Friday, February 12, 2010

February 12, 2010


Working on the new cover. Interesting image. Snowhill Street on Copp's Hill in the North End looking down from inside the Burying Ground. The entire picture is composed of triangles, near, far, large and small.

Updated the Cookout department page. Article summaries now include the date they first ran, with the latest at the top. Had to go back through all the covers to take care of this overlooked housekeeping chore. Uploaded all the covers, which required renaming. Important drudge work and it's always humbling to stumble across mistakes. Which always happens.

To the night kitchen for a snack. The corn chips taste off. Am I tasting the tortilla lime? May as well munch wallboard. Thinking about off flavors. Like the canned tomatoes we get. Off. Peter agreed, and pointed out that they're used in everything, to bad effect. Bottled lemon or lime juice - always off, why even bother? Bouillon cubes/powders - off/off. The red miso we've been getting - sour. Tahini - always off in either or both flavor and consistency. Green beans or tomatoes out of season or not from the garden - always/usually off/off/off Broadway.

Talking about off tastes. Tried this trick during our weekly trial cooking on Sunday. Someone had bought a tomato - in February - one of those hard pale orange winter pumpkins that slouch around sub shops all year long. Sliced it into small chunks, tossed with sugar and let it ripen all afternon in the oven with just the heat from the gas pilot light. Emerged edible. Next time this rescue work is required - brown sugar and Thai basil.

Working on the 2/15 cover. Wrote the new NEWS. Then, working backwards as often, sketched out the overall cover, about a dozen items. Short and sweet seems about right. Updating the related (linked) department pages and articles on the fly. Still sketching. Always sketching.

Potted up seedlings from seed starting containers. Eggplant - 1. Hot peppers - 2. Basil - 4. Lined up in the window next to the Mexican Wild tomatoes potted on 2/9.

Gil Scott-Heron's back with I'm New Here. Programmed this set of his stellar previous stuff late last night on Radio Roofscape to celebrate.
Winter in America (1974)
The Bottle
Pieces of a Man
Whitey on the Moon
Save the Children
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (early version)

Image ... Rosary. Studio, Boston.

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