, caraway seeds, and coffee 4) dissolve yeast in warm water and allow to sit till foamy (10 min?) 5) place all flours in work bowl of food processor w/dough blade (you could do this in a stand mixer with your dough hook or large bowl w/wooden spoon too, I imagine.) 6) add foamy yeast and liquids (cornmeal water etc.) and mix until it comes together. I found that it wasn't nearly as sticky as I thought it would be, YAY! 7) turn out onto floured work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes 8) melt other tbsp butter in microwave, then use it to grease a large glass bowl 9) place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. cover in plastic wrap and a clean towel and put in a warm place. allow to rise, doubling in bulk, about an hour. 10) punch down and knead again. form 2 loaves and allow to rise again, about 1/2 hour. 11) preheat oven to 375° F (190° C) 12) seperate egg and mix white with tbsp water. brush tops of loaves and sprinkle with extra caraway seeds and coarse salt 13) bake at 375° F for 50-60 minutes on a stone or until bread sounds hollow.

There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)

Milo — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:47:59 GMT

(Herman's Hermits) It's been an eternity since I've written here, and I though it would be a good time for an update. Fall/Winter is certainly in effect. Thanksgiving (US) has just passed with lots of good friends and family. Wednesday night we had 9 people, 4 of which are good cooks... we made a buttload of vegi chili, a couple of cornbreads (vegan+gluten free, and regular buttermilk) an asiago bread, and a delicious salad with nuts and cranberries. Thanksgiving was good, as well. not quite traditional food, but some. Our contribution was roasted root vegies and a butternut squash relish that turned out a little too spicy. The leftovers will be soup tonight. In other news, we've been making the slow plunge into Leopard (the new OS from Apple.) It's OK. I think I prefer my Ubuntu box at work, but they both really have their place. In some ways, I'm getting tired of technology. Since it's my profession, I spend way too much time trouble shooting Macs and handholding the users. To combat that weariness (and to beat the winter blues that are setting in WAAYYY too fast this year) I've been baking bread a lot, and reading voraciously. I finished 3 books this weekend, and it was delicious. I've also sucumbed to the Nintendo Wii. It's the first video game console that either C. or I have owned. It's actually pretty freaking awesome. Digital bowling, and old skool games like Super Mario Bros. and R-Type are making for some fun evenings. QZAP is moving slowly, but steadily. We had a security problem a few weeks ago, and in fixing that, a bug was introduced. Our sysadmins haven't gotten back to us yet with a fix, so we're kind of stuck at the moment on that one. I've been slowly working on a couple of other zines, and need desperately to do a 2nd printing of Gendercide #3. If you're interested in receiving a copy, please send me a couple of stamps. If you're not in the US, just let me know, and I'll put a package together for you. I think that's it for now. I owe Jana a couple of bread recipes, and I'll post them here in the next day or so. Hope all is great with everyone else. Send some love via the comments (especially if I haven't heard from you in a while! :) ) xoM