Stu News and Photos

Wife and Kids home for the past few days, so cooking occurred. I made two different versions of my mother's potato pancakes - one with four eggs, the next with three. Both are good in my book (meaning fantastic), but the rest of the family prefers the four-egg recipe.

Also, I made Saffron Chicken, which is a yum-yum tent inside a taste festival. Ever wanted to make your own? It's easy:

INGREDIENTS


4 Chicken breasts halves, with skin and bone
2 medium brown onions, sliced thin
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 generous pinch Saffron
Salt, Pepper to taste



DIRECTIONS



• Heat the oven to 450 degrees. A well-seasoned cast iron skillet is my preferred pan, but a casserole works as well. Put 1 tablespoon of the oil oil in the bottom of the pan, then lay down the onions.
  
  
• Lay the chicken on top of the onions. Add salt and pepper as you see fit. Sprinkle the garlic over the chicken, and then the saffron. When it comes to the saffron, I slowly add individual strands, so that there is a strand every square half-inch or so. In other words, not too much, but enough so the saffron is the primary taste when finished. Lastly, drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
  
  
• Bake until brown, and chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Start checking after the first half hour, don't let the chicken dry out.
  

I developed a memorization technique that I use on the kids; seems to help them with their vocabulary/spelling/etc. I wrote it up for my GNMParents column, which now appears on Wednesdays:

Kids get homework. Way too much homework. And the stress is just astronomical. One path I’ve chosen as a method to reducing this stress is to be their unconditional support mechanism, especially when they have to study for an exam. To clarify: When I help them to study for a test, I say only positive comments, I make suggestions in a positive-only voice, and I set up their at-home practice-quizzing environments so that there is only a short path to each success point.

Click here for the rest...

Technically, the New Jersey Devils are currently the best team in hockey this season. Now, in actuality, they are tied with Chicago, both teams having earned 55 points thus far. However, Chicago has played 38 games, where NJ has played 37, giving them a slightly higher percentage of awesome. Additionally, NJ has earned only 1 overtime loss, which is pretty darned impressive this far into the season. Marty Brodeur, he has a right to a chunk of the credit. Parise, Bergfors, Langenbrunner, Elias, and others are having great seasons of their own, but Martin Brodeur, well, just consider these statistics: In 15 seasons, he made it to 14 playoff berths. Of those, three of those Brodeur-led teams won Lord Stanley's Cup. He is also the all-time leader in regular season wins, shutouts, games played, as well as being the youngest player to hit the 300, 400 and 500 regular season win milestones. Most shutouts, most minutes played, and the only NHL goalie to score a game-winning goal. And he's only 37, so we may see two, maybe three more seasons out of him. Will he ever be remembered alongside Gretsky, Messier, Ohr, Howe, Richard or the rest? Probably not, because stopping a goal doesn't give the same thrill as scoring a goal. But if folks can set that sensibility aside for a moment, Brodeur has to be considered one of the best to ever play the game.

My brother mentioned, the comments of the last entry (about Vic Chesnutt's passing) that you, dear reader, might want to give Steve Forbert a try. Specifically, "Romeo's Tune" was cited as a good starting point for Mr. Forbert. With that in mind, here's a video for a live version of this sweet, sweet song:

Build-A-Bear, a family staple, recently created a short film to heighten kids' awareness of global warming. However, not surprisingly, the global warming deniers of our land have decried the film and are taking Build-A-Bear to task. The deniers assert that the film is "indoctrination" and that the company is bent on turning "kids into eco-fascist Manchurian candidates." Wow, really? And what may be worse, Build-A-Bear has responded to the craziness criticism by removing the videos and offering a half-hearted apology. Lame. So, as a response to the response, I present the vids for you to examine, and, if you like, to share with your little ones. Do it for the polar bears, who are way too cute to be an endangered species.

I've written another essay for GNMParents - this one addresses the advice I dispense and whether it is within your scope of acceptability:

I was at a party not too long ago – a casual party, where most of the guests worked with my wife. Some I knew and some I didn’t. When I was introduced to one of the ones I didn’t, they invariably asked what I did for a living. My first response was my usual “I’m a househusband, SAHD, homemaker” bit. But then I realized they were a working professional serious-minded corporate-type, so I seized the opportunity to add on, “Oh, and I’m a writer.” As far as I am concerned, this answer yields far more interesting conversations with business executives. So if you’re wearing a tie, or if it seems that you spent more on your clothes than I spent on food for the past week, I’m gonna mention that I’m a writer. ‘Cause, you never know.

Click here to read the rest, if'n you don't mind.

Lemme tug on your coat 'bout somethin', ya don't mind...

My sister just finished the necessary steps to complete her graduate degree, whereupon she will have the distinguished "M. Ed." after her name. She then will complete a supervised practicum, which will lead to certification in her state, allowing her to do pretty much whatever the heck she darned-well pleases.

I think this is both awesome and an entirely natural course of events. See, my sister's middle name is Community. She has, ever since I can remember, been a part of one team or another, teams whose primary goal was to better the surrounding community. And she's never *just* been a member, she's always been an engine for whatever group she inhabited. I can count at least six different major community groups (most of them national groups) where my sister was, at one time or another, the local group's leader.

And to be clear, my sister's not led by desires of glory or fame or wealth or any other form of notoriety. Instead, what seems to compel her is a pure vision of a better tomorrow, one that starts today.

I dig that about her. It inspires me. It helps guide me, it helps center me. My sister is, by far, the biggest angel on my shoulder when it comes to supporting the larger community. And if you knew her, you'd get that vibe as well. Maybe one day you will meet her. I wish that for you, in the same way I wish for you inner peace and light.

Just finished watching a 2005 Robin Wright Penn film, "Sorry, Haters." As Roger Ebert noted, it is absolutely a train wreck of a movie. But totally worth it, due to the pitch perfect acting by Penn. Her performance is one of the best of that year - And to back up my argument, consider that the Academy Awards for that year included these nominees for Best Actress:

• Reese Witherspoonin "Walk the Line"
  
• Judi Dench in "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
  
• Felicity Huffman in "Transamerica"
  
• Keira Knightley in "Prejudice"
  
• Charlize Theron in "North Country"
  

Not to knock any of the above performances, because they were all pretty excellent, but the actors in the Academy who submitted nominations completely missed the boat on Penn's fully-connected, full-bore execution in "Sorry, Haters." The work that she did, the focus, the inhabitance of this character... it should be shown to other screen actors, drilled into their heads: This is how you do it. This is what an A-game looks like.

So, if you love cinema quite a bit, enough to sacrifice yourself for your love, then sit through "Sorry, Haters."

A solo ambient piece I composed last night, with a video I cobbled together from early Edison films.

Peace in our time

Stu

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning."

- Mark Twain

I'm a fan of the film art of John Cassavetes. He was bold, original, and had supreme courage - arguably the bravest filmmaker of all time. Today I watched his "Opening Night" for the first time and was completely blown away, especially the ending, which can only be described in superlatives. - For those with a taste for non-standard, non-formulaic movies, look for "Opening Night" on your cable channels or on NetFlix. You couldn't possibly be disappointed.

Quite a while ago, a year or more, my friend and I made a record (the full album can be found on iTunes if you click on this link). Below is the first track from that album, with a video that I put together the other day. The video isn't any big whoop, we'll have a better one in another few months, but for now, here's the full version of the song "AutoStart" that you can listen to without shelling out any of your hard-earned cash. Maybe you'll take your savings and add a little more to your next charitable donation.