The Mountain Goats "Transcendental Youth"

This is a little late but I thought I’d post a little something, something about my favourite bands’ latest album “Transcendental Youth”. My favourite band being: The Mountain Goats. The Mountain Goats have been around since 1991 and had a very small independent following for the first ten or so years of their career. I have loved them since I heard Tallehassee released in 2002. Since then I have done all I can to absorb everything they have done but have yet to see them live. Sadly, they don’t often come to Canada and I don’t often travel to the US. I’ll see them someday. Their latest album is the best, since the release of Heretic Pride (2008), which is one of my favourite releases from them. The haunting lyrics and upbeat tempo of the new songs “Cry for Judas” and “The Diaz Brothers” keep me walking at a brisk pace in the cold of Nova Scotia’s fall. When you’re a pedestrian in an unpredictable climate like Nova Scotia, up-beat is what you need to get you through. Front –man John Darnielle had a pretty interesting life, which is clear in the lyrical content of his songs. He grew up with an abusive step-father and graduated high school to go on to work as an orderly in a psychiatric hospital in Norwalk, CA. This can account for half the stories he writes into his songs. The amazing clarity in which he describes social interactions is amazing to me. His music drips of regret while celebrating the catastrophe life can become and the peace you can find in acceptance. Low-fi and raw, the music has not changed all that much. You can still find a lot of mic-ing issues smattered through-out the records, and echoes from the walls of the places they choose to record. It's become an endearing quality of the records for me, although from his early days of recording on cassette, the sound quality has noticeably improved. As I stated before, John's lyrics are haunting. I swear they haunt me while I sleep. I regularly wake up with lyrics like this : " we are the ones, who don't slow down at all, and there's nobody there, to catch us when we fall, long dark night, morning comes, I'm still here, all is lost" I mean really? how can you not be haunted by that, or the contrastingly uplifting melody that accompanies it. SIGH! SIIIIIIGGGGHHHHH.

Drop-In by Dave Lapp

So, I’m really into comics.. people who know me, know this. I love to read. Anyway, I thought I might as well start posting some of the shit I’ve been reading. Last night I read this book called “Drop-in” by Dave Lapp. It’s a Canadian graphic novel (kinda more like a zine) that holds a collection of stories based on the experiences Dave had while working in Toronto Drop-in Centers for under privileged youth. I got this 4 dollars at a local comic book store where they were selling off a lot of older trades and singles for 60% off. This is a trade paper, by the way. I have to say I really liked this book. It reminds me of some of the stuff I’ve been writing, only this is actually true. It’s so real that it hits you in the chest. I liked that Dave Lapp didn’t bother to edit out his own thoughts on the situations he’s put in, like the story about the homeless man who followed him around and gave him his phone number. Dave is honest about his reaction to being in a situation where he was worried for his own safety. He deals with a whole bunch of issues regarding poverty, abuses of children and social displacement. The ending is fantastic though. Real good, feel good story right at the end. So after all those sad, stories end up collecting together to make a rather bitter-sweet book as a whole.

Revival

I feel like I need to blog but I didn't feel like creating something new, and I haven't done anything with Ranty (old blog) in forever. The reason I created Ranty originally was because I could never decide what I wanted to talk about. Every day there was something different that I was interested in or reading/experiencing. But Ranty is over and done with and I feel as though it's silly to continue writing on something that hasn't been touched in over 3 years. So, I'll just continue the rambling here. I will tell you one thing, I'm back in Halifax, NS. I've been here for about 3 years. Things are odd. This city is such a mess. Run by under qualified nit-wits who need to step out of their tiny city box and see how the rest of the world functions. Maybe then they may have some insight on what this city needs to pull it out of the economic slump its been curled up in. I'm currently considering getting back into the music scene, but it's all hidden in the little cracks and alleys of the North End Halifax. It's all run by people who are much younger than I am. I'm 30 this coming July. 30!!! I should be much more terrified, but I'm really only mildly annoyed. Annoyed that I hadn't accomplished more-not that I ever had much to work with. My promise to myself is to live more. LIVE. I use to do a lot of that. So I broke up with my bf and decided to go to University. I'm applying to SMU tomorrow. That'd right, me in University. I am finally in a position to be able to afford it. I have to work full time and go part time, but that's better than nothing. So, here's my second promise to myself, I PROMISE I WILL BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE WORLD. I haven't done too much over the last year. So I really got to stop that. My friend just sent me this link: http://www.diyhalifax.ca/ I'm pasting the address here so I don't lose it. We'll talk more. Take care. -froggie

Simple Italian Sausages from the Post Punk Kitchen

The Picture is taken by me from the sausages I made this morning and here's the recipe : 1/2 cup cooked white beans (great northern or navy), rinsed and drained1 cup vegetable broth1 tablespoon olive oil *or* 1 tablespoon tomato paste (tomato paste is a great fat replacement)2 tablespoons soy sauce1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten1/4 cup nutritional yeast1 teaspoon granulated garlic *or* 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely grated1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed *or* 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes1 teaspoon sweet paprika1 teaspoon dried oregano1/2 teaspoon dried thymeSeveral dashes fresh black pepper Before mixing your ingredients, get the steaming apparatus ready, bringing water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together very quickly. Have ready 4 square sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the beans until no whole ones are left. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork. Divide dough into 4 even parts (an easy way to do this: split the dough in half and then into quarters). Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll. Don’t worry too much about shaping it, it will snap into shape while it’s steaming because this recipe is awesome. Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes. That’s it! You can unwrap and enjoy immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. I made a few substitutions.. I didn't put oil in it, I used tomato paste because it gives a much more meaty flavour. I also didn't hae any fennel left for some weird reason...so I used caraway, cause I like caraway :) I also used fresh thyme instead of dried.

Today's Grocery List

Veggie Stock Leek Green Grapes Whole Grain Pasta White Kidney Beans Chick Peas Black Beans Sweet Potato Carrots Onions Mushrooms Squash (buttercup & Acorn) turnip Quess what I'm going to make this weekend?