My Golden Compass

I am a big fan of the His Dark Materials series (aka Harry Potter for grown ups) so I've been eagerly awaiting the release of the movie even though I realize it can't possibly live up to the books. Even so, I discovered today that I have my own daemon matched to my personality. What do you think? Is it a fit?

dog at wounded knee

Happiness is a blur

Mel came in from sitting in the sun and I noticed a gash in her flank. I assume it's somehow an injury from chasing squirrels in the yard - or maybe it's from sneaking into the neighbor's yard. Either way, she was bleeding all over my new carpet.

Fortunately it's modular (thanks mom) so after a quick wash, it was good as new. She, on the other hand, was still oozing.

Poor, wrapped dog

So I wrapped her up in gauze and an ace bandage. Good as new for hours and no more blood on the carpet.

The amazing thing? She didn't even try to take it off. That either shows she's a good dog or an extremely lazy one.

Greetings from a Leper Colony

Fine. Technically, I'm not at a Leper Colony. I'm home, nowhere near Hawaii. But check out this postcard from the Ginny files:

There are several things I love about this postcard. At first glance my eye is drawn not to the view but to the people on the overlook. Those are some seriously high-riding red short shorts. Not to mention the sweet mini-afro. So the question is, why would you sell a postcard that involved people other than the purchasers. It's one thing to want a picture of yourself at the top of an overlook, but a picture of complete strangers? Perhaps the idea is that if you're too lazy to hike up there yourself, you can live vicariously through these two anonymous people. Of course, it's designed to be sent to someone else, so maybe the idea is that you can trick the recipient into believing that you too made the hike.

The second brilliant aspect of this postcard is the description on the back:

"LEPER COLONY, HAWAII...far below this lookout lies world-famous Kalaupapa Leper Settlement on the Island of Molokai. Here, while helping to care for the unfortunate victims, Father Damien contracted leprosy and died of the disease April 15, 1889."

So, exactly who's Father Damien? And is this one postcard just a single example of a line of postcards dedicated to his life? It seems like such an odd fact to point out about the colony. So then I googled Father Damien and it turns out that he's the patron saint of Hawaii because of his work with the lepers.

So there's your little ironic moment turned history lesson for the day.

Silverlake Wine

Have I mentioned before how awesome this shop is? It's by far the best wine-buying experience you'll have. Everyone in there knows a ton about wine and as soon as you walk in they actually offer to help you find something without being the least bit snobby. My kind of shop.

So yesterday Alison and I headed over for their Sunday wine and paired appetizer tasting. They had a fellow who's a cheese expert bring in a selection of raw cheeses to pair with four different wines. The most interesting part, in my mind, was his assertion that when pairing wine and cheese you don't actually want balance. Strong acidic wines call for strong salty cheeses. And fruity wines call for fruity cheese.

After two hours of tasting and chatting, we left the store with six bottles of wine for our Thanksgiving feast! If you're ever over here on the eastside and need a bottle of wine - HEAD to SILVERLAKE WINE on Glendale. Trust me, you'll thank me.

Mercury Just Went Retro

Retrograde of course, which is infinitely worse than anything that bespeaks bell bottoms.

Case in point: Thursday night. I come home from working in an office all day (already not the top of my list of things I enjoy) and decide to make a delicious-sounding recipe of curried squash stew on Quinoa. I even had my camera all ready to take pictures. So I spend the hour chopping and dicing and I make the stew...and it's honest to God the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. I have no idea what went wrong with the recipe, but let me tell you it went bad in a major way.

So Fine. I can deal. Gonna drown my sorrows with some TV on the Internet and eat a fried egg sandwich. And I could not, for the life of me, fry an egg. I realized, as I was scraping the second batch of destroyed eggs into the trash can, that I'd recently used the pan to attempt some ill-fates hash browns and had clearly destroyed the perfect seasoning I'd developed in the pan.

Eventually I was able to cobble together a pathetic-looking egg sandwich, and sit down to the internet. Desperate to numb my brain, I clicked on the internet icon, only to discover the internet running at about 1/8 it's usual speed and completely unable to play any kind of video.

So Mercury has gone Retro on us. I'm expecting to butt my head against similar annoyances until the end of January, when it gets back to normal.

Rebuilding San Diego - AGAIN

San Diego keeps burning down and the Moser clan keeps building it back up.

Some background:

The 2003 Cedar Fire wiped out several communities in San Diego, the most important of which, at least in terms of Moser involvement, was Scripps Ranch. My parents got involved to help organize a community of tract-home owners to jointly hire a builder to rebuild the houses at much lower cost than a custom builder. Enter Stonefield Development. Stonefield is actually a custom and one-of-a-kind builder who took on the project and rebuilt 81 homes in Scripps Ranch. The project completed a year or two ago. There were block parties to celebrate the return of everyone home.

After the Last Rebuild

Fast forward to the October fires of 2007. That 100 year fire that happened in 2003? Turns out it was more of a 4 year fire. This current one knocked out a lot of homes in the Rancho Bernardo / Escondido areas of San Diego. My parents and Stonefield are out there again, trying to organize a group rebuild project.

To that end, I've spent the last couple of weekends in San Diego helping photograph and film the completed houses from last time around and the Stonefield informational meetings.

Currently, I'm keeping myself busy typing this because I'm waiting for my turn on the new fancy mac. I'm trying to cut down the 2+ hour meeting from last weekend into a couple of 5 min highlight clips that we can post on the Stonefield website. Bryan has the day off so he's busy cutting our movie.

We Kramers are as busy trying to save the world through existential entertainment as we Mosers are trying to rebuild what has been destroyed. I think the Mosers may win in the greater doing of good, but that's just because our final cut isn't finished yet.

Belated Halloween (or it's been a month since I last posted!)

This is yet another photo from the Ginny files. I'm not sure what those two on the couch are dressed as (not to mention the masked dark figure to their left) but I'm pretty sure they're not sheep.

So it's been over a month since I last posted. I'm finding I'm tired of restarting this blog but life keeps getting in my way, which is altogether frustrating. I'd list off the myriad of things I have going on, some of which pay, some of which - not so much, but I'm tired of listing off all those things as well.

Mostly what I'm tired of, however, is the lack of writing I've been doing lately. I'm frustrated because I feel like the thing I like to do best has seen the least amount of effort and time on my part. Stupid rent...always getting in the way of art.

So here I am. Back again. This time groveling.

I was talking with a writer the other day, and we said how easily life gets in the way of writing, and how important it is to force yourself to write a bit everyday. These are, of course, not new sentiments, nor are they new to me. But these days I'm thinking of grad school in a year or two, and finding that when I'm sitting around, my head tends to go to thinking about writing more. I've got another novel sitting on the brain, peculating, if you will, but I don't want to get started until I've at least retained an agent for the last book. (and by the way, not to toot my own horn or anything, but that book is being looked at by a couple of people who seem pretty responsive, so keep your fingers crossed for me)

Anyway (not "Anyways" because I know that drives Alison to distraction) my point in all of this is though my garden is overgrown with weeds - in a major way, it's bad news and I'm terrified for the next time my landlord decides to pop in, as she is want to do - and though I haven't been spending much time working out recipes in the kitchen, I am going to write every day, even if it's just a post like this which talks about having nothing to write about. So bear with me. My inspiration will come back, even if I have to force it kicking and screaming.

In the meantime, I'm considering starting up a second blog that is more review (of books and movies and culture) oriented and less casual here's-a-picture-of-my-dog like this one. Because lord knows that if I don't have material for one blog I should clearly start writing two. Am I the only one whose brain works like this? Anyone else out there feel like their reaction to being busy is to take on more work?

Don't worry. I'm not contagious.

Thought of the Day

I was listening to Larry Mantel's show today and he had a guest on that quoted a leading progressive Democrat as saying (and I'm paraphrasing)

We are as far from the New Deal today as the New Deal was from the Civil War. FDR did not look back to Lincoln for guidance and nor should we look to FDR for how to shape our future.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The Happiness of Fish

When I was in college, and longing for a dog, I got a fish. It was one of those multi-colored, iridescent fighting fish that will bash it's head against the walls of it's tank if you so much as place a mirror in front of it. Sometimes, when I'm reading coverage of the war, I think of that fish...

But this is not that story, nor is it an explanation for why it's been a month (!) since my last post (though I will say for the record that the SAT takes place this Saturday, that Presence still needs sound to be divided into takes, that I started working in an office part time, that Art of Tea needs posts and editing, and on and on).

This is the story of the fish I had in college. It was named by Jeff and it's name was Chinese. I can't remember now - but Jeff, if you read this, would you please remind me. So he names the fish a word that means "the happiness of fish". This term is from a Chinese proverb that I recently rediscovered in a Coetze book about animal rights.

The Happiness of Fish

Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu had strolled on to the bridge over the Hao, when the former ovserved, "See hoe the minnows are darting about! That is the pleasure of fishes."
"You not being a fish yourself," said Hui Tzu, "how can you possibly know in what consists the pleasures of fishes."
"And you not being I," retorted Chuang Tzu, "how can you know that I do not know?"
"If I, not being you, can not know what you know," urged Hui Tzu, "it follows that you, not being a fish, cannot know in what consists the pleasure of fishes."
"Let us go back," said Chuang Tzu, "to you original questions. You asked me how I knew in what consists the pleasure of fishes. You very questions shows that you know I knew. I knew it from my own feelings on the bridge."


Let that be your wisdom from the east for the day.

I'm Moving to Idaho

Seriously. I was listening to Weekend America today while driving to a student's house, and there was a story about this one town in Idaho that normally has lows of 35F this time of year. 35 DEGREES!!! Last night we couldn't even sleep upstairs in our bedroom it was so hot. Mel moves about 1 foot every 30 minutes to find a new patch of cool concrete. It's pathetic. I hate global warming. It's all humid and sticky - NOT the SoCal weather I've grown up in.

Anyway...it's been crazy this week. Maria's Pirates and Ninjas show opened last night and I was at the theater all day yesterday helping to paint the floor and make the programs. Plus, my first blog is up at Art of Tea (I explain biodynamics!) and there's about a six hour window every day that it's just simply too hot to work.

But here's my latest addition to the online collection of Ginny Larsen photos:


I love it. It speaks for itself. I'm going to go stick my head in the freezer.

Tea Time!

Don't you love a job that comes with swag?

So much tea, so little time.

In an effort to do more writing work and less (what would you call it? random?) work, I've just gotten a gig as a blog editor for the ART OF TEA - a purveyor of fine loose-leaf teas. These are the good thing, the real deal, the brew a cup using a really fun straining tea pot kind of tea.

Upon meeting the owner of the company (and being hired), I was given an assortment of tea samples to whet my creative appetite for writing about teas. Reading their material I realized just how very little I actually know about tea. But it's all organic and fair trade and all that good stuff, so I can get behind the company. Plus, knowledge is gained through online trips to the LA Public Library where books can be sent to your local branch.

Also no one ever accused me of not having an opinion just because I didn't know much about the subject.

Do you love samples as much as I do?
No, it's not possible.

So. I love tea. I'm not completely converted from coffee, but I'm working on it.

In a week or so you'll be able to read my writings about tea over at www.artoftea.com/wordpress - don't go there yet! Or do, but don't expect to read any of my writing. I just got the gig. I need all this new found tea knowledge to steep for a few days before I write about it. But soon...very soon.

Halibut in the Ultimate Kitchen

How fabulous is this kitchen?


I love everything about it. I could bake a pie in this kitchen. I have no idea who the people in the photo are, but they're living the good life...that's for sure.

I went down to San Diego over the weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday while my brothers are still in town (well, one technically lives in town). I made my favorite it's-so-easy-yet-seems-really-impressive meal.

Macadamia Nut Encrusted Halibut with Curry Sauce and Mango Chutney

Dredge Halibut Fillets through flour, egg and processed macadamia nuts. Drizzle with melted butter and bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 min or until nuts start to brown.

Saute 2 TBSP red curry paste for a minute and add a can of coconut milk and 2 TBSP dissolved sugar. Let cook down or add a little dissolved corn starch to thicken.

Plate so that fish sits atop sauce and is drizzled with mango chutney. Serve with Jasmine rice and steamed broccolini. Enjoy!

Sound and Sight

If you aren't already listening to Radio Lab, you should be. Right now. You're reading this, which means you clearly have time to kill. Go to their website right now. You will thank me. That's all I'm going to say on this matter.

This is another good photo from the Ginny vault.

The only identifying information on the back reads: "Clown Face on the Cake. Halloween Cookies and Ice Cream. Black Cat and Moon Favors." This, then is an example of the eccentric framing I mentioned in my last post. It's not an image of children eyeing their cake with anticipation. No. It's a picture of a cake. That there are children behind it, subsequently getting their heads cut off, is of no matter to the woman behind the lens. This is a photo of a cake with a clown face. It's very cakeness appears to glow in recognition of it's rightful place center stage.

You've got to respect an image like that.

What's Up?

When my great aunt passed away last year, she left behind photo albums filled with snapshots of her life throughout the past almost century. We spent time after her service going through the photos and trying to figure out whose dad was which little kid in each shot. People claimed their favorite pictures of themselves as little kids, or of their parents when they were little. What was left, however, says a lot about who my aunt was as a person and as a photographer. The remaining photos are often bizarre either in subject matter or framing. I don't know who most of the people are who inhabit this other prior world, but I've placed many of them on my wall. My plan is to post some of my favorites on days when I don't have anything better to blog about.

This one is one of my absolute favorites:



I think we decided that these are guys she worked with in an office in the SF Valley when she lived here until the mid-80s. Can you get any better than them? From their postures to their clothes, to the weird smirk on their faces... It's like a decade in a photo. You can hear them asking 'what's up?' in that tone that suggests they know what's up and if you're lucky, they'll share their secret knowledge with you.

My Brain is Melting

One of the hazards of living in a cool loft/converted carriage house is the lack of literal coolness come summertime. While it's true that our place is probably cooler than other non-air-conditioned buildings in the city, given the nature of its design (let's hear it for cross-ventilation - yeah!), it still hurts. And you can't stop me from whining. But I promise this will be the only post in which I do so.

I tried to work on cutting the movie today. I couldn't even focus my eyes on the screen. Even writing this is making me cranky because the battery is hot and it makes my wrist sweat. Sigh. I bet Hemingway never had trouble with sweating wrists when he wrote. Or if he did, he probably just called for his Cuban butler to bring him another Mojito. Maybe I should start writing about bullfights.

Or get an air conditioner like people keep suggesting to me. Only here's the thing: how's a girl supposed to stay all righteous about the environment when she's using extra power to keep her wrists cool. She can't, and therein lies the rub. So with air unconditioned I write this. Don't be expecting any recipes anytime soon...as I'm barely willing to turn on the stove to make iced tea.

Pirates and Ninjas

Like Macaroni and Cheese, Fred and Ginger, Salt and Pepper; Pirates and Ninjas exist as one of the fundamental pairings of the human condition. This is an existential truth. Just ask Becket. Or come to the Pirates and Ninjas: An Extravagant Adventure, and see for yourself.

Pirates and Ninjas
An Extravagant Adventure
Three Short Plays and One fascinating Art Gallery
Fridays & Saturdays, Aug 31-Sept 22 @8:30pm
Theater of Note 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd
Reservations: 866-219-4944
www.myspace.com/pirates_and_ninjas

August Afternoons

The arbor in front of our door is covered with grape vines, creating a nice shady spot for an afternoon glass of wine. Our old neighbors used to comment that we looked like the epitome of Napa when they'd come out and find us sitting there, sipping, and reading Harper'. So civilized. I think about wineries sometimes and of the million things that I'd like to learn how to do. Like make good wine. Or good beer. But then I look at my grape vine and notice that the leaves are blotched with red spots that I have yet to identify (granted I have still not taken a sample to the nursery and just asked them). And my grapes! They are truly pathetic.

The Grapes of Wrath

Nothing at all like the dense clusters of giant globes I keep finding at the farmer's market.

At least my lime tree is producing. The happy green spheres found their way into a giant batch of guacamole last night. (Want my secret recipe? I'm embarrassed to share it. Avocados. Chopped Tomato. Purple Onion - not too much- lime juice and garlic salt. Pace Salsa. All to taste. Pathetic I know. Especially from someone always railing against corporate food. Sometimes I'll lose the salsa, but it's never as good.)

These babies are just waiting to be turned into margaritas.

So my little arbor area is producing nicely, or not as the case may be. Melba doesn't care. She's just happy to have a spot to lie in the sun and then a spot to lie in the shade. And sometimes, especially after a long bout of chewing her squirrel, she's happy to have a place to lie inside.

It's hard to be the dog, but even harder to be her toy.

Back in the Kitchen (Eggplant Stacks)

I am on a quest. It's a quest of grand proportions and one I've been on for quite a while: Get Bryan to like eggplant.

Already, I've won the curry battle and, more recently, the asparagus war. The latter was won primarily by first hiding it in lasagna and later roasting it with olive oil. But eggplant? That's another matter altogether.

In an effort towards full disclosure, my cooking is not what has led Bryan to consider eggplant as a reasonable source of nutrition. That award goes to The East Side Italian Deli by way of Maria, who brought over their amazing Eggplant Parmesan sandwiches the other day. Fantastic! And now Bryan's hooked on them. So I decided to make my own eggplant meal the other night. Here's how it went:

Ashley's Eggplant Stacks of Fun

Ingredients

2 Globe eggplants
Panko Bread Crumbs
Several Eggs & Flour
Olive Oil
Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil
Cherry Tomatoes

Slice the eggplants, dredge the slices in flour, egg and then panko. Heat Olive Oil and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown. Set aside to drain....

...making sure to avoid the growing pile of folded laundry that threatens to take over your table.

Slice the mozzarella (and I highly recommend always using fresh if possible) and shred the basil. Now stack slices of eggplant with a slice of cheese in between each as well as some basil and salt. Halve the cherry tomatoes and toss around stacks with basil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and tomatoes have softened.

Serve to a husband, now thoroughly converted to eggplant eating. Here's an example of one:

I HIGHLY Recommend...

Market Restaurant+Bar in Del Mar. It's on Via De Los Valles right across from the polo fields (I recognize that some of my readers might argue that it's across from the Soccer fields - but either way it's kitty corner from Mary's Tack and Feed). I'd been reading about it everywhere lately and convinced my family that it would be an ideal place for us to celebrate a very belated Father's Day. What with a brother whose in Asia as much as he is on the east coast, it's rare for us to all be together, and this may be the first visit I've seen him in a decade when he didn't constantly have his nose in a book written in a language I couldn't even begin to understand.

So we went. The food is fabulous and local. It's all Chino's produce and sustainable meats. The drinks were fab, the music a tad weird, but the food was really the star. Nothing too fussy but definitely gourmet and definitely some of the best restaurant food I've had. So it's well worth all the buzz. And if you happen to be in SD for the races before they end at labor day, it's well worth a drive over. So thanks mom and dad, for taking you kids out to such a lovely meal!

Plus..they have a good website http://www.marketdelmar.com/

More Wrap Up

This is me on set.

I have to say I'm surprised, though I'm not sure why, that it's taking so long to wrap up this project. I'm still finishing up paperwork everyday. I think that at this point it's less about being in slow motion and more about just not realizing how much wrap I had. I spent the afternoon trying to clean up the side patio. Much to my surprise, I discovered a science experiment in the freezer of the unplugged refrigerator that's been sitting out there since easter. During the shoot we'd placed a bunch of bread in the freezer. It was turned on then. Now it was turned off. The mold was unbelievable.

So I didn't quite get through everything out there but I did make a dent.

The other day Bryan and I went with Alison to see a screening of a documentary her friend had cut. It was awesome. It's called the First Saturday in May - about the Kentucky Derby of course. It's not released yet, but it will be soon, I'm sure. And when it is you should rent it. Trust me. Or check out their website www.thefirstsaturdayinmay.com

That's it for now.