Anarchronistic

National HealthCare already!

For weeks, we have been seeing aimless morons showing up at town-halls, on TV, waving their vapid placards equating Obama with a well known German dictator, saying that there will be "death panels" for the elderly, practicing eugenics and the like.

I so despise the tactics of the Republican right-wing that I can hardly contain myself. Leave it to them to attack what they do not yet know, foment opposition based on lies and allow themselves to rest on their soft backsides to the exclusions of the nameless millions who need help. TODAY.

Listen people - we already pay through the nose for emergency room visits yearly for the healthcare disenfranchised. The shame we bear for our wealth should be shame enough for all.

My anger now is best summed up from "Henry V". I relish the fact that the Republican party and their harpies are being compared to the French here. I will fight for this.

I was not angry since I came to France
Until this instant. Take a trumpet, herald;
Ride thou unto the horsemen on yon hill:
If they will fight with us, bid them come down,
Or void the field; they do offend our sight:
If they'll do neither, we will come to them,
And make them skirr away, as swift as stones
Enforced from the old Assyrian slings:
Besides, we'll cut the throats of those we have,
And not a man of them that we shall take
Shall taste our mercy. Go and tell them so.
--Henry V act 5 scene 7

Finger Puppet Government

The politicians have been playing with us for years, so why can't it be our turn?  Now it is, thanks to our friends at foldUScandidate!

I'm not sure why Joe Biden looks like something out of "Saturday Night Fever", but oh! the hours of fun to be had with these little beauties. Let the games begin...

The OTTS: One True Turkey Sandwich

The are few absolutes in life beyond the classics - Life, Death and Taxes. There is one for me and it only occurs in those few glorious days post-Thanksgiving.

The OTTS.

The One True Turkey Sandwich.

The are no questions. It has been perfected. By me. No substitutions - please. It is a culinary work of art, and why put a thing of beauty under a microscope?

I give you - the OTTS.

Ingredients
2 slices white or wheat bread, well toasted
Hellman's Mayonnaise ( or Best Taste brand, west of the Mississippi)
Roasted turkey, sliced medium thick
Stuffing, sliced
Jellied cranberry sauce, sliced
Fresh ground black pepper
Fresh ground sea salt

1. Get a plate out and line with paper towels. You do NOT want "toast sweat" on the plate
2. Toast your bread well and place on the plate
3. Put a generous shmear of mayo on both slices of bread, and hit with a generous grind of salt and pepper. (Miracle Whip is an abomination before God and Man and will not be entertained. EVER.)
4. On on slice, layer your turkey.
5. On the turkey, layer your sliced stuffing; smash down if required to stick together in a slab
6. On the stuffing, layer your sliced, jellied cranberry sauce. Jellied, hear me?
7. Crown with the other piece of be-mayoed, salted & peppered toast.
8. Slice in half. Your choice. Not like I'm a control freak.
9. Eat, Damn You! EAT!
10. Culinary Orgasm.

You're welcome!

I have a Beef...

If you are a meat eater in the early part of the 21st Century, food conversations can be    :::pause:::    uncomfortable. Meat-eating can be unfashionable and meat-eating can be seen to be immoral. I hold that as long as humans have incisors and canine teeth, meat will be part of the American diet. At least, we can make the choice to choose providers that are as humane as possible in both the raising and slaughter of the beasts.

This brings me to Hanova Hills, a supplier to the Williamsville Farmer's Market. At first I was wary of an independent supplier with just a banner, a truck and some flyers. We browsed, we read, we mused. Two weeks ago, they had a sale on ground beef and at that point we thought now is the time. Try the beef and go from there. We bought 3lbs of ground and one skirt steak. Oh. my.

The burgers from the ground beef held promise, but the seared skirt steak tonight was transcendent. I partitioned the steak in three pieces, simply seasoned with salt, pepper and  olive oil. We heated a  cast iron pan over medium-heat. After 10 minutes, we hit the pan with olive oil for a minute, then seared the skirt steak fon each  per side before allowing to rest for 8 minutes. You can see the results here;  caramelized, crusted and medium-rare hot. What you can't see is the flavor, aroma and texture.  The lovely livery/gaminess came first from the cooking. After resting for 8 minutes, the knife sliced through effortlessly. We laid the beef over lettuce lightly dressed with blue cheese dressing and it took center stage. The mouthfeel was of a melting butteriness, the taste one of beefiness never tasted in a grocery store cut of any quality.

"Holy Crap!" we exclaimed. This was beef without peer, what our grandparents and before tasted, if they could they have afforded it. Perhaps it was the simple preparation that highlighted the quality of the beef beyond what I've tasted in New York or Toronto. The best steak ever prepared at home, no doubt.

I'm not sure I want to eat any other beef now. If it means buying now and gently freezing (and rationing through the year) we will.

Hanova Hills offers larger pack with a variety of cuts - we shall take advantage of them.  But I also think we shall pay  Hanova Hills a visit. To appreciate, I feel you must also have the experience of seeing their business and operation. We welcome the opportunity!

What the Hail?

Calendar says June 16.

Weather says:  LOL OMFG!

Excuse me while I count the dents in my car.....

The first Irises of the season!

These gorgeous irises just started blooming in the garden! C'mon Summer!

Rebirth in Buffalo: Erie Canal Harbor

This past Friday was a quiet landmark day for the City of Buffalo with the quiet opening of the Erie Canal Harbor, including the new Central Wharf! Alison and I had the opportunity to walk around the area this morning, and I can tell you that I haven't been so hopeful for Buffalo and the waterfront in particular for a long time! You can see my pictures of the Erie Canal Harbor and Buffalo Naval Park here.

The picture posted here is of the excavated Commercial Slip, the end of the Erie Canal where it met the Buffalo River and Lake Erie. When the canal opened in 1825, it created a link between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes, enabling the rapid movement of people and goods to the lands beyond. Rapid westward expansion was in part due to "Clinton's Ditch", the ridiculed dream of then New York Governor DeWitt Clinton.

So what's the big deal? Well, considering that this area of Buffalo's waterfront has been a barren wasteland for years, seeing Buffalo from this perspective is somewhat of a revelation. The Commercial Slip had been filled in years ago as canal traffic dwindled, and all traces of the formerly vibrant (and seedy) wharf district were left but to memory. With the Commercial Slip restored, foundations of original buildings uncovered, the old Whipple Truss design bridge in place and the new Buffalo Naval Park Museum facility open for business, there is just a feeling of rejuvenation. People who were there with us to see this minor miracle agreed; it was great to see anybody in Downtown Buffalo on a Sunday morning!

There's been a plan for this area for years, and there was a controversial plan some years ago to build a replica of the Commercial Slip, rather than excavate the original. Knowing that few people would show up for an ersatz landmark, preservationists fought for authenticity, even in the face of geologists brought in by the opposition who swore the original stone canal walls would "explode" if exposed to Buffalo winter weather. To no one's surprise, that didn't happen!

Much more development is needed as shown in my photos. Bass Pro Shops is still (apparently) committed to building a store on the site of the old Memorial Auditorium as a retail anchor and the Buffalo Naval Park is adjacent to the site, but various factions are still at odds as to how to most appropriately develop this important historical district. The sooner decisions can be made the better, but judging by what we saw today and the reaction of others, this is definitely the start of something good and glint of pride should come to the eye of any Buffalonian!

Goodnight, Jimmy Six-Pack!

Former Buffalo Mayor James D. "Jimmy" Griffin died today at age 78.

When I was 18 during the Blizzard of '85, Jimmy implored Buffalonians to grab a six-pack and stay home. If there was ever an essence of of a man and his philosophy, that was it. Plain, working class and controversial, Griffin tried his best save the Queen City from the fate of so many Rust Belt steel town with mixed results. Yes, there were new hotels, the new ball park and the marina but there was also the partisan squabbling, the downtown-killing Metro Rail, the fractious "Spring of Life" and the ridiculous affair over "Green Lightining".

While Buffalo was "Talkin' Proud" in the early 1980's, by the time Jimmy left office in 1994, Buffalo was suffering the exodus of thousands of citizens for warmer climes and better opportunities that continues today.

Could someone else have done better in those years and circumstances? Who knows. Love him or hate him, Jimmy left his indelible mark that many of us will be discussing over that six-pack in the days to come.

Goodnight, Jimmy Six-Pack!

Standing Ovation TV... not...

Ovation TV is having an "all music weekend", which I foolishly took literally as I decided to stay up late tonight. They're currently airing 'The Artist's Den" featuring Crowded House ( a high school favorite) and next is "Later...with Jools Holland" with special guest David Bowie.

Think you can count on a full night of quality artistic content? Not quite. Here's the late night/morning infomercial line-up:

4 - 4:30am: Natural Weight Loss
4:30 - 5am: Rockin' Body
5 - 5:30am: Eliminate Debt
5:30 - 6am: Look Younger
6 - 6:30am: Relieve Joint Pain
6:30 - 7am: Lose Weight Now
7 - 7:30am: The Answer to Acne
7:30 - 8am: Battle Hair Loss
8 - 8:30am: Celebrity Slim Down
8:30 - 9am: Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts(!)
9 - 9:30am: Eliminate (More) Debt
9:30 - 10am: Battle (More) Hair Loss
10 - 10:30am: Scrapbooking Made Easy
10:30am - 11am: The Franklin Mint
11 - 11:30am: Foreclosure Secrets
11:30 - Noon: (More) Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

Apparently, there is not enough artistic programming to available to fill a 24 hour cycle. But, I can insure that my 40 year old ass is rockin' slim, well coiffed, financially solid, physically flexible, Clearsil free and available to use my hard-earned dollars to invest in foreclosed properties and Franklin Mint collectibles so I can live like Dean Martin and scrapbook my memories to my heart's content.

Not.

You're No RFK, Hillary

I've been trying to keep politics out of this blog, but as a New Yorker, I really need to say that Hillary Clinton just needs to go away. Her Presidential bid - by any measure - is over for 2008, and the longer she stays in this race, the more petty she becomes.

Tonight was the kicker. In trying to justify staying in the race until June, HRC stated "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it." I'll say you don't understand it, Hil.

These aren't the types of errors you make when you are ready for prime time. This is the type of error that happens when you start thrashing in desperation. Both 1992 and 1968 were different circumstances than the 2008 Democratic race, and to invoke the name of an assassinated candidate (and New York Senator no less) is bizarre at best, macabre at worst.

With the announcement this week that Senator Ted Kennedy is battling a malignant brain tumor, it makes this reckless remark all the more distasteful. Perhaps even more disturbing is the implication that  she could be the nominee if Obama were to be assassinated. Unbelievable.

I make no bones about the fact that I haven't been an HRC supporter as I see little that she's done for the Western New York area, but I'm sorry. This is what we can expect more of for another month? I'm done with the Hillary. Done with Bill. Done with the Clintons. Sayonara.

UPDATE: Keith Olbermann's Special Comment from Friday 5/23: