gallifreyians: I unfortunately wasn’t able to review the first episode of Shin Sekai Yori like I had originally planned (needless to say it was a total nine out of ten), but thankfully I will be able to review this second episode.

The first thing that struck me about this show was the change in the style of the historical and anecdotal scenes. In the scene detailing the crowning of the fifth emperor of the “Holy Cherry Blossom Dynasty”, I really disliked the film grain effect, especially when the production team combined it with a poor focusing effect. I really have nothing against film grain (I think that it can do wonders atmospherically) and I actually quite like depth of field effects in anime (when they are done well [look at me throwing out photography/videography terms]), but in this specific scene they felt incongruent with the rest of the show. Tonally this scene came across as hyperbolic and cartoonish (unrealistic I should say, as Shin Sekai Yori is technically a cartoon) as opposed to the serious, almost literary, science-fantasy of the rest of the show — which was certainly not helped by the grain and sloppy D.O.F. effects. Perhaps if the color of the scene had been less orange-red-yellow and more varied and executed without the poor D.O.F. effects — or possibly even done in the same style of the first episode’s anecdotal episode and the ending — it would have come out better. The same can truly be said of the anecdotal scene about the karmic demon: the aesthetic of the scene is simply not good. This anecdote does utilize the same style as the other anecdotal scene, but when the film grain/texture effect/s are added on top of that you simply have too many ideas going on at once. The simplicity of the anecdote scene of the first episode was simply so powerful and so striking (and thus such a contributing factor in the impact of the scene) that adding anything greatly diminishes that power.

The visual prowess of the show is, unfortunately, not the only aspect of the show that lost it’s proverbial power. I also found the plot of the show to have lost something from the previous episode. As always the issue with adapting a media as solid as a novel into a segmented media such as television presents the issue of giving each segment just enough material to cover that also presents the audience with a closed plot; and here I think that Shin Sekai Yori did not do as well as it had previously. I feel as though the first episode had it’s own distinct plot that was nicely wrapped up by the end while still leaving room for future development of the over-arching plot. The second episode, however, seemed to be much less well put-together; being composed of three distinct plot points, the second episode (in rather stark contrast to the first) seems to me to be that in-between episode composed of the bits and pieces that don’t fit anywhere else. The boulder race game, the incident with the Monster Rats, and the opening to the camping story are very much disjointed, independent events that can function without the presence of the others, making them a poor choice to stick together in a single twenty-three minute episode.

What does bind the three segments together however (but does not excuse their disconnected stories) is their wonderful thematic coherence. In general, dystopian fiction deals with government and abuse of power, and so the idea of laws and rules and all of the ideas surrounding the breaking of those laws/rules obviously pops up once in a while — and this theme is very much embodied in the first two segments: the boulder race and the Monster Rat incident. While the first episode was a general introduction to the world of Shin Sekai Yori and the over-arching themes of the series, episode two is able to really focus in on a single theme. In the climax of the boulder race, one of the opposing team used their Power to directly stop the Pusher that Shun was controlling, which is a direct violation of the law that states that two Powers are not allowed to come into direct contact because it would (could?) create a rip in the fabric of space and time (…or something). The show then brilliantly juxtaposes this with the Monster Rat incident, where Saki breaks the law that students cannot use their Power without direct and explicit permission from their teachers/higher-ups — and this juxtaposition begs a huge question: is it okay to break the rules for the right reasons? When Manabu on the other team used his Power on Shun’s Pusher, it was for the petty reason to win the final round while Saki used her power to save the life of the drowning Monster Rat. In the eyes of the law, what is the difference between those two acts? Nothing; to the dystopian government, Manabu and Saki are both dirty rule breakers who need to be punished for their transgressions.

Yet when the audience looks at them, we see Katayama Manabu as a nasty child with complete disregard for the possible consequences of his actions as long as they allow him to achieve his person ends, and Saki as growing young girl with a sharp moral compass who is very aware of the impact of her actions on others. The sharpness of this contrast between the in-universe legal and moral social position and the real life legal and moral social positions is where the point of the episode lays: this universe — in subtle, nuanced ways — is corrupt, and our protagonists are going to learn it the hard way. The pointed thematic of the episode is honestly, in my opinion, the true saving grace, lending an ideological cohesion that the first episode lack in many ways.

illegenes: If the first episode was just an introduction to the world of Shinsekai, then this episode was all about building upon those hints further while also focusing on group interaction.  The game seen in this week’s episode was not only fascinating, but incredibly creative – and allowed for our group of protagonists to really work with one another and focus. We also learned about some of the rules in effect at the school – for example, it’s forbidden to use your Cantus on others (I guess in a way this could be a form of bullying or just massive murder, considering how capable these kids really are – remember Episode 1?) and that our main protagonist has a crush on the smart guy. Which I kind of like.

That said, the game provides some insight into how the school tries to educate its students. It not only encourages creativity, teamwork and competition, but it also enforces this unique sense of ‘high judgement’ or as I’d like to call it, “Our word is law!” Even when our team wins as the other team broke a rule, the teacher says it’s a draw and there’s little space for arguing given. If you break the rules, you’re dead. Who can’t say that going against a teacher’s commands would result in the same sort of thing? What’s more troubling is that everyone was aware of how the other team broke the rules, and yet, our group was never rewarded for their efforts. It makes me wonder if this competition was more of a test to see who’d give in under pressure. That’s precisely what makes Shinsekai all the more terrifying: the factual evidence is minimal, and any information we glean may or may not be true. Likewise, our main cast also understands that something is fundamentally wrong here, despite not having the power to see all the events that we, the audience, sees. Though this knowledge is suppressed by that fear and the desire for utopia, they are equally as frightened of the adults who teach them, and thus they are very much aware of the kind of society that they live in. A society where if rules aren’t obeyed, people are punished, and where a cast system exists for those who lack power and are so disgraceful that they cannot be touched nor looked at. And that is Shinsekai‘s saving grace. Our characters aren’t stupid – they’re children, yes, and they’re prone to making mistakes due to their natural curiosity, but they aren’t blind to the world around them, and that’s essential for me to start caring about them.

But it also has me wondering: what do we really know about our characters here? The way Shinsekai is set up makes me feel like I’m being overloaded with information that I can’t process yet, almost Penguindrum style. Other than our main protagonist and her estranged relationship with her mother (which is actually really fascinating, considering she’s the only adult character who has some depth to her), nothing has been revealed about our other characters and the lives they’ve had to lead in this twisted world. Can we really trust anyone? Can we even trust our narrator, who is revealed to be Saki herself? What is real in this show, and what is not? From a New World isn’t just about exploring a new world: it’s literally about exposing a place that is so foreign, so fundamentally different than anything we know about today, that it’s frightening. Thus, the true mystery and sense of horror of the show comes from the increasingly intense claustrophobia: the paranoia, lack of knowledge and the idea that something formidable is closing in. It’s a nice breather from the usual gorn anime uses for horror effects, but whether all this hard work will come to fruition or not is yet to be seen.

In terms of animation and visuals, Shinsekai has smoothly progressed forward. I actually loved the grain use in the flashbacks. Not only is film grain used to achieve a vintage effect – fitting for a flashback to a society that’s ‘outdated’ in these children’s eyes, but it’s also a physical sort of feel to the grittiness and disturbing visuals used in the flashback itself. Like a tape that’s gone bad, with color use that’s dull, almost ‘inverted’ and nightmarish, the flashback in Shinsekai was nothing less than beautifully disturbing. My favorite scene of the entire episode was the orange rotting. It was absolutely breathtaking in animation, but terrifying to the eyes nevertheless. It all goes to show how Shinsekai makes sure we can’t – and don’t – look away, for every detail in this show is crucial to understanding what’s actually going on. We may not be fully aware of the larger forces at hand, but each episode gives us a handful of puzzle pieces to look at. The day where we can actually put something together may not be far off, as Shinsekai can only keep up this sort of mystery format for so long before we get bored. But given how controlled everything is, I think the show understands this, and knows exactly where it’s taking us. So for now, I’m comfortable with letting the show steer us forward at the pacing it prefers. After all, the real horror has yet to come. Oh, we know it’s coming all right. But just like everything in Shinsekai, the big question is: when?

wendeego: Count me in as somebody who enjoyed this episode’s historical opening as well. It was admittedly over the top, but as a surreal nightmare of blue fire and hysteria I thought it was quite effective.

Otherwise, what I found most interesting about this episode in particular was how committed it was to its school life setting. You’d expect that a future school for psychics that likely brainwashes its students into obedience and picks off underachievers would be darker and moodier, but I’d say that so far the school in Shinsekai has come off far less outwardly sinister than, say, Jintai’s hellish academy. I was especially struck by the music, which seemed lifted directly from just about every visual novel attempting to convey the supposedly carefree days of school life. It helps of course that these characters are twelve years old, not high school students–the innocence of their surroundings is a little easier to take. In addition, the game that formed the centerpiece of this episode (played by psychics, of course) received a greatly needed kick in the pants from Shun, whose erasure of the hole on his side of the field implied that the point of the game isn’t so much to win by conventional means, as it is to creatively bend the rules as far as possible without breaking them. Which is, of course, what the head of the opposing team does before the Copycat supposedly spirits him away.
Even in the midst of what should be tedium, there’s a welcome undercurrent of unease that makes Shinsekai that much creepier.

There are a handful of directorial touches I’m still not sure of. The introduction of a narrator in the form of what is presumably an older Saki is discontinuous with the previous episode, and seems to me a pretty cheap technique to introduce exposition without having to convey that information through trickier means. The end of the episode, with the implication that one of the cast would cause trouble farther down the line, felt a bit oddly placed, just like how the previous episode’s mention that the girl had disappeared came off as slightly anticlimactic. Shinsekai does a lot of things right, and the source material it is based on is supposedly strong. But there are enough bits of choppy pacing seeded throughout these past few episodes to imply that the staff has a ways to go before their handling of the material becomes faultless rather than admirable but rough.

That said, if there’s one thing the staff of Shinsekai have nailed, it’s the visuals. The character designs continue to be (deliberately?) generic, but some of the shots are outstandingly beautiful and the general atmosphere of the show is fantastic. Also introduced this episode were the rat people, whose mangled speech seeded with intelligible words of worship might have been one of the most effective moments of the episode for me. With the coming episode’s camping trip, it looks like the biology of this strange new world is coming into focus. I wouldn’t be surprised if Shinsekai ups the stakes in the near future and throws its cast off the deep end, in the style of a certain other show about children made slaves to an unfair system. But so far, the ride to that inevitable moment of reckoning is just entertaining enough to be well worth the trip.

As I lay awake in bed, and my mind wanders endlessly through all the things in life that piss me off, I find myself wondering, what do people think about when they are unable to sleep? Do you too lay awake thinking about your personal life struggles?

For me, I know I lay awake thinking through all of the 1100 plus legal rights I am denied every single day. It rolls over and over in my mind until I want to scream. But, truly it is not the denial of rights that keep me up, but the people who call themselves my friends that do not care that I am denied such basic rights.

When I have had enough of that I begin to scrutinize my lesson plans for school. Sending myself into a tizzy over getting all of students to actually learn calculus instead of sit in the back of the class with a unicorn mask on. True story.

I wonder if it would be possible to turn my thoughts to happy fluffy thoughts on restless nights. Maybe everyone else lays awake thinking of thanksgiving dinner, or magical vacations. Because naturally the best happy thoughts involve pumpkin pie and vacation. Oh my god y’all we should all go on a thanksgiving vacation where pumpkin pie is served everyday.

As I struggle on my journey towards inner peace, knowing full well, you cannot find inner peace. It is already within you. I know I must let my frustration go. Frustration is a simple emotion. It changes nothing but your perspective of the world around you. It does not actually change the world around you.

Whether I sleep at all tonight will not make the sun rise any later, or my boss suddenly decide we can do without that lunch meeting. It will make me super sleepy and probably nauseous all day, but hey inner peace wasn’t achieved in a day. Many spend their entire lives trying to calm their inner mind, but few are able to do so.

Namaste

p.s. you are totally singing the theme song to three’s company right now aren’t you?

p.p.s I totally miss 70′s tv.

The Jeffersons — CBS - George and Louise Jefferson are great, but Florence stole the show. Her chemistry with George made this a riot to watch each week. =D

I hope you have enjoyed this look inside some of the great television programming of the 80s. If you haven’t seen these shows, grab a tv dinner and watch away. You won’t regret it! There is a reason they keep trying to bring these shows back. You can’t beat the originals. Don’t believe me? Try it and you will see!

Like Totally Yours,

Sophie Grumble

From “The Jeffersons” to “Saved By The Bell” to “MTM”, they cover all your favorite theme songs, they cover the 70s, 80s & 90s. See if you can name all the shows by watching the video here.

(SPOILER – Here are the themes they sang, in order: The Jeffersons; All In The Family; Golden Girls; Friends; The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; Facts of Life; Good Times; The Greatest American Hero; Three’s Company; Sanford & Son; Full House; Saved by the Bell; Happy Days; Cheers; The Mary Tyler Moore Show)

From the get-go this is a compelling tale whose central scenes remain as clear to me today as they were when it first aired on Apr. 14, 1977. What I mostly remember is the sudden and unrelenting brutalism of the episode’s guest villain, a large, imposing yachtsman named Jeff, towards gentle Jack Tripper.

Before Jack even enters the scene, the surly seaman establishes his character by boastfully implicating himself as a date-rapist and attempted murderer (he threw a woman overboard because she wouldn’t put out). Even my housemate, who overheard the dialogue while working on her computer across the room, said “ewww” and turned around to see who exactly was uttering these crass lines.

When Jack steps in to protect Chrissy from surly Jeff and his groping paws, things go from bad to worse. If there’s one thing Jeff likes better than molesting women, it’s antagonizing less imposing men.

Considering the New Zoo Revue-like feel of a typical Three’s Company script, Jeff’s unbridled aggressiveness at the Regal Beagle is all the more disturbing. Even 35 years later I wince with sympathetic fear for Jack Tripper each time the bully enters the scene.

 ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

The episode’s middle-eight takes place in Jack, Chrissy, and Janet’s apartment, where Jack chews the scenery, agonizing through various poses of self-loathing and self-pity, acting out his newfound emasculation in full-throated anguish for his two Playboy Bunny-esque housemates, who futilely try to mop up what’s left of his bludgeoned ego.

“Jack the Giant Killer” resolves in straightforward sitcom fashion. Jack returns with the girls to the Regal Beagle and loads up on liquid courage to confront Jeff, who enters the Beagle and heads straight for the bar. Janet sees him first and goes over to whisper something in his ear before Jack can do anything.

Before we have a chance to know what Janet says, Jack steps up and gives the bullying buccaneer a verbal keelhauling followed by eight long seconds of limp-wristed judo moves and high-pealed screeching. Jeff, who has been so confrontational throughout the show, now backs away apologetically after Jack berates him for being such an awful human being.

Surprised he didn’t get slugged, Jack asks Janet, “What did you say to him?”

“I told him you had a plate in your head from rescuing your entire platoon in Vietnam,” she chirped.

♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Wha-wha-whaa??? I almost spit up my sanka when Janet said that. It’s the way she blurted the words so casually, flippantly even, that made me do a double take.

Vietnam was a taboo subject in mainstream Hollywood in the Seventies. You just didn’t hear it mentioned on the big or little screen until 1978, when a sudden spate of studio films about that war and its vets emerged (Coming Home, The Deer Hunter, and Apocalypse Now), and the “Vietnam in Hollywood” era was launched. Nam acquired instant TV gravitas during this time. Mentioning a wounded vet’s combat experience was a subject reserved for Emmy-winning dramas, not farce.

In later years, you might expect the “watch out, he’s a psycho-Vietnam vet” gag to be played in an edgy Fox sitcom, but it seems way too dark (not to mention complicated) for the pratfall-based plotlines of Three’s Company.

So what’s going on here?

Either Three’s Company has addressed the condition of the Vietnam vet a full year before Coming Home and the Deer Hunter famously broke down that barrier, or the writers for the show where the kisses are hers and hers and his needed a way to wrap the scene fast and came up with the plate-in-the-head-from-Nam line as if it were just an innocuous  ‘you wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses, would you?’ gag.

I vote for the latter. The allusion to Jack taking shrapnel to the cranium to save his platoon was made in that simpler time, before the abovementioned films sensitized us towards the condition of the Vietnam vet. It’s still unclear whether Jeff the bully was supposed to have feared Jack as a lethal combat fighter or pitied him as a disabled war hero, but we’ll chalk that ambiguity up to mediocre writing.

This isn’t the only scene that is jarring to the modern psyche. There is also the episode’s very first shot, where Jeff establishes himself as a would-be date-rapist who throws women overboard when they spurn his advances.

“Jack the Giant Killer” is just the fourth Three’s Company episode ever produced, but it didn’t air until the fifth week of a six-week initial season. It was as if they knew this one had problems and were willfully holding it back as long as possible.

Either way, it’s an interesting pop culture footnote and a humble reminder that even something as empty-caloried and nougat-filled as Three’s Company can be mined for valuable nuggets of historical information.

♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Such a tale I have to tell!  I fear I shall rue it when wine no longer bubbles through my veins.  It doesn’t actually do that, you know.  Blood is still all blood, for it tests no more acidic after drinking than before.  And yet, how is it that the intoxicating fumes reach up to befuddle the mind so quickly?  Might it move as a vapor through the nerves?  Or is there some more clever method of finding it in the blood?  It is clear that it makes its way to the the lungs, for the breathe exhales with the smell of liquor, even after the mouth and throat are cleaned.  Guradan will not indulge my experiments further, and says I must get to bed before I am sick.  I would not want to spoil such a day with that sort of mess.

I miss you, beloved.  Forgive me, please, and come when you may.  I didn’t mean it about mother.  I’m glad she sent me a sister.

Guradan insists!  He uses his masterful tone.  I cannot resist him when he sounds like a King of Gondor, or a hero of old.  Please do come.

Iseulte

*********

Dear Ham,

It pains me to write what must be words bringing sore disappointment, but I fear that I am indisposed in such a manner that I will not be able to grace your arm this evening.  But no alarm!  It is an embarrassing and unsightly inconvenience rather than a matter of genuine concern for life and limb, but one that would be unacceptable in good company.  Will you forgive me for hoping until the last instant that the annoyance would clear in time?

Do give our hero of the hour an extra handshake from me.  I can say, as few can, that I saw her at work.

Ruefully yours,

Jane Pickthorn

*********

Ceecee,

I scrached up zee vall bi aksident.  Pleez dont bee mad.  I thot I smelt anuthur baer, but it turnt owt too bee just zee naybor’z rug.  Zee vind vuz blowink intoo zee bedrum and I got kunfuzed and bekuz yoo sed no beink a bear in zee nayborhud anee mor owtsid, I just skratched insid and howped zee uzer bear kud smel it wel enuf and nott hurt yo or zee kituns or Bruk or zee chikunz or Mr. Pig.  But ther iz no uzer bear.  Onlee me.  Pleez dont kill Mr. Grandin’s rug.  He iz already ded.  I vish I kud nott smell ded bear so much.

Yoo kan bi noo papur vatever yoo lik.  Evun thee vun I dont lik.  Yuz thee gloo that duznut smell lik burnt feters.  Or thee fisch kind, bekuz I mite furgit and eet it.  May bee thee kind mad frum hoofs is gud.  It duznut mak me to hungary.

Iz it alrite if vee do nott eat Mr. Pig?  I kno it vuz zee plan, butt Mr. Pig doez not vunt too be etun.  Kan vee perhaps do ozer thingz vit himm?  Perhaps hee kan be a gard pig.

I luv yoo veri much and am soree abowt zee vall.

Brodi.*

*((Dalish accent + hooked on phonics did not vurk for himm))

*********

Miss Proudfoote,

Pursuant to your motion to dismiss, Judge Bracegirdle has declined.  You are required to plead your case with all relevant documentation before the Bench on 1 Winterfilth of this year at the Town Hole, Hobbiton.  Should you not appear on the day and time specified, the court will automatically find in favor of T. Sandyman and you will be required to pay in full.

Respectfully,

P. Boffin, Court Clerk

*********

Miss V. Proudfoote,

You are hereby subpoenaed to bring before the assessor’s table records of all your financial and material assets and holdings pursuant to the debts owed T. Sandyman.  Should you not furnish such records, our assessor will uphold the estimated assessment of 11 gold based on your salary, known work record, and length of employment.  Be aware that assets gathered before your majority are subject to the accounting.

As you are aware, this maximum assessment fulfills only 33.4% of the debts owed against your mother’s estate.  Should you fail to obtain the balance, it will fall to your sisters upon their majority, as per Three Farrows item #44.a in the Hobbiton-Bywater code.

Respectfully,

F. Haymower, Hobbiton-Bywater assessor.

*********

Miss V. Proudfoote,

Your motion to exclude your siblings due to their adoption has been denied.  I am beyond sorry to bear such disappointing news, but the judge was inclined to see the adoption as an attempt to evade debt obligations and could not be made to see reason.  I have hopes for the appeal, which will be heard before the bench in Tuckborough next week.

Stay strong, dear.  It’s not yet done, after all, and Sandyman’s fingers can’t be in every pocket.  Your kind offer to prepare our taxes is appreciated, and will cover in full this month’s fees.

Yours,

Merriman Chubb-Grubb, Solicitor at Law, Grubb & Sons, Bywater

*********

Miss V. Proudfoote,

You are hereby warned that any coin spent in solicitor’s fees will not be discounted from the assessment of your current assets, nor will it be taken from the total debt owed.  I must remind you that all coin so spent will only make your burden more difficult when the courts inevitably decide to uphold your legal and binding debts.

Should you desist now, Mr. Sandyman is prepared to negotiate a reduction in debt against your exclusive services as accountant until such time as the balance is paid off by your work.  You can scarcely be so unreasonable as to refuse what is clearly the only option left you.  Think of your family, and the kind friends who have been so good as to take them in at what must be considerable and burdensome expense.  You would not be so greedy as to let your family’s debts drag them down as well.

Regards,

Cutford Hardbottle, Solicitor at Law, Hardbottle & Stone

A talent for playing off-the-wall characters, Jeffrey Tambor has been seen by television and movie audiences for four decades. A large, looming fellow, his sly-eyed look and leering gaze, matched with a bright set of pearly whites and stark pattern baldness, made him a natural for broad, warped comedy. He was first seen on episodic TV in the mid-1970′s, with multiple appearances on Three’s Company (1976) in which he would stand toe-to-toe with John Ritter and steal many of their scenes with his noticeably bizarre mannerisms. Click here to watch this clip of one of his guest spots on Three’s Company. Other notable appearances include Underrated Movie #77 Win Win (2011), Hellboy (2004), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Meet Joe Black (1998), There’s Something About Mary (1998), City Slickers (1991), Underrated Movie #81 Three O’Clock High (1987), and Mr. Mom (1983). Click here for a complete filmography.

Napeague Walking Dunes

as seen on canada.com

From the exploration of the Walking Dunes on Long Island to a look ahead at the August civic holiday long weekend, wine persists as the imperative of investigation. Vines are like the barren landscape’s phantom forest of forever shifting powder, speaking of a specific idea, a philosophy, a métier. A forest of pitch pine and oak is buried over by wind driven, walking sands. Truth be told, the pursuit of wine is made possible by ever evolving vines, each unique to its local sense of place.

I go wining like the Montauketts and Bonackers who once worked these fruitful waters. I rake the releases and wine stores to unearth gems like the crabs and clams crawling in Montauk’s living waters.

The dry summer is creating a challenge to crops but the teeming ocean swells alive. Lobster, Fluke, Blue Fish, Scallops and especially crabs are abundant and well-priced. Look for these under $20 values to enliven your long weekend meals.

Soft Shell Crab, Fluke and Delmonico Sirloin

The grape: Pinot Gris

The history: Alsatian at heart, PG is laying down roots all over the New World

The lowdown: Arguably the finest Kiwi version I’ve found, especially at this price

The food match: Steamed Mussels in white wine, shallot, fennel and tarragon

Spinyback Pinot Gris 2010 (214569, $16.95) of sexy flesh and bone has got a lot going on for the IVR*. River walks through Maori gardens of “ginger, lemon, indigo, coriander stem and rose of hay.” Biting chalky, mineral and pear, finding the river and swimming with Notacanthus sexspinis.  89

The grape: Chardonnay

The history: Lack of oak in Chablis makes for mineral-driven wines

The lowdown: Quality is rarely high at the under $20 (non-Cru) level. This could be your Wonderwall

The food match: Steamed and Grilled Soft-Shell Crab with lime aioli

Domaine Des Malandes Chablis 2010 (111658, $18.95) is a crisp, fresh, floral and tropical oasis of quality in a sea of mediocrity. The citron pressé, ”back beat, the word was on the street” Malandes is endowed of high complexity and complement.  88

The grape: Fiano

The history: Ancient varietal from southern Italy

The lowdown: The unheralded whites of the Campania are one of the wine world’s undiscovered treasures

The food match: Grilled Calamari with garlic, olive oil, lemon, capers and parsley

Terre Dora Fiano di Avellino 2010 (120048, $18.95) is always good company and accompanies warm water seafood with pairing ease. Juicy, bursting citrus and tropical, tree-fruit flavours. This Fiano of one of Terre Dora’s three terrific, single-varietal whites (along with the Greco and Falanghina). This Fiano can knock on my door anytime.  89

The grape: Syrah

The history: Noble, dark as night varietal from the Northern Rhône

The lowdown: Languedoc Syrah tends to need support from Grenache and Mourvedre but this one emulates the northern style, in a top vintage and for a song

The food match: Crispy Pork Belly and parsnip pureé

Domaine Les Yeuses Les Épices Syrah 2009 (177584, $13.95) is certainly more north than south with its smokey, cured beef and pork perambulations. Depth to raise thoughts of Septaguanarian Hermitage vines of twist and gnarl. A touch of burnt rubber and varnish but all in all a heap of Syrah for under $14.  87

The grape: Garnacha

The history: Big, juicy red of French and Iberian fame

The lowdown: Under $15 Calatayud Garnacha has become a consistent go to value

The food match: Ground Sirloin Burgers with Mahon Cheese

Filón Garnacha 2010 (280602, $14.95) is actually a bit of a misprision because of its black fruit character. Re-enacts Tuscan IGT and the most modern of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Tar, asphalt, bitter chocolate and sanguine Kirsch and very, very ripe fruit. Grand oak and tons of wine at $15.  88

The grape: Zinfandel

The history: Primate-like cousin to Primitivo from Italy and before that, Yugoslavia

The lowdown: Dry Creek Valley does this varietal like no other; sweet and dry.

The food match: Dry Rub, St. Louis Style Side Ribs

Pedroncelli Bushnell Vineyard Zinfandel 2009 (463026, $22.95) is so toothsome and bruising you may want to eat it with a fork. A sickly sweet moment is rescued by the DCV terroir. This 15.2% abv elixir of crushed and blended berries is a single-vineyard beauty that begs a question. Why pay $50 for top-tier Zinfandel when you can go Pedroncelli?  89

The Splurge

The grapes: Grenache and Syrah

The history: Storied producer of more than 200 years located near the famous Dentelles de Montmirail

The lowdown: The best Grapillon since 2001

The food match: Grilled Delmonico Sirloin Steak with cherry tomato, avocado and black beans salsa

Domaine Du Grapillon D’or Gigondas 2010 (981787, $28.95) of inky, jet black pitch is bombastic and confidently announces itself of full extraction. Blueberry compote, macerated cherries, roasted and bleeding elk all come to the visceral mind. Sweet, viscous liquor with acidity and viscous tannin. Needs 10 years or several oxygenated hours to settle in.  91

On a lighter note, something I’ve been thinking about lately. I miss a lot of my TV shows that have cancelled and have been off for a few years now. I think we need some more reunions from TV shows. If you could pick any show who would you chose to make a reunion of? I think there should be a reunion special of Friends, Will & Grace, and That’s 70′s Show. I’ve been waiting for a reunion for the first two for a while. I don’t know how many years we have to wait to get a reunion started, but I wish one was soon. All the news about Mila Kunis and Ashton Kruchter dating, just makes me want a That 70′s Show reunion even more.

This might sound weird but I’ve also been thinking about taking a trip through time and hoping for a reunion special for the shows from the 70′s and 80′s and some earlier shows. Since Andy Griffith has passed away, I wish they did a newer reunion show of The Andy Griffith Show with Ron Howard and Don Knotts. There probably was a reunion special out there I just haven’t found it yet. I would have love to see a Mama’s Family, Three’s A Company, I Love Lucy and The Golden Girls reunion. These were the shows I literally grew up on so I just wish there was a reunion special re-aired or something in the works, but it would be hard to do with half the stars have passed away before getting these in the works. I’d also love to see Full House and Roseanne have reunion specials as well.

as seen on canada.com

Canoe trip cooking adheres to a less is more, zen-like philosophy. The chef must manage the intensity of absences, the maximization of omissions. The carrying weight of a tripping pack, storage restrictions and spoilage all combine to limit the boundaries of mis en place. Culinary science as outdated rhetorical lunacy, the act of banal heroism. My muse may not be a Jack Tripper Coq-au-Vin but “Lordy, Lordy, Lordy,” cooking outdoors is just plain fun.

The simple and meditative act of back country canoe camping perculiarizes the anthology of Canadian culture. Long before the assembly to dominion it was a summoning that defined our call to being. Today, the courir dans les bois persists as a tug of positable mythic that underlies who and what we are. Cherrywood paddles cutting whirlpools through ambient lakes.  Portage ambling over trails cut out of the forest lined with networking tree root systems and glacially deposited rocks. This base traversing of the landscape, in and out of a canoe, plodding a direct and simple course from points A to B.

Paddling Home

“Living on nuts and berries” once sustained us, we gatherers, fishermen, hunters and farmers. Canoe trip cooking marked an enlightened beginning for many Canadian chefs, a list not the least of which includes me. It was simpler back then. Tripper’s stew, Mac and Cheese, Boil in the Foil. I don’t miss and reminisce on those anti-culinary days. The paradox of modern campfire cooking merges the taste of maple, pine and birch smoke with gastronomical possibilities that leave beef jerky and tuna surprise in the dust. The demotic canoe trip maxim might state “show me a good casserole and I’ll show you a casserole.”

Pancake Breakfast

The key to canoe trip cooking, especially in the heat of the summer, is to keep perishable food cold for as long as possible. Freeze everything that can be frozen the night before departure, transfer to the food barrel and don’t open until dinner. Remove only last in, first out items and re-seal the barrel. The following morning the milk, eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese will all be good to go, straight from the “fridge.”

Green Beans, Feta, Golden Beets and Kale Shoots

Recent years have seen preparations that included Glazed Baby Back Ribs, Smashed Potatoes, Fried Rice, Deep Dish Pizza, Tortellini in Brodo, Grilled Flank Steak and Mushroom Risotto. Night one in July 2012 ventures into some new territory. Vietnamese Phở Bò Tái Nạm, Pan-Fried Halibut, Salad of Green Beans, Golden Beets, Greek Feta and Kale Shoots.

Soup’s On

Pho Bo Tai Nam

Ingredients:

1 package of flat rice noodles
2 lbs. centre cut beef tenderloin
2 litres frozen chicken stock
cheesecloth spice bag filled with cassia (cinnamon bark), fennel seed, whole cayenne chile, coriander seed, star anise, Szechuan peppercorn and clove. tied up with butcher’s string
fresh bean sprouts or baby greenhouse pea shoots
Thai basil (can substitute regular green, Genovese or purple basil)
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:

Bring water to a rolling boil for 15 minutes and add rice noodles. Cook for three minutes, strain out the water and coat liberally in canola oil.

Grill Beef Tenderloin over campfire coals until charred and rare. Remove and rest for 20 minutes.

Take out frozen chicken stock from the food barrel, transfer to a stock pot and add one litre water. Drop in a sachet of spices. Bring to a rolling boil over extreme campfire heat and continue to boil for 15 minutes.

Slice beef very thin.

Serve bowls of broth with rice noodles, sliced beef, bean sprouts and Thai basil.

Slicing the Beef

Braised beef, fully cooked and frozen ahead, effectively works protein into night two of a canoe trip. Rump roast, stew beef and short rib can all be reshaped into stew. BBQ sauce glazed boneless short rib acts as esculent partner to rice, beans and pasta. In this case, good-bye baked beans and hello Garam Masala-spiced green lentils. The beef would star in a Khao San Road inspired Khao Soi but tonight it rides along with grilled Veal Knuckers, gluten-free corn pasta, olives, baby carrots and Padano Parmesan.

BBQ Flanken

Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients:

3 lbs. beef short rib, cut “flanken” style”
2 shallots, peeled and sliced in half
4 garlic cloves, sliced in half
2 cups dry red wine
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup BBQ sauce

Method:

The day before the trip, season flanken butchered short rib with salt and pepper.

Braise for two hours in a 375 degree oven covered in red wine, shallot and garlic.

Remove from the jus, cool, discard the bones, then deep freeze wrapped in foil and double-bagged.

Glaze with BBQ sauce and grill over hot coals, two minutes each on all four sides. Slice and serve.

Courtesy of PlatyPreserve

Boxed wines have been the go to beverage to pair with my uptempo, combative and sanguinary campfire cooking. On my next venture into a Canadian nature preserve I plan to bring better wine. On the reliable and heady advice of AM, hereto referred to as my “wine conscience,” this contraption will house a bottle or two of something more than drinkable. I’m not suggesting a classified growth Bordeaux or Barolo here. I’m thinking dry as the desert Italian reds will find their way inside the preservation system.

Argiano NC Non Confunditur 2009 (72397, $24.95) achieves crunge by amalgamating Cabernet Sauvignon (chocolate and berries), Merlot (basil, lead), Syrah (black as night) and Sangiovese (animale grosso) in a Super-Tuscan, spezzatura package. Could paddle without a care to the world and sip this all day while searching for “that confounded bridge.” He sure is a good friend.  90

Mazzei Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 2009 (977629, $25.95) confounds as a juxtaposition of the exquisite and the atavistic. A prince of raspberry purée, “I think I love you.” Yet oak and osseous variation turn the Mazzei into a Black Beret, a strong-willed and big-boned, alpha male animal.  Walk with the Moose.  88

Good to go!

1. You’ve already heard me talk about roosters, rats and raccoons. What more can you take? I mean, really. I don’t know if I want to start setting a precedent here.

2. It was one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life.

3. It really scared the crap out of me.

But, hey. Aside from #1 above, aren’t #2 and #3 the makings of just about the perfect story to tell the world? I‘ve already told you I peed my pants, so let’s do this thing:

Last November, I planned a family trip to Hawaii. It was my mom’s 60th birthday and she had just finished breast cancer treatment so we were all in the mood to celebrate.

It was a large group: my mom, brother, his wife, their two children, John and I and Olivia. We wanted to stay together and naturally, we needed a pool.

I love pretending like I know what I’m doing, so I offered to coordinate the details.

Not gonna lie: it’s kinda high-pressure to plan something like this for a large group, especially for a stress-job like me. There’s really no way around feeling personally responsible for everyone’s satisfaction, even if some things might be out of your control.

So anyway, we get there and the place was good enough. Nothing to write home about, but it was large, there was a fridge for the wine I mean snacks, and it had a pool.

So far, so good.

Fast forward to the first night. The kids are all tucked away in bed and the adults are sitting around the kitchen enjoying a celebratory cocktail. Laughing, and laughing, oh the good times.

Pretty soon, we start to peel off, one by one, headed for bed. The last four standing were my mom, my husband and myself.

And the 4th person standing?

Well, it wasn’t really a person so much as a big, huge, black cockroach in the middle of the kitchen floor. Except he wasn’t standing so much as darting mockingly across the room like a demented version of the Gingerbread Man. I for sure heard him shout, “Hee hee, you can’t catch me!” as he scurried under the table.

Well, we DID catch him, with a Solo cup and my screams, and kicked his little crunchy butt to the curb, aka the toilet.

Oh, was I shaking. A) I had never seen a cockroach in real life. We live in the Pacific Northwest, people. We have slugs. B) Fear and panic that I had just checked us all into the Roach Motel and we were only on NIGHT ONE rushed through me.

This was going to be a long night.

In the next scene, we find ourselves in bed. I am just dozing off when I feel something tickling my hair. Surely I am dreaming but I’d better do a cursory sweep of my head just in case AND WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT??? I SWEAR I JUST FELT SOMETHING CRAWLING IN MY HAIR!!!!

No, no, love calm down. Says John. Go back to bed.

I frantically rush around, looking for the light switch, and when I finally find it the glaring spotlight is cast onto ………………… THIS: 

Right about now I am picturing all of you saying, “Yeah right, Melisa. Good one. You are just joking. Ha ha.”

Oh, what I wouldn’t pay for this to be a joke. The only discrepancy between the photo above and the actual nightmarish scene was I think the real cockroach was bigger.

Seriously.

Ready for what happened next? As soon as the light came on, he darted back down behind the bed. And then, guess what? Oh, that playful little trickster! He darted BACK UP onto the bed! And not just the bed, but MY PILLOW! Oh, for the laughs.

I’m pretty sure this is what he said to me:

Come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion! You know you want to…

On tonight’s to-do list? A scalding hot shower to try and wash this memory off.

What do you have planned this weekend? I’d love to hear from you!

]]> http://simplyannette.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/fantasy-floorplans/ Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:05:59 +0000 Simply Annette http://simplyannette.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/fantasy-floorplans/

My mom is an architect and my dad has dabbled in his fair share of construction projects. So needless to say, some of my childhood memories include going to the printer to pick up building blueprints. So when I learned about Brandi Roberts’ Fantasy FloorplansTM, it took me down memory lane – in more ways than one. Hand-drawing floorplans since the age of seven, Brandi now brings to life over 100 floorplans from some of American television’s most famous homes: I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, The Brady Bunch, I Dream of Jeannie, Laverne & Shirley, The Cosby Show, Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, The Simpsons, Sex and the City, Mad Men, and many, many more.

Fantasy FloorplansTM was born out of Brandi’s love of drawing, interior design, and television. It’s such a creative gift for the TV buff in your life. Personally, I can think of quite a few friends who would get a kick out of having this hanging in their home or office. And of course, I want one too. The hard part is going to be choosing which one! As I’ve previously posted, I’m a huge fan of The Golden Girls, but Three’s Company has special place in my heart too!

Photos clockwise from top left: Fantasy Floorplan™ for Sex and the City/Residence of Carrie Bradshaw – 8.5×11 Archival BluePrint ($39); Fantasy Floorplan™ for Seinfeld/Residence of Jerry Seinfeld and Cosmo Kramer – 11×17 Archival BluePrint ($49); Fantasy Floorplan™ for The Golden Girls/Residence of Dorothy Zbornak, Rose Nylund, Blanche Devereaux, Sophia Petrillo – 11×17 Archival BluePrint ($42); Fantasy Floorplan™ for The Simpsons/Residence of Marge & Homer Simpson – 2nd Floor – 8.5×11 Archival BluePrint ($36).

WEBSITE // FACEBOOK // TWITTER