23 Meteor Street

Currently painting a triptych provisionally entitled: Bad Sandwich. It's a piece about violence in it's immediacy - the instancy of the event. A synchronic rendering of three explosive, aggressive expressions... (Brian Topp).

What are you going to do with the video recorder?  Stick it to a canvas as a piece depicting a nation of cathode junkies, selling their imaginations for quick-fix media hits from the Blockbuster syringe? (Daisy Steiner).

I'm going to be as inactive as I can in order to really get into the psyche of someone unemployed, not just vocationally but cerebrally, to see if the predicament of enforced passivity exacerbates itself. You know, does inactivity breed laziness? (Daisy Steiner).

It's a literal tribute to the self-reflexivity of Rembrandt. (Brian Topp explaining why he is dressed as a painting).

I feel like a rabbit trapped on a road to nowhere - frozen in the headlights of the 21st century. (Daisy Steiner).

The evil hand of capitalism dons the garden glove and takes our money in the name of global awareness. (Daisy Steiner referring to overpriced organic food).

It's a subtle blend of lateral thinking and extreme violence. (Tim Bisley referring to the Resident Evil game).

Not exclusively. I'm moving into multimedia pastures - installations, a platter of organic processes mixed with a pinch of irony and a side helping of self-deprecation. (Brian Topp's answer when Vulva asked if he was still painting).

Talk about expression, talk about the truth, but what truer expression is there than the purity of the clenched fist? (Brian Topp). 

The predictability of random events, the notion that reality as we know it - past, present, future - is in fact a mathematically predictable preordained system. So somewhere out there in the vastness of the unknown is an equation so complex as to utterly defy any possibility of comprehension by even the most brilliant human mind, but an equation nonetheless. (Brian Topp explaining the Chaos Theory).

In 1994, while on weekend manoeuvres in France, I commandeered a Chieftain tank without the permission of my immediate superiors. I then attempted to invade Paris. However, en route I stopped at Disneyland, or Eurodisney as it was then called, and was subsequently apprehended on Space Mountain. At the time, I was suffering serious emotional problems that clearly affected my judgement. I had immersed myself in a fantasy world of my own creation and as a result I became very insular and uncommunicative. (Mike Watt).



* Quotes derived from the TV programme Spaced (1999-2001) Channel 4 *

Trainspotting

(Ideally this list should be read-out in a Scottish accent)

Relinquishing junk. Stage one: preparation.
For this, you will need:

~ One room which you will not leave.
~ Soothing music.
~ Tomato soup, ten tins of.
~ Mushroom soup, eight tins of, for consumption cold.
~ Ice cream, vanilla, one large tub of.
~ Magnesia, milk of, one bottle.
~ Paracetamol, mouthwash, vitamins.
~ Mineral water, Lucozade, pornography.
~ One mattress.
~ One bucket for urine, one for feces and one for vomitus.
~ One television and one bottle of Valium, which I've already procured from my mother who is, in her own domestic and socially acceptable way, also a drug addict.


The entirety of this post was derived from: Trainspotting (1996) Directed by Danny Boyle, UK: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.

Tragic Romance

The Death of Romeo and Juliet - Anonymous

Romeo rode to the sepulchre, 'mong dead folks, bats, and creepers;
And swallowed down the burning dose - when Juliet oped her peepers.
"Are you alive? Or is't your ghost? Speak quick, before I go."
"Alive!" she cried, "and kicking too; art thou my Romeo?"
"It is your Romeo, my faded little blossum;
O Juliet! is it possible that you were acting possum?"
"I was indeed; now let's go home; pa's spite will have abated;
What ails you, love, you stagger so; are you intoxicated?"
"No, no, my duck; I took some stuff that caused a little fit;"
He struggled hard to tell her all, but couldn't, so he quit.
In shorter time than't takes a lamb to wag his tail, or jump,
Poor Romeo was stiff and pale as any whitewashed pump.
Then Juliet seized that awful knife, and in her bosom stuck it,
Let out a most terrific yell, fell down, and kicked the bucket.

We Are Family

The great thing about Chinese family relationship titles, is that with one single phrase or word, you immediately know if they are from your paternal or maternal family; their status and whether they are related to you by blood or by marriage.

Some useful kinship titles (informal Cantonese/Hakka pronounciation): 

Paternal Great Uncle (Grandfather's Younger Brother) 叔公 / Suk Gung
Paternal Great Uncle's Wife (Grandfather's Younger Brother's Wife) 叔婆 / Suk Por

Paternal Grandfather 爺爺 / Yeah Yeah
Paternal Grandmother 嬤嬤 / Mar Mar

Maternal Granfather 公公 / Gung Gung
Maternal Grandmother 婆婆 / Por Por

Father 爸爸 / Baa Baa
Mother 媽媽  / Ma Ma

Paternal Older Uncle (Father's Older Brother) 伯伯 / Baak Baak
Paternal Older Uncle's Wife (Father's Older Brother's Wife) 伯娘 / Baak Leung

Paternal Younger Uncle (Father's Younger Brother) 叔叔 / Suk Suk
Paternal Younger Uncle's Wife (Father's Younger Brother's Wife) 嬸嬸 / Sum Sum

Paternal Younger Aunt (Father's Younger Sister) 姑姐 / Goo Jer
Paternal Younger Aunt's Husband (Father's Younger Sister's Husband) 姑丈 / Goo Jeurng

Maternal Uncle (Mother's Brother) 舅父 / Kau Fu
Maternal Uncle's Wife (Mother's Brother's Wife) 舅母 / Kau Mou

Maternal Older Aunt (Mother's Older Sister) 大姨 / Dai Yee
Maternal Older Aunt's Husband (Mother's Older Sister's Husband) 大姨丈 / Dai Yee Jeurng

Maternal Younger Aunt (Mother's Younger Sister) 姨 / Yi
Maternal Younger Aunt's Husband (Mother's Younger Sister's Husband) 姨丈

Younger Sister 妹妹 / Mui Mui
Younger Sister's Husband 妹夫 / Mui Foo

Maternal Elder Male Cousin 表哥 / Biu Gor
Maternal Elder Male Cousin's Wife 表嫂 / Biu Sou

Maternal Younger Male Cousin  表弟 / Biu Dai
Maternal Younger Male Cousin's Wife 表夫 / Biu Foo

Maternal Elder Female Cousin 表姐 / Biu Jer
Maternal Elder Female Cousin's Husband 表姐夫 / Biu Jer Foo

Maternal Younger Female Cousin 表妹 / Biu Mui
Younger Female Cousin's Husband 表妹夫 / Biu Mui Foo

Paternal Elder Female Cousin 堂家姐 / Tong Gar Jer

Paternal Younger Female Cousin 堂細妹 / Tong Sai Mui

Paternal Elder Male Cousin 堂阿哥 / Tong Ah Gor

Paternal Younger Male Cousin 堂細佬 / Tong Sai Low

* Maternal = Mothers side.
* Paternal = Fathers side.
* This post was inspired by my large and complicated family and this website.

Nigella's Mushroom Ragoût

~ Saute one finely chopped white onion, one red onion and two stalks of thinly sliced celery in a pan with one teaspoon olive oil and one tablespoon butter.

~ When they begin to soften, add three chopped cloves garlic, some salt and pepper.

~ As the garlic and onions brown, add 90ml red wine, 35ml marsala, a bay leaf and half a teaspoon of thyme.

~ Simmer gently until the wine boils away.

~ In a separate pan, saute 800g mushrooms in two teaspoons of olive oil and two or three tablespoons of butter.

~ Add some salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

~ When they colour, add 85ml red wine and 40ml marsala.

~ Allow the wine to cook down, then add the onions.

~ Melt one tablespoon of butter in a pan, add one tablespoon of flour and stir for a few minutes while it browns.

~ Then whisk in 500ml of hot vegetable stock.

~ Add this sauce to the mushrooms, add three tablespoons of parsley and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

This provides four modest-sized portions or two greedy portions.

* Recipe taken from: Lawson, Nigella (1999) How To Eat  London: Chatto & Windus *

Guacamole Window

One lifestyle choice that intrigues me is the Raw Food Diet endorsed by Angela Stokes and Matt Monarch.

This means eating uncooked and unprocessed organic food as a large percentage of your diet. In addition, food must not be exposed to heat over 118°F.

Although a raw vegan diet is the most popular, there are other variations of this diet plan including a raw omnivorous diet which allows sashimi and carpaccio as well as dairy.

People who follow an 80-100% raw food diet claims to have experienced numerous health benefits including: increased energy; clearer skin; weight loss and reduced risk of disease.

Food preparation includes: juicing, blending, dehydrating, sprouting, germinating, cutting and rehydrating.

Angela Stokes and Matt Monarch enjoying food in Thailand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXC4m3zr7ws

Rasayana Raw Food Restaurant: http://www.rasayanaretreat.com/raws/menu/


Angela Stoke's 92-Day Juice Feast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HESWMoMNcRw

Sample blog of another enthusiast: http://rawutopia.blogspot.com

Online shop: http://www.therawfoodworld.com/index.php?main_page=index



* The title of this post was inspired by Daisy Steiner *

ConFusion Curry

Ingredients

~ Patak's Tikka Masala Curry Paste - adjust according to taste
~ Prawns and salmon - adjust quantities accordingly
~ Tin of coconut milk
~ A bunch of coriander
~ A few splashes of fish sauce


Directions

In a frying pan, heat up the curry paste, then add the prawns and salmon.

When the prawns and salmon are cooked through three quarters of the way, stir in some coconut milk. Then add in a good amount of chopped up coriander and let it simmer for five minutes. Then add a few splashes of fish sauce to taste.

Serve with rice.

Delia's Normandy Pork with Cider

Ingredients required for two people

~ 450g pork belly - trimmed and cut into mouth sized pieces (or any cut suitable for slow cooking)
~ 1 x large onion - quartered
~ 225ml dry cider (I prefer Thatchers medium dry Somerset cider made with Katy apples)
~ 55ml cider vinegar
~ Dollop of creme fraiche
~ 180g Bramley apple sauce

In a large pot, heat a teaspoon of oil and a knob of butter and cook the onions. Then add the pork cubes for a couple of minutes.

Add the cider, the cider vinegar and salt and pepper.

Bring to simmering point and then turn the heat down and simmer for one hour.

After one hour, stir in the apple sauce and creme fraiche and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Serve with bread or rice.

The No1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Rooibos Tea

Made from a shrub called Aspalathus linearis grown on the North Western Cape of South Africa. Naturally caffeine-free and low in tannin.

Those who enjoy rooibos tea include:

~ Miss J. Chan
Editor and Writer of 'The Diary of a Domestic Goblin'. Miss Chan prefers her rooibos tea served without milk or sugar.

~ Mma Precious Ramotswe
A traditionally-built female private detective from Botswana. Mma Ramotswe prefers her rooibos tea served with a slice of cake on the side.