The video is a bit slow until he starts pouring the molten pewter. I'd love to see how the furniture looks close up.
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Sunday, April 15, 2012
Happy Greek Easter
Well, it's really Orthodox Easter, which includes Greeks, Russians, Ukrainians and a number of others. In our family, Easter involves a midnight service at church, that lasts until 230am or 3am, then I head off to White Castle with my nephews and we get a ton of sliders.
The next day my sister roasts a whole lamb in the backyard and the extended family, and friends, partake in a big Greek feast. This year, mom was waylaid a bit by a bum leg, so I got to make the pastitsio (people call it Greek lasagna, but it really isn't) and the creme caramel (aka flan). Both turned out well, as did all the food really. It was an exceptionally good year for all the food. Here's my nephew's plate (with a sorry iphone photo that I took out of focus, sorry).
So, included on the plate... let's start with the lamb and work clockwise. Lamb, spanakopita (spinach, eggs, feta, cream cheese, in phyllo dough with lots of butter), Greek potatoes (lots of garlic and lemon), Greek meatballs in a tomato sauce (ground beef, egg, mint, bread crumbs, onion, maybe even cinnamon), Greek salad, pastitsio (a layer of noodles mixed with romano cheese and egg, followed by a layer of ground beef with cinnamon, nutmeg, onion, mint, tomato paste and tomato sauce, followed by another layer of the noodle mix, topped with a bechamel sauce (eggs, milk, roux, romano)).
A hearty, if not totally heart-healthy meal. Oh, and lots of feta cheese and olives too.
Mom will deny that we had nearly the identical conversation about my brother's vegetarian then-fiancée, but we did.
Read the rest of this post...
The next day my sister roasts a whole lamb in the backyard and the extended family, and friends, partake in a big Greek feast. This year, mom was waylaid a bit by a bum leg, so I got to make the pastitsio (people call it Greek lasagna, but it really isn't) and the creme caramel (aka flan). Both turned out well, as did all the food really. It was an exceptionally good year for all the food. Here's my nephew's plate (with a sorry iphone photo that I took out of focus, sorry).
So, included on the plate... let's start with the lamb and work clockwise. Lamb, spanakopita (spinach, eggs, feta, cream cheese, in phyllo dough with lots of butter), Greek potatoes (lots of garlic and lemon), Greek meatballs in a tomato sauce (ground beef, egg, mint, bread crumbs, onion, maybe even cinnamon), Greek salad, pastitsio (a layer of noodles mixed with romano cheese and egg, followed by a layer of ground beef with cinnamon, nutmeg, onion, mint, tomato paste and tomato sauce, followed by another layer of the noodle mix, topped with a bechamel sauce (eggs, milk, roux, romano)).
A hearty, if not totally heart-healthy meal. Oh, and lots of feta cheese and olives too.
Mom will deny that we had nearly the identical conversation about my brother's vegetarian then-fiancée, but we did.
Read the rest of this post...
Mr. 14% Romney filed for tax extension due just before election
Politicians from both parties are already bad with transparency, but this is ridiculous. Mr. 14% tax rate has to be worried about discounted rate while regular working Americans suffer through this economy wondering how they will make ends meet. At the moment it sounds like he has his tax team on this to make it look less embarrassing for Romney. Who believes that his tax rate is suddenly going to look anything remotely like the unwashed masses? It's going to take some work to make this anywhere near the rate that others are paying.
Romney will only be able to hide this information until October if everyone allows him to get away with it. Obama is now calling for Mr. 14% to release his taxes for the past 12 years, as Obama has already done. While Romney is at it, he needs to start explaining why he needs a secret Swiss account and billionaire Warren Buffet doesn't. More from the Boston Globe. Read the rest of this post...
Romney will only be able to hide this information until October if everyone allows him to get away with it. Obama is now calling for Mr. 14% to release his taxes for the past 12 years, as Obama has already done. While Romney is at it, he needs to start explaining why he needs a secret Swiss account and billionaire Warren Buffet doesn't. More from the Boston Globe. Read the rest of this post...
Bach, Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 (with fun graphics)
I've seen a bunch of these visual representations and enjoyed them all. This one is Bach's famous Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor for organ, performed and visualized by Stephen Malinowski.
Life is too heavy sometimes. Enjoy this if you have a spare tax-free minute.
This piece is in two parts — a passacaglia, followed by a fugue. The passacaglia has a bass melody, constantly repeated, with variations appearing in the upper voices. You'll hear the bass theme alone at first, then with the variations as the bass is repeated. There are twenty variations in all, each the same length.
Watch the purple line to follow the bass. At 4:00, the bass theme moves into the treble voice (the high one, in yellow), then lower again. The passacaglia starts to build to a close around 5:30.
The fugue itself starts at 7:20. Technically, this is a "double fugue" — one with two main subjects. Both fugue subjects are heard at the same time at the start. The bass theme is used as the first theme (in red). The green is not just ornamentation, but the fugue's second subject. These two themes, plus the "counter theme" that accompanies the first repeat (the green line starting around 7:35), are the building blocks of the fugue.
One of the nice aspects of this visualization is that you can always find the bass theme visually — just look for the characteristic long bars. The trills at 11:22 announce that the thrilling conclusion is near.
There are plenty more of these visualization, if the mood strikes you.
GP
(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
Read the rest of this post...
Life is too heavy sometimes. Enjoy this if you have a spare tax-free minute.
This piece is in two parts — a passacaglia, followed by a fugue. The passacaglia has a bass melody, constantly repeated, with variations appearing in the upper voices. You'll hear the bass theme alone at first, then with the variations as the bass is repeated. There are twenty variations in all, each the same length.
Watch the purple line to follow the bass. At 4:00, the bass theme moves into the treble voice (the high one, in yellow), then lower again. The passacaglia starts to build to a close around 5:30.
The fugue itself starts at 7:20. Technically, this is a "double fugue" — one with two main subjects. Both fugue subjects are heard at the same time at the start. The bass theme is used as the first theme (in red). The green is not just ornamentation, but the fugue's second subject. These two themes, plus the "counter theme" that accompanies the first repeat (the green line starting around 7:35), are the building blocks of the fugue.
One of the nice aspects of this visualization is that you can always find the bass theme visually — just look for the characteristic long bars. The trills at 11:22 announce that the thrilling conclusion is near.
There are plenty more of these visualization, if the mood strikes you.
GP
(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
Read the rest of this post...
Goldman CEO did well again last year despite stock decline
Somehow Wall Street always has an answer for why they're paying out more money and this year is no different. What I keep missing is all of the money they paid back for bonuses based on the garbage that was wiped off of their books. The selling went on for years yet none of them ever paid back a dime but then opened their hands for bailouts by taxpayers.
There can be absolutely no justification for any of them making money until they come clean with those payments but that will never happen. Life must be good when you own the government and you can call the shots.
There can be absolutely no justification for any of them making money until they come clean with those payments but that will never happen. Life must be good when you own the government and you can call the shots.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein's compensation increased 14.5 percent to $16.2 million in 2011 despite a sharp decline in profits and share price during the year, leaving the bank open to more attacks on its pay policies.Read the rest of this post...
Blankfein's pay boost includes stock awards from previous years that vested in 2011, and therefore does not reflect the amount that Goldman's board awarded him strictly for the company's performance last year.
The Beatles - Cry Baby Cry
It's the Paris Marathon today and the skies are not looking good at the moment. Overcast skies may be welcome but it really looks like rain may be in the cards today.
I'm going to try and get more gardening done if it doesn't rain, but that might not be possible. I managed to get a few hydrangeas potted but have more to go. My summer wall of hydrangeas took a hit during the cold, so it needs to be rebuilt. This year I am also adding in a wall filter to cut some of the wind that comes through the fence. Every summer we get a good wind storm and the flowers suddenly go everywhere. Anyone else working on their summer garden? (Well, besides the warm weather folks who can start the process in t-shirts in February or March.) Read the rest of this post...
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