Craft. Read. Cook. Listen. Look.
A new feature I am rolling out today
I believe that Life is divided by five elements that combine to create culture. These elements combine differently in each human being and make us completely unique from each other. But they are also universal among civilized beings and are the strings that hold us together. Each element can be, and indeed should be, reacted to and interpreted differently and personally for each person. Each element can be as inclusive as a heart desires.
I express this belief as a formula:
Life / Food + Music + Art + Craft + History = Culture (L/5e=C)
My belief in culture is very personal. I have lived in a lot of cultures. In my 56 years of breathing Earth’s air, I have moved around parts of this country all of my life it seems. While researching my life for my upcoming book, I made an actual tabulation of the cultures I have been blessed to have become familiar with. I do not believe in, and actually reject, the notion of cultural appropriation. Ever hear of a Korean Taco? Ever make a Michelada with a Bavarian lager? Ever eat stir-fried rice with Carolina BBQ Pork? So get over that load of crap.
I was not born into any of these cultures, with the exception of Family. Much of my exposure was not of my doing; others, obviously, were. In every category, there were people I liked and some I did not. Remarkably, the similarity of tribal structure and hierarchy runs through each philosophy I experienced. And as my Great-Grandma Waelbrock (God rest her soul) used to say
Trash comes in every color.
The sameness of people and their intimate desires are more the same than different. By intimate, I do not mean carnal, I mean those decisions made in the heart about how we act and react to others. It is the core of our civilization. I met, lived, and loved with sinners and saints in each sphere I existed in:
• Family Culture
• White Trash Culture
• Cowboy Culture
• Surfer Culture
• Bull Rider Culture
• Stoner Culture
• Redneck Culture
• Heavy Metal Culture
• Mexican Culture
• Prison Culture
• C-Level Executive Culture
• Blue Collar Culture
• Hippie Culture
• Bohemian Culture
I lay all that out to give you a lay of the land I have traversed, both on the ground and in my soul. And to introduce another horse in the stable. This horse carries a lighter burden compared to the others I load up with saddle-bags of long-held emotional rocks. This horse packs in all the fun stuff of life: eating, reading, crafting, watching, entertaining, reflecting.
In this space I will relate to you the current tracks in my life. In return, I sincerely ask you to comment on what you like or do not like, what you do the same, and what you do differently with the same things. My goal here, as in what I have come to view as my mission in life lately, is to open up and create a dialogue between people, who at first look, are so different from each other, it is hard to see anything that they have in common.
This is on purpose. We are fed a constant stream of how we are different. I disagree. We are diverse, yes. But different no. I just heard FB has created a new “feature” to assist users in determining the difference between reality and satire. I am going to pause to just let that sink in.
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I always thought humans had that feature built-in: the brain. Seems as if we have lost it. Or it was taken. Or given away. The goal of splintering large groups of Americans with major commonalities into smaller groups with shorter attention spans that focus on superficial niche interests has been reached. Sameness becomes hidden, and difference floats to the surface. With this goal in hand, the larger aim of herding public opinion into easy-to-control channels becomes almost effortless.
I will counter that goal and resist that action here. And I am dragging you along with me!
CRAFT
I may have mentioned it before, but during this lockdown, instead of going crazy, (or in addition to) I converted our one-car-garage in the apartment complex into a full-blown woodshop. It is a great space for me to lose my anxiety and get lost in complex calculations of an acute 22.5 angle vs. a reverse 45 angle. (Our standing public education joke with The Children is “We hate geography!”) As I spend a couple of hours sanding down what will become an upcycled wine bar from an old 80’s shellacked china hutch, my thoughts drift to Karate Kid and Mr. Miyagi; sand on, sand off. The elemental nature of woodworking slows life down, and the smallest things create the biggest value. Here are a few projects in my shop:
Read
I spend too much time online for my reading, so I need to carve out time to read actual books. I usually have at least three books going at a time. Here are those three this week:
Cooked by Michael Pollan Still getting through this, I had some online school eat up a couple hundred hours. He draws the connection between human discovery of fire and subsequent consumption of cooked meat and our rapid evolution as civilized beings. Hugely insightful.
Generation X by Douglas Copeland I read this in the eighties in high school. I disremember much of it. Its description of the family photo episode is so reminiscent, it is truly scary.
In the Company of Men by Nancy Mace The daughter of the most decorated living cadet in Citadel history enrolls as part of the first female cadet class in the history of the southern military academy, which produced heroes of the Civil War, among other wars. Now in Congress, she is a true badass. Just for surviving Hell Week alone.
Cook
I have cooked all of my life. I cooked professionally for over 15 years. After a year in lockdown, I have never been as good a cook as I am now. I don’t brag, I just eat the food. And it is way better now! I am really good at taking pics of my food as I prep, but I am horrible at getting the money shot(story of my life). I focus on plating it up, and I usually forget the shot. Dumbass! Oh, and I just got the bread baking bug, not sure why so late in this thing. Money shots I did take:
Rosemary Sourdough Bread No recipe for bread, and I don’t measure either. I bought a huge bag of yeast at Stater’s on the clearance rack for $1.00, so maybe that’s why the bread now – am I cheap? Hmmm. Oh well, I take 3 soup spoons of yeast, a bit of molasses and brown sugar, and some almost-hot water, and whisk it in a big metal bowl. When it smells like the Miller Brewery on the 210 when they drain the wort, it is ready for flour. Any kind works. I add it and mix until it comes off the bowl edge. Add a little bit more flour, and cover with a towel. It will grow for a couple of hours. Punch it down, smooth the top of the dough ball with some olive oil and dry herbs if you want. It will almost double again. Put it in the pan, on the sheet, whatever form you like your bread. Let those proof a bit more under a towel. Sometimes, I heat up a Dutch Oven and drop the dough ball in on a parchment piece. Bake at 375 until it is about 195-200 F. Like 30-40 minutes.
Big Fat Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: I wondered if this was too much, but no, it is just the perfect amount of too much! I threw them in the fridge for a couple of hours while working in the shop today, then just dropped them by ice cream scooper on the sheet. 375 for 8 minutes gets them real soft and gooey; 10 minutes makes them a bit browner and crispy. Either way is way too much and oh so good.
Cheesy Ham Scalloped Potatoes Leftover Easter Ham and LA Food Bank potatoes take a dip in a 3-cheese sauce, baked with buttered bread crumbs on top. Easy cheese sauce – melt 2 pats of butter in a pan. Whisk in equal amount of flour and keep whisking until it smells like toasted nuts. Add in a cup or so of milk. You can always add more. Sometimes I use almond milk and half/half. You can tell when it thickens. Add some cheese at this point. It will melt. Add spices that you like. Pour over potatoes and ham. Cover and Bake. When it is bubbling, take the cover off and sprinkle buttered bread crumbs on the top and bake til browned.
Listen I am really bad about listening to new music. My sister actually discovers new music as her main side-hustle, so she has that angle covered for me. Find out about Kristi here. For me, I get stuck in old comfortable patterns. I write about music-taste formation that happens in adolescence here. Shout Out to Dr. Reid.
I found a playlist of one-hit-wonders that was a ton of fun to listen to. I picked out two good ones:
Driver’s Seat by Sniff n’ The Tears Credited as out in ‘79, I first heard it in my 1976 Ford Pinto in 1980. Chicks liked this song a lot back then.
Ah Leah by Donnie Iris Out in 1980, it was on several mix-tapes of mine. The dork gets the hot chick. Finally!
The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Five Finger Death Punch If after watching this video, you walk away unaffected by how our policies are neglecting way too many of those who gave all, I would be very interested in learning why. I discovered FFDP courtesy of Criminal Minds SO6E10, aptly named What Happens at Home.
The Trees by RUSH If you have never read the lyrics while listening to this song, I challenge you to. Even if it is not your type of music. As with all things Neil Peart, his brilliance always shines through (bold emphasis mine in tribute to our times)
The lyrics relate a short story about a conflict between maple and oak trees in a forest. The maple trees want more sunlight, but the oak trees are too tall. In the end, "the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw."
Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart was asked in the April/May 1980 issue of the magazine Modern Drummer if there was a message in the lyrics, to which he replied, "No. It was just a flash. I was working on an entirely different thing when I saw a cartoon picture of these trees carrying on like fools. I thought, 'What if trees acted like people?' So I saw it as a cartoon really and wrote it that way. I think that's the image that it conjures up to a listener or a reader. A very simple statement.
Look
I cut the cable cord several years ago, and found Magellan TV is one of the best streaming channels around. Less than $20/quarter, consider subscribing there after you subscribe here! They offer free trials so check it out.
Nadia Comaneci: The Gymnast And The Dictator We all know the name, but I do not think we all know the story. I think anyone who calls another person a socialist or a fascist or a dictator should be required to watch this doc. An Olympic World Champion living in a totalitarian society. You do the math.
Khufu Pyramid Revealed I used to be obsessed with Ancient Egypt. Kinda still am, I guess. In 8th grade, Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo brand sponsored an essay contest with a prize of two tickets to the King Tut Exhibit at LACMA. I submitted an essay and won the tickets. It was awesome. This doc is mind-blowing. Again, the layman, not the expert, seems to be correct.
My watchlist includes this one: Waking The Titanic 4K This doc tells the story of an Irish village that sent 14 of their own as 3rd-class passengers on the ill-fated boat. Three of them survived and are interviewed. Looks good.
Well, there it is. Other writers on Substack offer this kind of personal leisure-time activity suggestions behind their paywall. Mine is out front. For now. Please help me keep it there.
Let me know what you think of this new feature. Let me know what you don’t know, but think I know. Ask me something about a project you are thinking of tackling. Let me know what you cooked for the first time. Tell me about you first RUSH song you ever listened to. Just interact. We will all be so much the better for your input.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.
Ric