The Ultimate Day

This posting will be the last posting in the month of Ducebruary. It is with customary joy and sadness that we watch another Ducebruary pass. Of course we give thanks for our subjects, as we hope they give thanks to our leadership, and we pray for many more decades of the rule of Order and Clemency.

The month of Ducebruary ends in Lent, and, thus it is appropriate to spend some of that time in reflection: Did we serve our subjects well? Did we promote the Common Good? What are we going to do with the Rebel Government that holds our subjects in its grasp, refusing to recognize the Just Authority that resides in us? Are we living up to the model of our great inspiration, St. Francis of Madrid?

For you, our subjects, reflection is in order too: do I put up with liberal democracy simply because it is convenient and it is the thing I am used to, or am I locked in its throes, enslaved to the sentiment of one man/one vote? Have I done enough to bring about the widespread recognition of Our Beloved Leader, His Imperial Majesty Erik, Holy Roman Emperor of All Europes and San Francisco Excluding the British Isles, Lord Protector of Daly City, King of the Malvinas and Gibraltar, Autarch of All Lands of the Autarchy? Have I kept myself in good physical shape? Have I kept myself in good moral shape, so that I do not bring scandal to the good name of Authoritarianism? When I contemplate an action, do I ask myself, "what would Our Dear Beloved Leader think?" Have I pledged allegiance to any liberal democracies or saluted their flags? Have I gone vegetarian or vegan?

We look forward to the rest of the upcoming year. We look forward to serving you, the great people of the Empire.

We hope that this has been a wonderful Ducebruary, and that you live and thrive to see many, many more, and that you always remember that we are on your side, no matter what those sniveling little creeps who had better watch out lest they end up in a labor camp in the Utah dessert say.

Believe!
Obey!
Fight!

Lists of Songs

These Random 10 iPod shuffles are interesting, but a more complete portrait is given of the iPod owner if the shuffle list is combined with the Top 25 playlist. Here is what iTunes says I listen to most often:

1. "Fala Da Mulher Sózinha" by Margarida Bessa
2. "Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline
3. "Orange Blossom Special" by Charlie Daniels (Amalia is responsible for that one, I think)
4. "Alleluia" by Acantus
5. "Mundo Civilizado" by Arto Lindsay
6. "Vitaphone Uno" by Fabio Barovero
7. "Why Baby Why" by George Jones
8. "Bàica 'n Po'" by Laura Conti & Ombra Gaja
9. "Peregrina" by Los Magaña
10. "Corazon de Cristal" by Priscila Y Sus Balas De Plata (yes, this is Blondie's "Heart of Glass" sung in Spanish with accordion. Absolutely brilliant)
11. "How Soon is Now" by The Smiths (egads, wasn't I just giving Don Jim a hard time for his 1980's maudlin synthpop? What will happen when people find out that I am known to listen to this sort of crap, too?)
12. "Taboehgan/Gamelan Semar Pegulingan" by a gamelan in Ubud, Bali in 1941 (hey, I'm a gamelan geek. Sue me).
13. "Aradanse" by Alpha Bass Feat. Mascarimiri
14. Puccini's "E Lucevan Le Stelle" performed by la Banda Cittá Ruvo Di Puglia
15. "Ave Maria (Catalana)" by il Coro Polifonico Di Alghero
16. "Mascare (Witch Mix)" by Farualla
17. "Nuages Gris" by Franz Liszt performed by...I will need to look her up, iTunes pulled the info from the database, and they have Liszt as the artist, which is, obviously, incorrect.
18. "At the Grave of Richard Wagner" by Franz Liszt, performed by the Kronos Quartet
19. "I am the Light of the World" by Maria Muldaur w/ Ernie Hawkins
20. "Melagranada Ruja" by Marisa Sannia
21. "Silence The Tongues Of Prophecy" by Qubais Reed Ghazala
22. "House Where Nobody Lives" by Tom Waits
23. "Salve, Sancte Pater Salve Sponsa Dei" by Acantus
24. "De Profundis" by Acantus
25. "Raizes" by Amalia Rodrigues

So, there you have it. I am surprised to see the list, although it is not quite a total view of my listening habits, since a majority of what I listen to is still from CD or vinyl. Also, this only reflects what I listen to on the computer, since I don't think it registers plays from the actual iPod. So, basically, this is a portrait of what I listen to at the computer.

Some surprises:

1. Only two fados?
2. Do I really listen to that much Acantus? I guess so.
3. Only a couple of country songs.
4. Do I really listen to "How Soon is Now" that often? I know I put it on a couple of playlists, but really.
5. There is no baroque music. Not a track. I must go to the CDs and LPs for this, as I know that I listen to enough baroque music to annoy the girls, who both like it, in reasonable doses.
6. How did "Mundo Civilizado" end up higher than "Corazon de Cristal"? Once again, if this were a list of what I listened to in other situations, for instance, while driving, it would be a different list.
7. A lot of these tracks seem to be on my Musica Melancholia playlists. It must be the weather. We will see, but I would guess that after summer the tropical and country lists are much better represented on the top 25.
8. How did Marisa Sannia end up on the list? I like her, obviously, but I am surprised to see that I listen to that and another Sardegnian track so often.

Anyway, feel free to add your own. It is an interesting thing to look at. I will probably do this again later, if I have been at the computer listening to lots of music, and think that it might change the list significantly.

Hah hah! Take that, microbes!

The hot toddy, along with cold drugs, and some hippy stuff with echinacea and Vitimin C, seems to have done the trick. The sore throat was pretty awful at bedtime, then came chills, but I slept soundly for about 9 hours and woke up feeling much better.

I think it was the espresso more than anything. I tell you, it is good for you. Very good for you.

Anyway, this will be it. Too much to do today.

No. No. No.

I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.

Not now.

This is what I get for missing throat blessing on St. Blaise.

However, I don't worry. I drink my espresso and I have, before bed, a hot toddy of hot water, lemon juice, honey, and cognac. It works everytime.

I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.
I will not have a sore throat.

And a reminder...

Tomorrow is the Ultimate Day of Ducebruary. Since it falls during Lent, the suggested compromise between feast and fast is fish soup of some sort. Fish, fish stock, tomatoes, fennel, a shot of pastis, white wine, garlic, all that fun stuff. Sea eel makes a good base for it. Serve with aioli and good bread and a dry rose wine.

I hope that this has been a great Ducebruary. Now, Our Excellency must get back to work.

Following the lead of Don Jim...

It looks like it's time once again for iPod Shuffle Random Playlist!. And if that doesn't sound like words found on a tee shirt in a Grand Ave dollar store, then nothing does.

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your ipod or media-player of choice, select your whole music collection, set the thing to shuffle (i.e., randomized playback), then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel! Maybe link the songs to online music stores for readers' convenience.

Here is mine:

1. "Moon Shrine" by SPACE BOYS
2. Six Sonatas for Cembalo "I. Moderato" by Lou Harrison, played by Lynda Burman-Hall on harspichord.
3. "Cherokee" by Ray Noble, sung by Sarah Vauhgan
4. "Here Comes De Honey Man (Live)" by Gershwin, Gershwin, and Hayward performed by Miles Davis with the Quincy Jones Orchestra
5. "Tranquila" by Luis Vargas
6. "Tre Sorelle - 3 Sisters" by Fiamma Fumana
7. "In The Beginning: Etude II" by David Rosenboom, performed by Don Buchla and Robert Moog
8. "Walk With Me" performed by Aubrey Ghent
9. "Malinconia D’Amore" by Ferruccio Tagliavini
10. "Um Canto De Afoxé Para O Bloco De Ilê (Ilê Ayê)" by Caetano Veloso

Whew. Cats and dogs.

Californians are a funny bunch. We utterly rely on our winter rainfall. In fact, when you tally up the days and hours and inches, we don't have all that much rain to put up with.

However, give us two or three days of it in a row and you would think that we are about to drown.

Yes, I understand that we have about the most perfect weather on Earth (although I could certainly be sold on tropical highlands as having that distinction - Cuernavaca comes to mind). And the reservoirs are low for the season. And we need the snowpack. Blah blah blah.

I want summer. Call me ingrate.

Ingrate.

Fortunately Daylight Savings Time begins in just under two weeks, and that is a good thing in my book (once I get over the fact that it makes noon not really noon, which is a bit of communism, but it is a bit of communism I can live with for that extra hour of light at the end of the day).

Ah, summer. I can almost smell it.

Music, Art, Family, Lent...

This is a catch-all post of stuff that I should probably write more carefully, but if I worry about that, then I will write nothing. The order of the title is wrong, but I like the ring it has, so it stays.

The reason that I do not have time for more thoughtful, conversation-provoking posts is primarily family. Melanie is preparing for surgery on Thursday, and we have to get everything in order. While it does, as I mentioned earlier, seem to be routine surgery for something that has a 95+% chance of being benign, it is major surgery requiring general anesthesia, a significant hospital stay, and an abominably long recovery. Prayers are still appreciated.

Also, I have to put my priority on time in the studio. I am working on two paintings simultaneously, photographing art, writing material for the up and coming website, etc. So, while I still would really like to get some works on paper posted this week, if I don't get them up on Tuesday, they will probably have to wait for a week. We'll see.

And then there is Lent. Part of my Lenten penance is giving up naps, which is a way of reducing late nights, which have a way of destroying time (oh - I can do that late at night, so I can fritter away more time on this or that less-than-productive thing, which I really cannot afford to do). While I love working late at night, it will not do right now.

I alternate between hating and appreciating Lent and really liking Lent. There is something good about recognizing the goodness of things in their absence. Naps for instance. I know, one should probably keep the exact nature of their penances closely guarded, but I owe my readers an explanation of why I not providing the content that they have come to expect. So, there you have it: dealing with my own spiritual wreck is more important than providing you with good content. I know, it is not fair. You want fair? Carnival was last week.

So, music. For some reason I have been mostly interested in listening to electronic music these days: all sorts of stuff from avant-garde mid-20th century explorations to dub reggae to Italia Novo Techno-Folk. No matter what it is, I want lush synthesized atmospheres, odd electronic percussion, blips and beeps and sweeping oscillators.

I always like this stuff, but it has been at the top of my playlists at a more than usually high rate. Is it the weather? I don't think so, since I like to listen to this stuff in the languid summer nights, too, unless it is some sort of denial (I am wearing a Hawaiian shirt as I type). I am also much more interested in high modernist art and architecture right now: glass and steel and even stain paintings. And lights. I keep thinking about lighting, both functional and atmospheric.

If you see me walking around in a jumpsuit humming Kraftwerk, well, it will pass. It always does.

So, here is where I am letting you down. I should ruminate on electronic music, its peculiar structures and evolution, its history and direction, etc. You know, get the ball rolling. But no. I am going to leave this as a provocation and let you do all the work.

The Academy of Erik's Rants Awards

Unfortunately the Esteemed Academy only saw two or three new films in all of 2006, so the Awards Show has been cancelled. No actors, nor directors, nor dolly grips will go home with a little gold statue of Us this year.

Sorry.

It's Music Night on The Erik Channel!

Ute Lemper singing "Mein Herr"

And on "Lili Marlene"

And this is a corrective for all of you who think that the Door's did a credible version of this song (also, Ute Lemper is a lot better looking than Jim Morrison):

And if we are listening to this sort of music, then we need to get to the roots, in this case Lotte Lenya doing Surabaja Johnny:

If this is all too Germanic for you, then how about Mariza?

Or Eleftheria Avanitaki (from an early 1980's recording):

Viva Nuevo Tango!

Nestor Marconi and Yo-Yo Ma playing Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango".

Enjoy!

After a hard day at the autofabrik!

You know how it is. You make BMW's all day, you just need to wind down with a nice frosty one...

And while we are on the subject of the Greatest Beverage:

And, if you are wondering what sort of beer to drink:

And beer and Germans are just made for each other:

How do you say "Nerd" in Dutch?

This is what the future engineers in the Swamp Country must do in their spare time:

Flat tire!

We went to the car this morning only to find that the tire was completely flat. Furthermore, the spare was missing. Was it stolen (it is mounted outside, under the car, so it would be possible to steal)? Did the shop forget to replace it last tire rotation? Who knows?

Anyway, the good news is that the tire shop is not very far from us, so I was able to creep along (thump THUMP thump THUMP thump THUMP) on the flat without damaging the rim, and can walk back home and back to the shop in reasonable time.

But, this does mean that most of my day is shot, and with a Lenten prohibition on taking naps, I will not be able to stay up late getting done what I had hoped, so this is probably all you will get on the blog today. Unless some strange inspiration hits me, and I simply cannot resist.

Ash Wednesday

At the end of last night's Mardi Gras party, the topic of an Ash Wednesday greeting came up.

You don't say, "Happy Ash Wednesday!" so we figured that we should come up with a better one: Sad Ash Wednesday! Bitter Ash Wednesday!

And then, this morning, I got one:

May your suffering increase and may it bring you closer to Christ!

OK, it sounds like some sort of Jansenist thing, though. Some people are probably maxed out on suffering. You couldn't walk into a pediatric cancer ward and grab the hand of the first parent you see and say that.

And, if you say it to a bon-vivant it comes accross as the sort of self-righteousness we are told to avoid (or even worse, as a sort of Marxist sentiment): "Oh, Scrooge, may you finally get a taste of what you are dishing out!"

So that will not do.

"Have a Profitable Ash Wednesday!" sounds so Prottie I think I would be sorely tempted to give the speaker a little bit of Penancing right there on the spot.

"Hey, Dirt!" Now there is something! It is kind of casual, so it doesn't sound like you are condemning the person to eternal hellfire (and smugly gloating that you are not going there yourself). It is severe and himiliating, but so rooted in the liturgy, that it makes instant sense, and comes accross as very familiar and friendly. Hey Dirt! Sort of like dirtbag, but without the malice.

And it is much better than saying, "excuse me, but I think you have something stuck on your forehead."

Oh Yeah...

Don't forget to go get shriven.

Remember: that stink around here just might be your soul.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Roulez...

But don't overdo, cher.

Of course a hangover can set the mood beautifully for the beginning of your penance.

So, if you do overdo, try hurricanes. That way you will be properly miserable tomorrow.

Have fun!

Happy Nixon Day!

Well, hello dear readers. Shade of Richard Milhous Nixon here. I was finally able to get Keilholtz distracted enough for me to take over the blog for a minute. I have been asked about what I think of this Presidents' Day business, and, let me say this about that:

I am all in favor of Presidents' Day, because it is really Richard M. Nixon Day, and I deserve a National Holiday. The reason it is my day is because it takes the gutless modern road of not wanting to honor great men (and, believe you me, Lincoln was my man!) and to instead honor the abstraction of the Presidency.

Now, no other man in American history, besides maybe LBJ, understood that the Presidency is above the Man. It is also above the Law, because whatever the President does, is the LAW. And if you don't go along with that, Jeb, Howard, and G. Gordon would like to have a little chat with your psychiatrist!

Yes, to celbrate the office of President, rather than particularly important holders of that office means that either you are saluting nitwits like Carter and Kennedy OR you are saluting my concept of the Presidency, which means you are saluting ME, Richard Milhous Nixon, the Greatest President Who Ever Lived!

Long Live Me!

Now, I have been told that I have an important meeting on the sixth level, so I have to go back down, now.

Solveig Dommartin, RIP

One of those strange things: On January 20 of this year, while fiddling around looking for stuff on YouTube, I realized that Wings of Desire, my favorite film, is twenty years old. I wrote this piece, mainly because I was intrigued by the notion of making a stage play of that film.

Tonight I was looking for something else on the Internet Movie DataBase, and thought, "gee, I wonder if Solveig Dommartin has done anything recently."

When I clicked on her name I was shocked to see that she had died on January 17th of this year, only three days before I was thinking about Wings of Desire, which was as much about her as it was about Damiel (and was her first film appearance). She was only 45 and died of cardiac arrest.

Liberals and their Blacklists...Protties and their Simony...

One thing that really bugs Liberals is how the Church is all about money! Money! Money! Money! It is a cryin' shame: you go to Latin America and there is all this poverty, and the churches have so much gold!

Of course this is a really disgusting mindset, one of the most niggardly of the broader umbrella of neo-puritanism: to deny poor people beauty, in the name of concern for their material well-being.

But it is one that is trotted out by many dissenters and ex-Catholics, and it is one that has distinguished Protestantism since day one.

Those Catholics sell sacraments!

Well, when was the last time you went to a mass that charged $12 in advance and $15 at the door? Of course, it is not like the Techno Cosmic Mass is that regular or anything. I guess aging boomers really are as stingy as they are often accused of being.

I Miss Dan Quayle

I really do. He was such a funny man. However, no one, besides maybe Spiro Agnew, was as funny as James Watt. I thought of him the other day, as I encountered in a grocery store, in this order: a black fellow, two women, one of whom was most probably Jewish, and the other in a wheel chair.

It's good that I don't have Tourette's Syndrome. I did have to stifle a giggle, however. It is not everyday that you see a particularly bad political speech come to life before your very eyes. It would have been like seeing Checkers, alive as you or me.

I dreamed I saw Nixon's Dog last night
Alive as you and me...

It has a nice ring. I could hear Joan Baez singing it, if Joan Baez had even the slightest hint of a sense of humor. Aw. I shouldn't be so hard on Joan Baez. She did call Amalia "cute" once (and it was a totally spontaneous thing: she was sitting outside at a restaurant, and we were just passing by).

Anyway, I have always wanted to form a band called "A Black, A Woman, Two Jews and a Cripple...And We Have Talent!" It would be fronted by a nerdy bald westerner. They could do Beach Boys songs.

Not that I would want to listen to any of that.

But I do like to listen to politicians like James Watt, LBJ, George Wallace, Dan Quayle, and Spiro Agnew. IF we have to have liberal democracy (pheh!), then at least it ought to be funny. I want to hear that "a mind is a terrible thing to waste...or to not have at all." I want to hear "nattering nabobs of negativism." I want to hear that paternalistic Texas drawl talking about defeating Communism in Southeast Asia.

That is one of the problems with Bush: he just isn't very interesting a speaker. I was listening to him the other day at the press conference, and he did a decent job, but...so what? No one really learns anything at those things. He almost got funny with some online reporter, but he didn't get a twinkle in his eye and say, "why, I bet you there are two four-letter words I know that you don't know: w-o-r-k and s-o-a-p."

And W could do it, too. It wouldn't be too much to ask for him to look the camera in the lens and say, "well, perhaps it isn't treason to vote the way they did, but if I were on the jury...I just don't think I could easily find the reasonable doubt...And treason's a capital offense. You know, I hope it doesn't come to that, but..."

That would get those Demos stomping and cursing and snorting!

Cheney. Now he has potential. If only his handlers would give him more time in front of the microphone. That could be a whole lotta fun.

And with that...

Lunch is over, even though I almost spit deconstructed haggis all over the computer while reading that post from TSO, below. So I have to go back to the studio. Photography awaits. I know that you are eagerly awaiting Erik Keilholtz: Works on Paper, so I have to get some decent photos of the works on paper.

I am shooting for the end of the three day weekend. I will post updates.

PONCER does it again!

Read this, but don't blame me if you laugh so hard it hurts (Patrick, you, in particular, must read this).

Liberals are not serious.

One of the fixtures of liberal discourse is whining about Elias Kazan, The Right Hon. Joseph McCarthy, blacklists, etc.

"Because of [fill in the blank with the name of whichever commie turd you want here]'s beliefs alone, he was unable to find work [well, he was unable to use his own name to find work. He could still make plenty of money in Hollywood, so long as he used a cover]. How terrible. How sad."

And, yet, all someone has to do is refuse to bend over for the Homosex Agenda and the blacklisting is assumed and immediate.

Are so many basketball fans pro-homo that the NBA must take immediate action? They are a monopoly. Where else are homos going to go to watch basketball, if they are into that sort of thing? If the NBA is such a hot-nest of homosexism, then perhaps it should be investigated, and we ought to question whether or not children should be exposed to it.

Remember those old days when people who were not Commies would say "I am a Communist" or whatever cause it was that they were defending, simply to make the point that censorship is wrong?

Well, by order of the Duce, 2007 is the International Homophobia Year. It is time for decent people to come out of the closet and say, "we believe in the right to resist the Homosex Agenda, and, even though we may not want to see homos villified, we stand by those who do."

To promote this great event, We are sponsoring a Homophobia essay contest. You will win nothing more than bragging rights. Choose one of these topics and start writing:

1. On the Virtue of Homophobia
2. Should Homophobes face workplace discrimination?
3. Is there any significant difference between Barney Frank and Barney that Gay as Hell Purple Dinosaur? Why is this crap still on TV?

The deadline is March 15.

Punch And Judy

It should come as no surprise that I am a huge Punch and Judy fan (as well as of the Commedia del'Arte, Three Stooges, and other slapstick). So, I was pleased to see this entry on the Lion and the Cardinal. Who knew that Yale had a collection of Punch and Judy puppets?

Puppetry is an interesting art, and I have been thinking a lot about it recently, mostly because of a variety of serendipitous encounters with puppetry, like finding this entry (or talking about a film with John Malkovich and that calling to mind Being John Malkovich, which I really enjoyed).

O Canada! O Mormons!

I normally do not, as a rule, link to, Canadians very much. I think that it tends to encourage their silly aspirations towards real nationhood (when they aren't committing the ultimate act of treason to Western Civilization by giving back land to the friggin' Indians. Wait a minute. Those Indians hunt whales. Hmmmm. Euro-Imperialism. Whaling Tradition. Euro-Imperialism...Ah, ferrgidaboutit. Give me Iceland and I get both!).

For awhile I even extended this ban to bloggers from states that border Canada. It was in a moment such as that when I took Mark Shea off the list (that and he was getting boring at the time, which, for an apologist, is pretty good. Scott Hahn is boring all the time, when he isn't being downright laughable. And, No, I am not on Dale Vree's roster of contributors). I got over my strict anti-Canadianism, sort of, but never restored him. I was going to, but then he took a dip into the dull, and I just left him off. I still read him here and there, and I have a feeling that he is a pretty good guy, the sort of fellow you could sit down with and have a beer and an interesting conversation.

But Washington is not quite Canada, and we are here to talk about Canada.

The reason I mention this is that people have probably been wondering why I don't link to Kathy Shaidle, who is almost as snide and mean as I am. I generally like her, even when she is wrong, which is more often than she thinks (must be the short days and long nights of the Canadian winter).

However, she has outdone herself with this post.

I find, among many gems, is that she also finds Bill Dohanue a "pain in the ass", that she, like me, really does not worry about people digging up mean things she has written and waving them around (oooh. oooooooh. Keilholtz wants to invade Canada and clear cut Alberta. ooooooh. He thinks whaling and smoking are good things and sodomy is bad. ooooooooh).

And she writes this stunning bit of prose:

Guys, I've written of Justin Trudeau that "there's never an avalanche around when you need one." I've called Arabs "violent retards" repeatedly. I've opined that the Amish have contributed nothing to Western Civilization aside from the occasional pie. (Add your favourite quote here.)

I would disagree with her broad brushstrokes on the Arabs. If she meant "Mohammedans", which would include non-Arabs such as Cat Stephens, I would be right on board there. And she is absolutely right about the Amish.

If she writes another post like this one, I may have to link to her permanently.

Speaking of vitriol, let me say this about that...

Mormons. There are some very nice Mormons out there. Civil. Polite. Probably won't cut your throat to steal your wallet (although there was the original September 11, where, back in 1857, some Mormon cutthroats behaved very badly. Have I mentioned in this space the amazing similarities between Mormonism and Mohammedanism?). However, I won't do business with 'em, and I won't vote for 'em. Period.

I have a few general voting rules: vote against Babs Boxer, Babs Lee, Hell, anyone named Barbara, against Feinstein, and against Hilary Clinton, which is why I endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic primary.

However, with Mitt Romney in the race, I will go on the record and say that you could put together a Lee/Clinton ticket and I would vote for it if Romney were the opposition.

The other day, when he was announcing his official entry, he was emphasizing his belief in God. Wouldn't you have loved to have been there to ask, "which god, Mitt? The one on Kolob or the god who made him? Or is this your future self, when you shall have a universe of your own, which you and your 72 virgin wives shall live in forever? Oh, you would rather not think about The Pearl of Great Price? Pity. I would like to discuss it, Mitt. I would like the American people to know what a whack-job cult you belong to. You know, David Koresh would have been a better president than one of you Deseret folks!"

The only cultists worse would be Scientologists and JW's.

But a Mormon could pave the way. The Protties have already broken the ice for evil ideas in politics. Let's keep the Mormons at bay. Or at Utah. With a wall around it. Works for me.

Mice! Again! Must Kill Mice!

Sorry, but my inner feline has been awakened.

Actually, I prefer not to kill them, because it is futile (mice don't come in packs of one), requires disposal, and, let's face it, mice are cute. I would rather have a pet mouse than a pet dog.

But these ain't pets, and if they need to die, they die.

But, in the meantime I will hunt for more mouse holes, plaster and putty knife in hand.

So, until the hole in the border with Mousatia is closed, and the illegal murine immigrants are forced back, with their strange customs, foreign squeeks, and propensity to steal our jobs (I am the midnight nibbler around here!), I might be scarce.

Not Whaling, but Iceland, still...

You know, I have never been to Iceland, although I have seen it from the air. I don't speak Icelandic, nor do I know much about Icelandic food, beyond what I have read about whale meat, rotten Greenland shark, etc. Yet, I remain very fascinated by the place. Volcanoes under glaciers. Bjork. Ancient literary history. Viking ancestry (and no other). This stuff makes me want to go there and check the place out (as I have mentioned before, I also have a strong desire to see Tehran, but that will probably have to wait until the current regime is out).

The question is: when? Americans, particularly Californians, visit Death Valley in the winter and early spring, when temperatures are bearable. Europeans (particularly the Germans) visit in July and August, to get the full impact of the heat. Part of me thinks that the best time to visit Iceland would be in the dead of winter. I have been north of the Arctic Circle (in Norway), during the summer, and it is pretty amazing, but there is part of me that is curious to experience that part of the world in December.

Anyway, it will probably not happen for awhile, but the urge to visit Iceland keeps growing.

Whaling in Iceland

First, I have gone ahead and added a "whaling" category. There are enough whale-related posts, that I should.

Second, when I went to find whaling songs, most of what came up were wanky "save the whales" crap along with those oh-so-lovely whale songs.

Third, then I hit gold, a five part video, done without comment, of the landing and butchering of the first commercially-taken whale in 22 years in Iceland, on October 22, 2006. Wow! This stuff is fantastic. One thing that is neat is the festive atmosphere around the landing, with families out to celebrate the return of commercial whaling. The other thing that I liked watching is the skill of the whale processing folks. They obviously have preserved their know-how during the moratorium.

Now, people are probably wondering, "why is Keilholtz so into whaling all of a sudden? He does not come from a culture of whalers, he has never eaten the stuff, he is certainly in favor of preserving endangered species...did he not get the whale memo that any killing of whales is evil?"

Well, because we humans have taken too much of certain natural resources, and need to lay off for a little bit in order for the stocks of those resources to recover. This is simple stewardship. However, we have a pernicious strain of environmentalism that is really a form of neo-Puritan religion, which believes that there is a pure state, and that humans, in any of their interractions with it, necessarily destroy it. These people want wilderness preserved for the sake of being wild. Thus, the Arctic Wilderness Preserve, so remote that it can only be of use to a very small number of well-heeled environmentalists, must be protected at astronomical cost to the general population, without any hope of increasing the benefit to that population. No one is going out of their way to increase public use of this land. Oh no, we can't have all these blue collar schlumps out there tramping around on virgin tundra. They might spoil it.

And whaling is their golden fleece, their holy grail. Their aim was the permanent end of whaling, and some of them (the "oh those magnificent creatures" set) were honest about it. Yet most of them claimed that it was about protecting a species from extinction. So, now many whale species have recovered, and Japan is proposing a return to regulated commercial whaling. The Greenpeace crowd is up in arms. The United States has, at one point, threatened Japan with trade sanctions. China can imprison Catholic priests and use them as slave labor or involuntary organ donors, and we are up in arms over whales?

22 years is a long time for an industry to be sidelined. In 22 years, you would presume that no young people would have learned the skills. The neo-Puritans should have won this one...and yet...the skills have been continued.

This year marks another milestone for another branch of neo-Puritanism: the modern anti-smoking movement. It all started in Berkeley thirty years ago, and this year they have passed the 50% mark in the numbers of states that have various smoking bans. They are trumpeting this as a great triumph. And, sure the worst is yet to come (the City of Belmont's proposed ban on all smoking, including in one's own car, in one's own apartment, etc. There is also a proposal to rate all movies that depict any smoking as "R".), but I think we are at just about the peak of this faddish nonsense.

Thirty years is amazing tenacity, fueled by monomaniacs (the real menace to our society) and supported by an underlying ideological grid of secular neo-puritanism, but it has been primarily a cause of baby boomers, and their twilight is beginning. Die Verdammtedaemerung. The Twilight of the Damned.

This whale, one magnificent creature, has given its life for a greater cause. This one whale represents a chink in the armor of Satan's most successful ideology: Puritanism in its various forms.

More than one marine mammal was harpooned on October 21, 2006, but also the apparent inevitability of this strain of neo-Puritanism.

Oh men of the harpoon, we salute you! Long live Iceland! Long live Japan!

Enjoy the video. I have spent too long on this already, and have a painting problem to get back to (I was going to work on it last night, as well as do some whaling blogging, but I went to bed early), but the cause of commercial whaling is too important to neglect.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Two Good Whaling Posts Deserve a Third!

I may have to start a whaling category in the blog.

Anyway, here is an excellent Q and A from Japan on whaling.

Perhaps later, I will hunt down some good whaling-related sea chanties on YouTube.

More on Whale Cuisine.

I am going to devote this post to pointing you in the direction of other places where they know a thing or two about cooking whale.

First, this one from Norway.

Second, if you speak Norwegian: This looks like some tasty stuff. Or you can go to Anders Jacobsen's blog to see one of these recipes in Englisch"

Third, for those of you who just like liquid whales, is a recipe for a blue whale. Watch out, as anything that is one part vodka, and five parts sweet stuff is a recipe for a hangover.

Fourth, another from www.highnorth.no, featuring an interesting European game preparation.

And, finally, whale pie.

Now, I have never eaten whale, so I have no idea what it tastes like, and no idea what method of cooking is best. I have eaten manatee, and I would have cooked it differently than it was served in the tapas bar in Spain where I had it.

Therefore, I neither endorse nor warn you off of any of these recipes, should you find yourself with a whale steak in your icebox.

Thar She Blows!

I am all in favor of preserving over-taxed fisheries by establishing moratoria until the population recovers. A two year moratorium on Atlantic cod, with ample payouts to fishermen (here is your year's take. Spend the season fixing your boat, spending time with your family, etc.) would be a relatively inexpensive way to preserve a vital resource. Sure, some of us would grump about going a year without baccala, or would have to learn to salt ling cod or something, but we would survive.

For that reason, I am entirely in favor of the measures that have been incredibly successful in bringing back whale populations. However, now that the populations are back up, let's resume whaling. Now any objections are nothing more than crypto-pagan pap along the lines of "oh, these magnificent creatures." Bovines are magnificent creatures, and we should eat them (and torear them) with gusto.

Scrimshaw. Oil. Meat. These are useful animals. And I would eat whale in a second.

Fortunately there are other countries that agree with me. The United States has boycotted this meeting, which is a shame, because we have a noble tradition of whaling (just about the only noble thing to ever come from New England, for instance).

Eat Shamu Now!

Bread Crusts

This week my project is to use a bag of bread crusts (from Italian bread that was used to make crustless croutons). Obviously, they will be crumbed, but they will have a much different character than standard breadcrumbs.

Actually I wanted to just throw them away, but I got a shocked look when I proposed that. And, since they are from ACME bread, I kind of agree.

So, I am thinking of doing a baker's pasta (breadcrumbs, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, reggiano parmiggiana, parsley). That will be the food experimentation theme for the week. I hope I can keep it interestitng, since there are a lot of crusts here.

Also, I have gallons of lamb stock, which is second only to pork stock for being of less general usefulness than veal/beef/chicken/duck stock. However, this was made with already braised lamb shank bones, so it is not too lamby, rather it has a more general meaty taste, so it is not quite as difficult to handle.

Last night I took some leftover liquid and veggies from pot roast (with turnips, potatoes, and tomatoes), added ceci, a can of mixed beans, pepper, cayenne, pimenton ahumado, some of this lamb stock, and a reggiano parmiggiana rind and made a very pleasant minestrone (Melanie would have used less pepper, but she is like that. A minestrone should bite a little at the back of the throat). So that used up, well, a quart at the most.

So, any lamb stock ideas would be appreciated.

I will report on my experiments there, too, if they are worth further investigation.

You know something...

Socialists are a menace.

Let's hope that the people of Holy Portugal make Socrates drink his political hemlock.

Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
San Francisco Franco y Bahamonde, Pray for us!
San Josemaria Escriva, Pray for us!
Santa Isabel, Reina de Portugal, Pray for us!
San Antonio de Lisboa, Pray for us!

Giuliani

Now, there are some Republicans that would have me scrambling to vote Democrat in a second. Har har har. Not really. Let's rephrase that: there are some Republicans that could drive me back into voting a straight third party ticket, but which one?

Giuliani is one of those Republicans. First, he is disqualified because he is pro-abortion. Out. End of discussion. Second, what exactly is his marriage status? We will need to investigate that. Third, he compounds it by combining his reprehensible ideas with an Italian name.

And, most importantly, he is directly responsible for putting Hilary Clinton in striking distance of the presidency. Have people already forgotten his eleventh hour ditching of the Senate election?

Oh, yes, he was sick, but call me old fashioned, but I don't see that we want a sickly president, because then we have to pay too much attention to the Veep slot.

Whoo hoo! Giuliani. A sickly supporter of infanticide!

Stop Playing Liberal Games!

Look. The problem is not that Edwards hired staffers who were intolerant. The problem is that they were anti-Catholic. I would hope that our President is intolerant of Mormons, Falun Gong, Scientologists, Episcopagans, and other whack-job cults out there. This sort of blanket tolerance: tolerance of you, tolerance of me, tolerance of these other three, this is all rubbish. This is why I like the more vehement of the Mohammedans. They are against us. We are against them, and we can all work together in an atmosphere of honesty and animosity.

I can't believe what a bunch of crybabies we sound like. Demanding that Edwards fire these staffers? Are you kidding? We should praise him for letting his staff be relaxed enough to show the world what the Edwards campaign is all about. The time to bring this stuff up is closer to election time, anyway, if you are thinking in terms of partisan political strategizing.

Don't we realize that in today's climate, complaining about inthenthitivity is not our winning strategy?

Quit whining.

Tonight's Event...And Blog Break for Maybe a Day...

First, the Chesterton event for the St. Anthony of Padua Institute was a great success. We had a good turnout, the food passed my standards, the speaker (Dr. Chuck Chalberg) was great, people seemed to enjoy themselves, etc.

For me it was a long, yet rewarding, two days. I don't know what I am going to be up to in the next couple of days, but I am sure it will have something to do with sleep. I will probably not post much of anything this weekend. You never know, though. Sometimes my most active periods of posting begin with a "well, I dunno. Perhaps I won't post much here."

However, I have posted something (nothing very exciting, except the post on the Beatles seems to have generated some comment) every day for the past couple of weeks. So, I won't feel bad if I do nothing here until Monday. I doubt it, though, but you never know, so be forwarned.

Anyway, I am done. The multitudes have been fed. It is after 2am. I am going to bed.

Happy First of Ducebruary! And a Final Announcement! Exclamations Points! Yippeeee!

First, We would like to wish each and every one of you a Happy First of Ducebruary (International Celebration of Our Beloved Leader). We are pleased to report that the Duce had a wonderful day, cooking for tomorrow's event.

And that brings me to...Anouncements!

Ticket sales are going crazy with last minute reservations. However, we still have some space left. I met with Dr. Chuck Chalberg, and he is really a delightful fellow (and not just because he comes from the whereabouts where I caught my largest freshwater fish - a monster of a Northern Pike in the area around Bay Lakes, Minnesota). The show is going to be fun, and the food is going to be...well, let's put it this way, two solid days of cooking are going into it, and I don't cut corners. I told the St. Anthony of Padua Institute administration that we can take any reservation, up to the room limit, until noon on Friday. After that, they will have to call me first, but I can easily adjust my proportions up to noon. So, if you have any inkling, click on the website and sign up online (or better yet, call the toll free number, as that way we really make sure we get the count right).

So, I hope to see you, but one way or another, please have a great Ducebruary!

Sgt. Pepper and Frank Sinatra

The other day a friend sent me a funny link to a site that had a list of "One Hundred Albums to Throw out of Your Collection Right Now." It had its funny moments, including a listing of the Beatle's Sgt. Pepper's. It pointed out that rock and roll didn't need all that orchestration and production: Frank Sinatra already had that covered.

And then, like a lightbulb in my head, I realized, "yes! That is what is so right about Sgt. Pepper's!"

It represents the total surrender of rock and roll. It says, in a sense, "the greatest rock and roll band in the history of the genre is not enough to sustain interest. We need an orchestra. We need a talented and creative producer. We need a story. Shucks, if we could just take a couple of the trappings of rock and roll and go out and write an opera, we would. You are right. Music is more complex and grownups should want something more sophisticated than 'She Loves Me Yeah Yeah Yeah!'"

Then along came punk, stripped of this decadent nonsense, the angry Taliban of Rock and roll. We don't need no fourth chord! Self-indulgence! Pure! Authentic! Do it yourself! The energy is all you need!

That little ghost shirt movement fizzled pretty quickly. The Clash's Combat Rock (which has a place on the list), is punk's grand surrender moment.

"Yeah, this stuff is pretty childish and dull, too. Maybe we can make it interesting with some funk."

Now, I like a lot of rock and roll, especially punk rock, and have defended it in this space. However, we must take it for what it is and realize that rock and roll is to music as hard candies are to food. A diet of steady rock and roll makes for rotten ears and unhealthy souls. A little bit of Ramones with a lot of Scarlatti is the better way.

When "rock and roll" actually ends up transcending the limitations of its genre, it really is delving into different territory completely (Pink Floyd remains one of the rare examples of when rock and rollers took their music seriously, aimed for something higher, and got it, thus earning it the perpetual scorn of the Punk Rock Puritans).

Interestingly enough, Paul McCartney (who I never knew was a Beatle until much later than you would have thought. I always thought of him as sort of a lounge singer who did horrid duets with Michael Jackson, sort of a slightly hip Engelbert Humperdink) is now writing "serious classical music," which, for the most part, stinks. He is incapable of sustaining and developing an idea beyond 32 bars. A friend of mine pointed out that he would have been a great tin pan alley guy.

He is not a great composer of classical music, however, and his efforts do more to highlight the genius of George Martin than that of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Must be the lack of animal protein.

And speaking of songs...

A couple of days ago, Amalia picked up Melanie's choir music, a baroque mass setting, and sang it. Well, not really. She was improvising, the lyrics as well as the melody. For the most part it was a hilarious melange of lines from various hymns that we sing, and then it got to the end (think of this as being sung in an adorable five year old voice doing her best to improvise in a "churchy" style):

"Uh-oh! This is all wrong!
Quit pestering Jesus!"

I immediately could hear this last line in a Polish accent.

We have a great priest, from Poland, who is probably the best model of how a priest should care for his parish that I have ever encountered. He is holy, orthodox (and as a bi-ritual priest, he can sometimes be quite Orthodox as well), astoundingly devoted to the well-being of his parish (which includes a big, scary county hospital with a trauma unit, something that most priests would shudder at having to take care of, but not Fr. Z. His dedication to ministering to the sick is incredible, and he will sometimes be called to the hospital several times in a night, which he dutifully does) and completely unafraid to tell us when we are out of line. Imagine if Don Camillo were Don Camilsky and you get the picture.

So, when I heard that line "quit pestering Jesus" I could just imagine it coming at the end of one of Father's legendary scolds.

February 7 (old calendar)

Today is the last day before the First of Ducebruary (also known as Duce Day). In anticipation of the feasting tomorrow, you should be making sure that you have your gruyere, ementhaler, white wine (Bonny Doon's malvasia bianca is ideal), lemon juice, corn starch, Kirschwasser, garlic, and bread. Also, I generally recommend a salad, because all that cheese without greens can be tough on the stomach.

Now, what we need is a Grand National Anthem that we can all sing, praising the Keilholtz Dictatorship, the Keilholtzista Party, the Keilholtz Youth, the paramilitary Keilholtz Brigade, and for God to grant our Beloved Duce a long life in office. So, that is your assignment for today.

Remember, the Party has excellent irony detectors, so think before you decide to get smart on us.

The criteria? It should be snappy, moving, and with a good beat that is easy to march to. Atonality (especially in Just-Temperament) is a bonus. Bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy parts are optional, but would put a smile on the face of Beloved Duce.

And no friggin' oboes. We can't have those whispy little quacking things.

Now, put on your black shorts and get to work!

If you hear too much noise over here...

You will have to excuse us for outlandishly loud cries of "Deo Gratias!", but the diagnosis from the oncologist is "benign."

This means that the surgery is going to be a routine procedure without the cloud that was threatening in the distance. Because it is a general anesthesia operation, continued prayers are in order, if you have the inclination.

Speaking of clouds threatening, have I mentioned how much I like the Weather Channel desktop feature? It is really neat. When there are extreme weather warnings the icon flashes red and a thunderclap sound crashes (which is the current situation - health clouds have dissipated, but it looks like we are in for some weather here - subtropical system, ground saturation, etc. so perhaps some prayers of deliverance for the folks who live on the sides of hills and bottoms of gullies are in order, too).

On The Superbowl

I suppose I should post my annual Super Bowl recap here.

The Raiders did not win.

I knew from about the end of the second half of their first game of the season that they were doomed this year, and, thus took the season off. For the first year in a long time I watched only that one game. Not the playoffs. Not the Superbowl. Nothing. I did not even know who was in the Super Bowl until last week.

Did I miss the NFL? Not really. The NFL has just not been that interesting for the past few years, and I am not saying that simply because the Raiders have been in the toilet for about that same amount of time (remember I get as much joy in watching the Niners lose as I do in watching the Raiders win, so it really should have been a fun last few years, except that the Niners did not lose in any interesting games. My favorite thing to watch in football is to see the Niners QB get sacked, preferably in the end zone).

Maybe next year, although I am doubtful. The NFL needs a massive shakeup to make it interesting again.

Now, I realize that I may have missed something this year. Certainly the playoffs were reputed to have been good games. Perhaps. I still don't think I missed much.

Some Miscellaneous Stuff

First, I will try to blog daily, as it is a good discipline. However, I am knee-deep in preparations for the St. Anthony of Padua Institute's Night with G.K. Chesterton event, which I highly recommend you go to. Tickets are moving, so act now. We would love to have your company.

Second, the other complication is that Melanie is facing surgery, but hopefully not for the C-word (her doctor is about ninety percent sure it isn't, but there is that chance). She could go in as early as this week. Please pray for her.

Third, I have been remiss in adding The Lion and the Cardinal to my blogroll. Mr. Mitsui has a provocative and well-done blog, and I recommend checking it out regularly.

A Lone Dog in the Sierra

This is a portrait that Amalia took of her dalmation puppy up at Lake Tahoe. Everyone ought to have a portrait of their dalmation puppy at Lake Tahoe.

Copyright 2006 by Amalia Keilholtz

Correction

Melanie says that she took all of the trout pictures while I was busy doing prep work. She is probably right. So, the credit on the trout picture below belongs to her.

Berkeley

I love Berkeley. It is full of the very worst sort of people, but also the very best. You can say the same about the architecture. Of course it is the best market town in the world for foodies, with the Berkeley Bowl, the Monterrey Market, The Cheese Board Collective, ACME Bakery, and so forth and so on.

I am thinking of doing a little photo tribute to Berkeley this week. We will start with this picture of the Lawrence Hall of Science:

Copyright 2006 by Erik Keilholtz

Of course, you can just turn around and see the view directly, too:

Copyright 2006 by Erik Keilholtz

Suitable for Framing?

It was pointed out that I had yet to post my photo on the blog. Since Amalia appears here, as does Melanie, it seems fair that I should paste my mug up here, too.

This is a picture Amalia took last summer up at Lake Tahoe. Holding the dog was her idea. She also made me take a portrait of the dog for her.

Copyright 2006 by Amalia Keilholtz

And Speaking of Coming Attractions...

The next cyber-show at the Erik's Rants and Recipes Gallery will be Erik Keilholtz: Works on Paper. The opening is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, because if it doesn't happen by Wednesday, it will have to wait until after the weekend, with the Chesterton event and all.

One other thing...or two other things...no...make that three other things

Since I am getting more comfortable with posting photos, and getting a better idea of what works and what doesn't work, I am going to try something involving food, recipes, photography, etc. Ain't promisin' nuttin' at this point, because I will need to experiment, but if it works, it could be fun.

And speaking of experimentation...

Last night was the dinner for me to test my new inventions that I will be cooking for the G.K. Chesterton night. So far, the meat dishes passed with flying colors. What I will need to work on is the wild rice, leek, lemon and shrimp risotto. I have never used wild rice quite this way, and I am realizing that I will have to use some regular arborio rice, as the starch content of the wild rice is way too low.

So, sometime this week I will be working on take two of that dish.

Meanwhile, I recommend attending, and I recommend selecting some other penance for Friday and eating the meat dishes.

Get your tickets right away, you don't want to not have a ticket on Friday.

By the way, for my birthday on Thursday (I did mention that, didn't I?), the tradition is to eat a classic cheese fondue. I am not sure we will be doing that, since I will be cooking all day. But you can certainly have a good fondue, even if I end up eating pizza.

It is the official food of the the First Day of the Month of Ducebruary.

Blog Organization

I have created a couple of new categories, and am going through old entries classifying posts. Already I think that I have probably made a mistake on taxonomy. Alas. It will do for now.

Anyway, it is a tedious process, and will take more time (I am working backwards in time and have just moved from December to November). When it is done (or I get to 2005 and say, "I give up!"), I will post on the new categories and why they are what they are.

Fishies

I mentioned that the fishing is great in Medicine Lake, no?

These trout are from that lake. I caught all but one of them:

Copyright 2006 by Melanie Keilholtz

I like fish. I like to fish. I like to cook fish. I like to eat fish.

Part of the fun thing about fish is where they live, especially when the places look like this:

Copyright 2006 by Erik Keilholtz

Or this:

Copyright 2006 by Erik Keilholtz

Both of those are pictures of the Sacramento River at the Anderson River Park in Anderson, near Redding.

Now, I like ocean fish, too, and have this problem of going to the aquarium. I see things like this:

Copyright 2006 by Erik Keilholtz

And I get hungry. Mmmmmm. Pack those babies in salt!

Of course you cannot have a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich. I suppose perhaps some variety of jellyfish would be edible (I believe), but with peanut butter on toast? No. They sure are pretty, though:

Copyright 2006 by Erik Keilholtz

And that is your photo tour for today.

And what goes with f-f-f-fish, K-K-K-Ken?

Second Day of Anticipation for Ducebruary

I hope that the preparations are going well for your Ducebruary celebrations. Today, of course, is the day to par-cook the cardoni and lamb tongues. I will also be cooking some lamb kidneys, but just as a little fun addition to the traditional festivities.

Speaking of lamb...

We interrupt this stirring Patriotic Message of the Preparations for the Celebration of the Birth of Dear Leader for an important commercial message.

Toot-toot-toot-toot!

And now, a word from our sponsah!

Yes, dear friends you know that the Liberal Arts have seen better days in our society as a whole as well as in our Catholic institutes of higher learning.

You also know how ideas start in the Bay Area and percolate down to the rest of the world. This includes all manner of ideas, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

So, one of the best ways of helping bring health and vigor to the liberal arts is to support the Saint Anthony of Padua Institute. And what better way to support the institute than by eating, drinking, and listening to the words of G.K. Chesterton as delivered by the talented John Chuck Chalberg?

Yes, for only $70 a person you can enjoy my own Northern Californian take on British cuisine, chased down by rich red wine, althewhile your ears are being bathed in the wit and wisdom of this great Catholic writer.

Next Week, February 9 (or Ducebruary 2) at St. Margaret Mary's Church in Oakland. Come one, come all!

Water-miscible oils and Naples Yellow

This post will begin a new category: Technical Art Matters.

I realize that there is a limited audience for this stuff, but for those who want to know about it, it will be here. Basically the division will be as follows:

For the technique of drawing and painting itself, the Art category will suffice.

For discussion of materials, chemistry of paint, etc., this category will do.

There will be some overlap, though.

Mr. Luse has asked me what I thought of water-miscible oil paints. I told him that I don't trust them. The third generation lithographer in me screams "but, oil and water don't mix!" The way they work is by emulsion, sort of. The water evaporates, leaving just old fashioned oil paint.

Now, I consulted Ralph Meyers' book, and he doesn't even touch the subject, even though the book is quite current on new media.

My guess is that the water could leave the paint film spongy and weakened, and could promote yellowing. I would love to be corrected by someone who knows more about these paints, but that is my suspicion.

As to Naples Yellow in acrylic, the pigments cited are not true Antimony Yellow. I am sure they are the same color, and a quick look at the color reflection charts makes it seem that they are close enough in hue. The paint handling, however, would be different, and I will go on the record to say that I am in love with the way lead handles. So, for me, used to true Naples Yellow, the paint handling would be unsatisfactory. However, if I had never used the real thing, the color would be just fine, and the paint handling would not bother me.

So, if you are not used to the true Naples Yellow in oil, then the hue should be just fine. Go for it!

Happy February!

Today is the first day of Ducebruary, which is what we are renaming this month in honor of the fact that we were born during it. It is a month so special that they had to remove a couple of days from it, just to provide balance. Also, we are changing the numbering scheme. The First of Ducebruary is what is currently known as the eighth. So, today is the First Prelude Day of Ducebruary, a month so special that it has to have a week of preparation for everyone to get into the spirit.

We will come up with special menus of preperatory and celebratory food for you to celebrate all month (well, actually the celebration ends on Mardi Gras, as even the Beloved Duce must put aside the raucous celebration once Ash Wednesday rolls around).

However, you will need our portrait, suitable for framing, and you probably don't have one. We have commissioned the Imperial Photographer, and she has submitted quite a portfolio. When we have selected the official portrait of Beloved Leader, we will post it here.

Meanwhile, I have a couple of tasks to do today:

1. Be a driver for Amalia's field trip.
2. Look up some chemistry stuff for Mr. Luse. I smell a fish in that water miscible stuff, and his further explanation of it leaves me more curious than I was before. However, before I advise him to completely avoid the stuff, I should do a little research, so that will happen this afternoon or evening. I do have some painting to do, to, so it could be quite late before I get to chemist mode.

So, posts will probably be sparse. Often I say that right before a burst of the stinkin' things. But not today. I don't think.