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Summer Fun (Sans Funding)
Posted Tue Jun 5 03:10:48 2001 by orooney |
By Steve Gilliard
Summer's almost here and despite a grim winter and spring, things might be looking up. Even if you aren't working, it's not like you have eat pork rinds and watch Springer all day long. You can get out, enjoy the day, and still look for work. So let's stop chronicling failure for a day and think of the fun available this summer for the economically challenged.
Look, you can sit around and mope that you're not going to Europe this summer and Jamaica will only be a stop on the subway line or that you're only going to see a harbor from the landward side, or you can enjoy the summer you've got. Even if you get a job, you won't be travelling and since the Hamptons and pricey resorts are out, time to make use of what you have at hand. It's summer, it can't suck that bad.
The Drinking Summer
Now there is no better time to consume alcohol than in the summer. While the pointy-headed scientists say that booze dehydrates you in the hot summer sun, that is why there is a need for lots of beer. You and alcohol are going to be acquainted so here's some ideas for an enjoyable drinking summer:
Vodka, rum and gin, the holy trinity of the summer liquor aficionado. Why? Because these light spirits make the summer drinks extra tasty. If you're sneaking a drink at the local community pool or city beach, why drink scotch? Look at Stern personality Hank the Dwarf. He starts his day with vodka and coke. Now, that's not my particular tipple, but who can tell that bottle is filled with anything but Coke as you sit on a New York City park bench?
It's not the winter, you aren't going to be sipping brandy and quoting Baudelaire. You need a social drink. My fraternity friends at Sig Ep used to make a libation called Watusi punch. You've seen it, you've had it. Now the original recipe called for grain alcohol, but since one can no longer buy a jug of Everclear in a Hoboken liquor store, cheap vodka will have to do. How cheap? Crystal, Popov, the cheaper the better. Why? You're not having martinis, so save the Ketel One and Gray Goose for the indoor parties.
Any bar brand is OK. Get a 50 gallon garbage can. Buy maybe four or five jugs of vodka. Get lots of fruit juice. A couple of cans of pineapple juice, grape juice, a couple of cans of fruit punch mix Hawaiian Punch has a great flavor, but could be pricey), lots of frozen OJ, a few bags of ice. Some fruit as well. And don't forget the oranges, pineapples, and other stuff which can hold up in water
for a few hours. You might want to test this in a
small batch before you spend the money.
OK, now you can dip a sweaty arm into this mix, as a
friend used to do to add "flavor" or you can take a
big spoon. If you have an insect problem, you'll want to cover it up. You can also make this portable.
A summer beach drink is vodka lemonade. OK, take fresh
lemons and slice them. cover with a layer of sugar. Do
this for every lemon you have. Mash with a potato masher until you get liquid. Strain. Pour vodka to taste in mixture. Pour everything into sun tea jug, they cost four bucks at Lechters, then add a mix of tap water and bottled water. Shake until right water/lemon/vodka taste is achieved. Add in lemons, which will be sweet enough to eat. This drink has a short lifespan, so drink it up. In a backyard, you might want to make two jugs so everyone can get a shot at summer fun.
Of course, for more sophisticated events, where people
may keep their shirts on, rum drinks are great. Pineapple/orange juice and rum are great. Use light rum for fruit drinks, dark rum for carbonated drinks.
For the beer drinker, New York summers scream Bud. But
if that is too much for you, the Czech Budvar Budweiser, going by Czechvar or some other ridiculous name, is the second best beer in the world, if you like Pilsen's Pilsner Urquell (drink only on tap), you'll like this as well. It's summer. You don't have to drink Bud, because there are other pilsners and lagers which will quench thirst and not cut back on flavor. No need to get Coors Light or other flavorless beers. Sam Adams, Pete's Wicked Ale and others make suitable beers for the summer.
Summer Charcuterie
OK let's start with the gizzards. An old friend once held a streetside barbecue where chicken gizzards were the main treat. Now, I grew up in a gizzard-eating household. Gizzards in gravy, fried gizzards. Another friend likes the hearts as well, but I'll stick with gizzards. It makes for a nice appetizer for the friends. Get a jug of oil, flour and toss in the hot oil. They cook quick. Set out with beer and it's good eatin'.
But the reality is that most folks may not take to fried gizzards with hot sauce.
So what to fix and not go broke. When in doubt, go Alsatian. It's summer. Get a roll of Italian sausage, a roll of thick pork sausage and bratwurst, kielbasa or whatever long cooked sausage you can find. Just drop the fucker on the grill and let cook. Buy good, Italian bread, a couple of kinds of mustard. (I like Guldens, but I'm from New York.) Grill all this meat until cooked. Let the guests slice and eat.
You can also make that wiener sauce they use with cocktail franks. Simple: catsup, sugar and cider vinegar, mix until sweet and tasty. I also like emerald relish. Reminds me of Nedicks, a long gone New York hot dog place. Snapple Orangeade is the perfect summer accompaniment for a forgotten New York memory.
You can also grill pork. My advice is go with a shoulder and smoke that puppy. But pork and chicken also work. Buy a bag of legs and grill away. Wings should be fried, or grilled on the George Forman.
Beef is tricky. Get the best beef you can afford. Go to a butcher and get a few pounds of beef ground to order. Don't go cheap because the burgers taste like shit. If you're going to spend money, spend it on ground beef. As far as the cheese goes, Kraft melts better than deli cheese. My favorite is the thick Kraft deluxe cheese.
Same with hot dogs. Buy the best you can afford. Personally, I skip the wieners and go with the sausage.
Down by the River
In New York, I don't know about other places, one can
catch and release fish across the city. Including the rivers. Buying a fishing rig can run 40, but once you
do the research, you can fish all day long. If you're
cheap or broke, you can even fish in Central Park.
The Harlem Meer has a place which will rent you a pole
and you can fish along the lake, which is an amazingly
beautiful place filled with birds. You won't be taking home tuna, actually you have to return what you get anyway. There's also pier fishing at Sheepshead Bay, and along the shoreline of the city.
Why fish? Because New York is a harbor city and there are fish in the water. Also, if you catch and release, no harm is done at the end of the day. It is truly one of the most relaxing ways to spend a day and if you live in some neighborhoods, literally a five or six minute trip to rejoin nature.
Also, a nice wind whips up off the water. It makes you
feel all outdoorsy.
The Arts
OK, the tourists are infesting the city, not just New York, but any large city, so where do you go to escape them? Try the arts.
The first stop is Barnes and Noble for a day of reading and iced coffee. But if books aren't your speed, most areas have a range of art you can enjoy, free summer concerts and the New York speciality, Shakespeare in the Park, with award-winning actors. A long line? You bet. But no charge.
But there is nothing like exploring a museum on a summer weekday to experience solitude in action. The Met is my museum of choice, but other people like the Whitney, MOMA, The American Museum of Natural History.
Museums are like libraries for the senses. There is nothing as close to godliness than to stand inches from a Picasso or a Botticelli, something you've only seen in books, take shape and have a life of its own. The museum is a refuge from the world and an inspiration for personal greatness. It's also a great an air-conditioned place to hide in for a couple of hours.
Art movie houses are also a good place to hide. Why sit through Pearl Harbor, a movie HBO will run to death around Pearl Harbor Day, when you can see some HK film classics you've never seen before? The summer, especially one where you've just escaped a temp job or get enough severance to lounge around for a while, is a great time to explore what you haven't explored before.
Reading
Most people think this is the time for light reading.
Forget that. This is the time to read heavy works,
works that make you think. After all, if you're stuck
around the house waiting for a phone call, why waste
the time with another manual or some silly book about
a woman, her dog and a man? Read War and Peace, read
Graham Greene and Tolstoy. You have time to think. Read the new Adams bio by David McCullough or Stephen Ambrose's searing history of D-Day. Silly books are for when you have no time. You have time. Plenty of time. Would you like to think about your bad luck and obsess on finding a new job, or on the weekend, think about something more than you?
You don't need to worry about silly romances. Read about epic romances instead, stuff that isn't pedantic. If one needs inspiration, one will not find it in the paperback romances you can buy anywhere. Read about adversity and great deeds instead. You read about people who are in a tight jam and get out. The Killer Angels is a perfect summer book. If you want to learn about Gettysburg and why it was the most important days in US history, this is the place to start.
Have fun!
|
Name: ionian
Email:
Date: Wed Jun 6 20:12:18 2001
Comment: Steve,
"Have you seen how NY women dress in midsummer? No porn needed.
Ah, the white tank top and shorts. " No, I live in Western NY and it appears I am missing out alot.
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Name: Bill Volk
Email: bvolk@youworkit.com
Date: Wed Jun 6 14:26:27 2001
Comment: Steve,
I'm a big seafood fan ... mostly in the excellent grilled Mahi-Mahi fish Tacos ... San Diego (by way of San Felipe, Baja) is famous for ... and Sushi.
Of course, Sushi in the States Sucks compared to the Japanese Fish Market at 5:00AM in Tokyo ... but I haven't been to the land of Nintendo and 5000+ expense reports since 1990 ... damn I miss it.
Still, we have decent Sushi here ... and I guess you have Nobu there.
I grew up eating raw clams at Nathans (do they serve this anymore?) and we'd have Lobsters every weekend during the summer ... courtesy of Nautical Mile in Freeport N.Y... It was cheap in the 1970's.
Doc told me I'm basically screwed in the eating department ... I must eat VERY LITTLE to keep my weight down ... and exercise like a fiend.
My cholesterol is so low that I bleed like a member of the Russian Royal Family when I cut myself shaving ... very poor form at the Internet Legal Seminar this AM ... bleeding all over the cloth napkins ... oh well.
I think I'll hit Caribe' in La Costa and have some of that grilled Ahi and spicy carrots. Damn, you have to LOVE spicy food to eat that ... but I DO.
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Name: Stacey
Email:
Date: Wed Jun 6 12:58:58 2001
Comment: Since we're sharing recipes, I'd like to contribute the world's best (and cheapest) sangria. Bring this to a party and you'll be the center of attention.
1.5 litre bottle of Rossi Paisano light table Chianti wine-- 6.49 (cheap wine works best for sangria since it's sweet)
3/4 cup of sugar dissolved in a little hot water
1.5 litres 7-Up
fruit-- limes, lemons, oranges, grapes, cherries
pineapple (avoid apples and pears)
directions: 24 hours before serving combine ingredients, refrigerate
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Wed Jun 6 12:42:02 2001
Comment: LCD,
It's summer. In New York. If you need porn to masturbate, you need help. My friend has a bar with nice, big windows. Have you seen how NY women dress in midsummer? No porn needed.
Ah, the white tank top and shorts.
Sis,
Sound of music....never liked the music. Sitting around drunk is what baseball is for. While the beer is an arm and a leg, a few airline bottles of Jack or Bacardi in Coke makes for a nice summer drink at Yankee. Shea needs no such gimmicks.
Sitting in the Yankee bleachers is cheaper than sitting in a movie theater. Even though I hate the Yankees, my best friend is a Yankee fan and I'm often too lazy to get to Shea.
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Name: Lowest Common Denominator
Email:
Date: Wed Jun 6 12:22:56 2001
Comment: All these cheap ideas for entertainment and I can't believe you left out porn and masturbation. Or is that saved for the Winter months? )
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Name: twisted sistah
Email: bitemybeaver@hotmail.com
Date: Wed Jun 6 11:36:30 2001
Comment:
Movies: Sound of Music, accompanied by LOTS of drugs....Xanax and Jack Daniels in my case...works like a charm.....
|
Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Wed Jun 6 02:28:49 2001
Comment: Broken,
No, I am not a Sig Ep. If I was, I would have said my Sig Ep brothers. They were my friends, helped my ass out, got me drunk. There is a difference.
They're still my friends though, and I think most have forgotten I never pledged.
Blank,
Yeah, that's right. We eat them in season. And the claws don't really have much meat.
|
Name:
Email:
Date: Wed Jun 6 00:14:24 2001
Comment: We eat in crab NY in summer because its in season then, not flown in from god knows where.
Best part of a blueclaw is the body, fuck the claws.
Of course in the winter, theres always the italian christmas eve seafood extravaganza... that kicks ass. Baby octopus salad.. good shit
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Name: broken
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 23:27:43 2001
Comment: Kick ass, Gillard is a SigEp. Move over, Dave Thomas...
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Name: contemporaryMe
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 23:26:17 2001
Comment:
Thanx SG, I'm getting started.
|
Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 22:37:24 2001
Comment: Me,
Yeah. Well, they are cooked, so....
But the small crab eating is an art, not a science. Crack them a couple of times and pull out the meat.
And there are hundreds of home brew books and sites around., But my advice is to look up a homebrew shop, there are a couple in Manhattan, and I know Bed, Bath and Beyond sells a kit.
But if you really want to make your own, here's the list of local homebrew shops:
http://www.nycbeer.org/homebrew/index.html
|
Name: contemporaryMe
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 21:50:25 2001
Comment: SG
I’ve eaten those 125th Street crabs. They’re tasty enough, if you like that kind of stuff. My cousin’s old boyfriend used to run the big stand off LaSalle Street. He’s from the Carolinas btw made a decent living. But, I spent a few years of my youth in Tacoma Washington where I developed a fondness for Fourth of July picnics with Alaska King, and giant salmon. With the smaller crab, the work/reward ratio is too low, not to mention the collateral damage of micro tongue cuts. Oysters and homemade beer is the way we used to do summer down in Tallahassee Florida. Gotta find me a book (website) on home brewing beer. My brother used to make his own wine here in NYC with grapes, nectarines, whatever was on sale. These concoctions tasted like some Third World elixirs, but, my friends, the buzz was heady and ethereal, more like a hash high.
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 21:09:43 2001
Comment: Doggy,
I drink in Hoboken in the summer, not Williamsburg. My friends have prime summer spaces there.
Ionian,
Yeah. He did.
Wench,
There will ALWAYS be an East vs West battle. But I've never heard of winter crabs. My relatives and transplanted love of shellfish comes from the Carolina low country, not Maryland.
I simply can't imagine a summer without shellfish, especially crabs and shrimp. And wine? Please. Try beer, cold, cold beer. Put it in the crabs when they cook and drink alongside. or iced tea.
Hell, up on 125th St, they cook the crabs and sell them on the sidewalk. I may try them one day.
And while I like charred flesh, I'm undecided on steak, especially in these frugal times. And what the hell is this name brand sausage crap?:-) If you can't get it from a Polish butcher or a salumneria, it's not worth discussing.:-)
There are a couple of places where you can get merguez, boudin, and other kinds of sausage.
Faicco Brothers, a few places on 9th Ave, and anyplace in norther Jersey or Staten Island make killer Italian sausage. If you want the real deal and can't find your way around Arthur Ave or Bensonhurst, go to Hoboken.
Although my favorite is the pork sausage, they call it breakfast sausage in links, which are usually served for breakfast in Jersey diners. When they get larger, they gain in flavor.
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Name: doggywhirl
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 19:41:54 2001
Comment: Man.. I saw everybody in NY go to that lot in willamsburg and have a NetSlaves blow out. Steve G - sounds like you know how to live pretty good
So, Steve, when's the next shingig?
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Name: ionian
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 19:24:16 2001
Comment: "time to make use of what you have at hand."--Steve.
Tell that to Pud over at FC. heh
|
Name: wonderwench
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 18:23:32 2001
Comment: I love it when people order the double q-pounder with extra cheese, supersize fries and a DIET coke.
Nutrasweet is an evil substance - it will screw up your thyroid.
Dr. Phil - I'm glad you enjoyed Aztec - It's been in my To Read pile for a few months now. I'll move it up in the stack.
Steve - East vs. West again. Crabs in summer??? Out here, the New Years tradition is cold Dungeness crab, dark bake sourdough and a chilled California Chardonnay. Works great on the post-NYEve hangover. Can't imagine eating crabs when it's hot! And, please, no lectures about the superiority of the Chesapeake genus. Heard it all before. I do agree that charred flesh is a necessary accoutrement for summertime inbibing. Fresh sausages (our here we have Bruce Aidell and Sonoma sausages, among others) are best.
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Name: Dr. Phil
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 17:50:00 2001
Comment: Those Big Ass Fries
Here’s the formula.
Fast food joints make their money on the drinks (colored, sugared water). The servings of french fries are humongous because corporate farms have introduced new efficiencies. They are buying up the American heartland and turning farms into French fry plantations. They grow the spuds, cut em, package them, and freeze them right there on-site, and then ship them out across the country on demand to their chains and other so-called “restaurants.” The projected demand for more french fries (people will always eat, even in a depression) gives these fast food hustlers the banking leverage to buy America’s most fertile land for fast profits. Who cares that potatoe farming depletes the soil (We are eating our way into the next dustbowl).
Potatoes grow underground so they are a robust crop, less suceptible to insects, allowing corporations to avoid the public concern over pesticides.
A retired nurse once told me the reason the soft drinks are so huge in these joints is because you need that much liquid to flush the drug ridden meat out of your system. The cola also has a soothing, numbing effect on the stomach. The hamburger meat, itself, is nothing more than a delivery system for a drug cocktail of animal growth hormones and antibiotics to which humans eventually become addicted.
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 17:13:04 2001
Comment: Bill,
Give me a break. You've spent too many years in SoCal.:-) I don't eat that crap every day, if I did, I'd be dead. Hell, I can't even finish a McDonald's meal any more. But tell me how you gain weight eating seafood? :-)
I have been influenced by two things, how the French eat and how the Italians cook. The French just eat less, and the Italians eat the freshest stuff they can find. Combine the two and you'll do OK. And fresh sausage one or twice a summer will not kill you. Although I'm not sure about what they put in chorizo. -)
Funny thing: I went to McD's for my niece and nephew and mother. So I bought ONE supersized fries. Fed two pre-schoolers and two adults. I haven't had a Big Mac in a year. I can't even imagine having a supersized meal. People actually buy that crap and eat it by themselves. Amazing. With a liter of coke.
Most days I drink water and juice. Or lemonade and iced tea.
|
Name: Literary Guy
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 16:53:56 2001
Comment: More brevity
Since we’re talking literature, a word to the wise might be sufficient. There’s a frequent NS writer at this site who has a very long-winded style of trying to touch upon too many things in his posts.
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Name: Dr. Phil
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 16:45:00 2001
Comment: Great Books Thread
I’ve just finished “AZTEC,” by Gary Jennings –a historico-fictional, adventuresome, 760-page account of the rise and decline of Aztec civilization and its ultimate destruction by Cortez and the Conquistadors. Best thing I’ve read in years. It helped me rebound from a close family death (couldn’t afford a vacation). The Aztec (Mexican) philosophy of “tonali” (destiny) offers timely perspective to the dotcom debacle, and to the foolish notion of an enforceable Mexican-American border.
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Name: Hungry...
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 16:36:32 2001
Comment: Man.. I saw everybody in NY go to that lot in willamsburg and have a NetSlaves blow out. Steve G - sounds like you know how to live pretty good
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Name: Bill Volk
Email: bvolk@youworkit.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 15:55:56 2001
Comment: Summer in San Diego is actually overcast and 60's along the shore ... PERFECT CYCLING WEATHER!
Take a ride up north thru Camp Pendleton to the Dolly Parton Monument (San Onofre Nuke Plant) ... or ride up Torry Pines ...
Best darn time of the year, even if it's overcast 90% of the time.
I wish I could eat the stuff you folks are talking about ... but when I used to, I was as big as a HOUSE ... so those foods are just pleasent memories.
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 15:35:11 2001
Comment: Wench,
Yeah, this is an East Coast thing. Tequila and our summers don't really go well together. You can taste it in a way you can't taste the other booze.
And tequlia is cheap, but my friends can't give it away in their bars. Here it's a stunt drink. I'd rather drink rum if given the choice. I grew up surrounded by rum drinking. Walk down the block and the old guys are sucking down Bacardi and coke.
But the chips and guac are a good idea.
Hmmmm, but to be honest, the best summer food is shrimp and crabs and beer. Seafood and summer go perfect together.
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 15:29:08 2001
Comment: When it comes to reading, I'm looking over my book choices, and my personal library has a few mysteries, a spy novel or two, Tom Clancy and a LOT of non-fiction. Books by gunship pilots, fighter pilots, infantrymen and the like.
I'm a non-fiction person and this looks like a banner summer for good non-fiction. Actually, my favorite trick is to sit in BN and enjoy books under A/C. I get six-seven books and while away a few hours.
If you want a cheap thrill, or not so cheap, while not attracting massive attention, erotica collections are available widely. The best Erotica series, edited by Susie Bright, is a nice mix of dirty stories, but ones you can read in public.
Why dick around with semi-porn romances when you can get the real thing in any variety.
OK, let's say rent, COBRA and ramen noodles has eaten up most of your budget. How do you read? Library card. Most library have books within weeks of release. My favorite is the Grand Army Plaza Library in Brooklyn. You can even buy excess books at library book sales. Nothing new, but ages and books are irrelevant in most cases.
Or if you can spare money, buy from Strand, if you live in NY. Half-priced bestsellers. Which is a nice deal.
What will I read this summer? I have no idea.
Also, when the weather turns to crap, movie rentals are a good thing. Here's a hint: Belle Du Jour, Hardboiled, The Killer, The Lighthorsemen, Vertigo.
We didn't discuss summer music, but that's not really my area of expertise. Gimmie the Beach Boys and I'm happy.
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Name: wonderwench
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 15:28:54 2001
Comment: Can tell y'all are on the eastern front.
What about tequila???? Margaritas are definitely on the list for a perfect summer buzz. Budget variety in a blender with cheap tequila and triple sec. If you have a bit-o-cash and can spring for better ingredients, nothing beats a double straight up (in mexican glass):
For two margaritas:
Cocktail shaker 2/3 full of ice cubes
4 - 5 fresh squeezed limes (use lime press straight into the cocktail mixer)
3 shots of tequila (reposado!)
1 1/2 shots of cointreau
1 teas. sugar
Shake it up.
Strain into two margarita glasses.
Top with Grand Marnier float.
Bag of tortilla chips and homemade guacamole and that's all you need.
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Name: Chris
Email: chris@rashmagazine.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 15:10:32 2001
Comment: i went looking for one of those big glass jars to make sun tea a few weeks ago. spent near the whole damn day trying to find one. not one cheap ass discount store had one, and the thing at lechter's was 10(!). i broke down and bought it cuz i finally have a backyard that receives sunlight for at least 5 mins a day. were there cheaper jars there that i just missed?
oh, don't forget that lot off kent ave in williamsburg: weeds, rusted cars, cool view of Manhattan, somebody's sugarcane-alley-inspired shack. i think maybe people fish there. i heard they're turning it into a real park soon which kinda sucks. Good place to hang and drink miller high life with limes (half the price of corona in some places!)
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Name: nan
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 15:01:42 2001
Comment: Just to add to the crime fiction recs:
I'm a recent Westlake convert (reading "Dancing Aztecs" right now, actually, and it's hilarious) and why everyone should be reading him is because he almost singlehandedly invented the comic crime caper genre, specifically with the Dortmunder series about a thief whose plans always go awry in spectacular fashion. Unfortunately a later installment of the series has just been adapted into a piece of crap starring Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito, but just ignore that and get the books.
He also writes the Parker series under the pseudonym Richard Stark, which are basically the flip side of Dortmunder--a thief who is completely amoral, has a brutal sense of justice and life, but is so compelling you want to read more. The first book was made into a movie twice, first as Point Blank with Lee Marvin, then as Payback with Mel Gibson.
Robert Parker managed to turn the hardboiled PI genre on its ear in the 1970s, and has spawned a generation of clones (some of whom, thankfully, have moved beyond that to find their own niche, but they are few). But don't feel you have to read the entire series the earliest ones are the best, as Parker kind of got too commercial and started padding out his short tales to 350 pages by using super large print and wider margins.
For some others who have a bit more substance than your average crime fiction book (or at least have some aspirations to such)and are more recently published, you can't really go wrong with George P Pelecanos (gritty urban DC) Dennis Lehane (Dorchester area of Boston) and T Jefferson Parker (Orange County/Laguna Beach). Not only do they spin a really good tale, but the characters are flawed and invariably you close the book with something to think about for a while longer.
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Name: alternative freak
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 14:54:29 2001
Comment: Yeah alright! I like the way you think...
Here's another recipe:
1 grams of BC gold
1 rolling paper
1/2 gram Moroccan hashish
Enjoy with a friend.
Should only bring you down about 20, if you find the right dealer. Certified to put you in a Bobby McFarren mood.
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Name:
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 13:48:26 2001
Comment: New York. Summer. No dough. Been there.In fact,
if you're from the (rich) burbs and past 35, you wonder if you'll ever regain (own )the lawns of youth. Then you feel like a failure. And failure
in New York is distinctly unpleasant. You know.
BUT...if you can untangle yourself and recall that
the best things ARE free (fishing!) you'll find a
new power, self-awareness and while the rich are slaves to fashion, you, my friend can L I V E !!!
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Name: Fredy
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 13:14:03 2001
Comment: Summer has always been a great time to re-read "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph COnrad - puts all the dot-com nonsense in perspective when compared to the Belgian rape of the Congo. And of course - for a good laff and cry - theres "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller (re-read in my house over the last 7 summers)
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Name: Twisted Sistah
Email: bitemybeaver@hotmail.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 12:54:20 2001
Comment:
Gilly--don't forget the combining of drinking and BBQ....which leads me into....that old favorite...THE PLUGGED WATERMELON!
For those of you who went to college on Mars or a dry campus, here's the directions:
Take:
1 goodly sized ripe watermelon
1 bottle of cheapass vodka or decent flavored vodka
Now, realize that this is an overnite preparation but worth it...the night before you need said melon, take yer melon and yer vodka. Take a REALLY sharp knife and cut out 3 little pyramid shapes on the rounded side of the melon (ie so it can rest on its flatter side while you're dosing it up). SAVE THE PIECES. Now...slowwwwwly....pour vodka into the little holes. It'll take a while for it to sink in...so have something else interesting to do (foreplay and more drinking are recommended)while the vodka trickles in...then replace the plugs and stick that badboy in the fridge or if you're stuck with one of those crappy NYC apartment half-fridges put it in the coolest part of the apartment and cover the holes with plastic to keep out Little Buddies.
Next day...slice, eat, and ENJOY! This is also notably a very clever way to legally consume bev at public events and other "dry" areas...hence the fruit-flavored vodka if possible it hides the sharp alcohol smell of sawdust-grade vodka.
Enjoy!
Also....Gilly, hearts are better on the grill, especially when skewered and wrapped in bacon...get the most cheapass over-sweetened maple-flavored bacon possible it goes great! Dip in French's mustard during the last few minutes of grilling for an extra treat. Really!
--TS
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 12:52:29 2001
Comment: Dave,
Dutch Leonard wrote a ton of screenplays as well as books. There are a lot of movies based on his works. Also, you can read Carl Hiaasen, Walter Mosley and Robert Parker for smart mysteries. But the one author who is often overlooked, except by hard core mystery fans is Donald Westlake. He's worth discovering if you haven't and you can start at the library.
Other good series to find are George McDonald Frasier's Flashman series, Patrick O'Brien's books and Gregory MacDonald's Fletch series.
You can also dig up Edward Abbey's books. The Monkey Wrench Gang is one of the funniest and most influential books of the 1970's. Ever hear of Haydukery? Well, it comes from this book about an early band of eco-saboteurs.
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 12:45:00 2001
Comment: DJMZ,
Or you could rent the new verison of Apocalyspe Now and embrace the heat. Nothing like a late night viewing of Martin Sheen smashing that mirror to The End. You will be so loopy at the end of that movie, it won't matter.
I have a letterboxed version I taped off AMC when it ran a few years back. Nothing like a mid-summer heat wave to see that movie.
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Name: Dave
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 12:44:55 2001
Comment: Not to put down epics and classic literature, but summer's also a good time for more contemporary fiction. I got hooked on Elmore Leonard's books. His storytelling is great, most of his fiction is centered on Michigan and Miami (with some detours to places like New Orleans and Israel). Movies have been made from his novels, including Jackie Brown ("Rum Punch"), Out of Sight, Mr. Majestyk, and one or two more I'm tracking down. I think a production of Be Cool is in the works.
Leonard's work would probably be classified as crime fiction, but his characters are more complex and the plots more kinked than what I expect from that genre.
Enjoy.
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Name: DJMZ
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 12:36:44 2001
Comment: Cool summer reading:
No air conditioning? No problem! Read a book about early Arctic/Antarctic explorers, you know, one where they get stuck in the ice for months on end and have to boil shoeleather for food and chop up pieces of the boat for fuel and only escape by some super-human efforts. You will feel like you're living in the lap of luxury by comparison.
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Name: Queenie
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 11:06:28 2001
Comment: Now that you mentioned watermelon...
Try this one out... used to be my fave when young.
In a big punch bowl, fill about half way with chunks of ice and water. Spoon out big bite sized chunks of watermelon (don't lose too much juice though) into a punch bowl and stir. If you can salvage the melon juice remaining in the melon-halves, pour into the bowl as well. You can serve in bowls or large cups - eat the chunks and drink naturally sweet, chilled melon juice.
haven't done that in many moons, but hey, i have fond memories of that.
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Name: steve gilliard
Email: sgilliard@netslaves.com
Date: Tue Jun 5 10:10:13 2001
Comment: Queenie,
Actually, if you go to the butcher, the trick is to ask what mix they use in their own burgers. You're not going to ground up prime beef, but a small butcher or a big speciality store like Fairway, which sells rounds of beef for 20 bucks, which is a great bargain, hell, you can get filet mingon for 30 if you buy in bulk, and they will ground it.
The prepackaged beef doesn't have the flavor of fresh ground meat, so you can buy stew chunks and get a very good mixture.
Fairway, which is a local market with two West Side locations, has very good packaged ground beef which doesn't cost a whole lot. It is the exception to the rule. Because you don't get that mealy taste so common with ground beef.
Soup mix has a lot of sodium, which why I don't like it. But you can substitute the packs in raman noodles, and at 8 for a dollar, it's cheaper.:-)
Also, corn on the cob tastes great roasted and its cheap as hell.
Farmers markets are a good place to pick up very fresh food. My favorite summer time desert is watermelon, after that, fruit cobblers. I like a peach/nectarine-blueberry-apple mix with a crumb top.
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Name: Queenie
Email:
Date: Tue Jun 5 04:31:04 2001
Comment: Nice to see that you do have a lighter side...
May i suggest one recipe for the burgers? I think this has been around for a long time, but...
If your budget doesn't allow for really good ground beef, go to local grocer and buy the prepackaged - usually about 80/20, 85/15 or 90/10(lean/fat) in 5 lb. packs. Put in a big bowl and add some dry soup mix to your taste (only the kind that has powderized broth and very tiny bits of onions and even tinier bits of other stuff) - Liption Onion soup mix works best, usually 2 packets for about 5lbs. of meat.
Gives good flavor to the burgers. Found that most people prefer this over having choice beef ground up for burgers. Guess it's the beef fat...
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