PORTLAND, Ore. — Allen Ginsberg’s first public reading of his epic poem “Howl” took place at San Francisco’s famous Six Gallery in October of 1955. Along with Ginsberg, the evening included readings by Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Philip Lamantia, and Michael McClure. Poet and anthologist Kenneth Rexroth was the emcee, and Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Neal Cassady were in attendance. Unfortunately for literary history, …
Likely like most of you, I grew up thinking rum was always clear, and came in a clear glass bottle with a bat on the label. You made three things with it. You could get really fancy and make a daiquiri, you could add it to Coke, or you could add it to juice. There were exceptions; Long …
What have we learned: 1. Terrorists can act with impunity so long as they are white; they can attack police, lay siege to any capitol, openly carry guns to legislatures, plot kidnappings, kill, and even dress like dystopian Price Is Right contestants while doing so, and will calmly walk away, unscathed, toting mementos. 2. Not …
The Incredibly abbreviated history of Punch In the beginning, God gave man beer – and it was good. Well actually, it took a while. And the beer was horrible. The first known use of a straw as a tool was by the Sumerians in 3,000 BCE, and used it to get down through the semi-solids to the liquid in a container …
“What one rum can’t do, three rums can” – Don Beach Johnny Quong’s The Hawaiian When I was a kid, I was a pretty picky eater. We lived in Salt Lake City for four years in the early 1970s, and on the rare occasion that we went out to eat, the one place that I was always …
Eggnog. Not the most attractive name. Some people love it, and it is an integral part of their Christmas tradition. But some people hate it. The thought of drinking a thick mixture containing raw eggs disgusts them. Perhaps we should tell them that eggnog is basically melted ice cream (raw eggs, milk, and sugar) with alcohol included. The origins of eggnog are obviously unknown, …
When I was in high school, I got my one and only cocktail lesson from my dad. While making a drink, he turned to me and asked if I knew the difference between a dry martini and a very dry martini. He grabbed the (dusty) dry vermouth bottle from under the sink – probably next to the Comet and dish soap – and told me for …
People ask me all the time. What do you do with bitters? Or – what are bitters for? The short answer is they are to cocktails what spices are to food. Chef and author Samin Nosrat says of salt, “Salt’s relationship to flavor is multidimensional: It has its own particular taste, and it both balances and enhances the …
I started tinkering around with cocktails the summer of 2019, on a search for the best cocktail of the summer. Mostly to give myself something to do. Summer turned into fall, and fall into winter, then in 2020 I decided that I had made enough cocktails that I need to keep them someplace or I would forget …
Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock “We could not now take time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beere.” – from the diary of William Bradford The story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving is an interesting one. Black and white clad Puritans sitting down with half naked natives and sharing a meal to celebrate the thankfulness of the harvest. It is a tale fabricated sometime in …
Keith Richards on stage during the “cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour”, 1972 In the crazy 1960s, the youth turned against the previous generation as perhaps none other ever has. Parents are always seen as squares, and more boring than your peers, but in this tumultuous time everything seemed out of control. By the end of …
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Discover the extraordinary story of legendary bluesman Joe Bonamassa in the inspirational documentary GUITAR MAN, arriving on Video-On-Demand and for Digital purchase December 8, 2020 from Paramount Home Entertainment. From average Joe by day to guitar hero at night, GUITAR MAN tells the incredible rise of blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa, whose hard work and determination have made him one …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~sweet potatoes have lovely sprawling foliage and produce the food under ground. Due to the same lovely sprawling foliage ornamental sweet potato vines are popular in pots, so if you go to the nursery to buy sweet potato plant make sure to specify that you would like a plant that …
Seattle-based soul-jazz groovemonsters Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio announced I Told You So, their sophomore studio album will be out January 29th via Colemine Records. The announcement comes with the first single “Call Your Mom,” which Under the Radar praised saying “the jazzy guitar and shots of organ bring a swaggering style to the track as …
As we turn the corner from Fall to Winter, the Holiday season rushes toward us. Whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, the Election, a wedding, the Super Bowl, or even the launching a new battleship, one spirit fits the bill. Champagne. Sipped from a crystal coupe glass or sprayed all over your World Series teammates, the sparkling wine …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~squash/pumpkins are among the most versatile produce, storage is easy and it makes lovely Fall decor until it becomes lunch. Time to hive mind some inspiration for utilizing squash/pumpkin. Antonia Yost caramelizes it with onions and sage to top her pizza along with gruyere cheese. Her brother made pumpkin dip …
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Music icon Don McLean performed for Alex Trebek’s final Christmas party in 2019. Don reflects on that time spent with Alex: “Alex asked if I would come and sing for him and his Jeopardy family at his annual Christmas party last year. I was on his “bucket” list he told me. It …
Seattle firebrand songwriter Rawb Middleton wrote this awesome protest song last year and shares this lyric video with you today to amplify his message. Please listen. Here’s how I described it a year ago: “But the wildest, awesomest and most subversive tune is a red hot and perfect send up of southern call and response …
Drinking and Voting Throughout most of early US history there was a strong relationship between elections and alcohol. It’s amusing in a way to read about the ‘election fraud’ going on now. We have nothing on the past. Our forefathers – George Washington even! – bought votes with alcohol. When Washington was 24, he ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He thought it was …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~one of the greatest blessings of a hard freeze is the joyous ripening of American Persimmons! Before they are ripe they are astringent mouth puckering yuckiness, but a period of freezing temperatures transforms these lovely little orange egg shaped fruit into mushy messy sweetest fruit on earth! My buddy Bob …
My herb cabinet is a repurposed fold out VCR cabinet.. Tuesday eating from your yard tip~ If you haven’t already done so this is a good time to fill your herb cabinet with your favorite kitchen herbs for cooking this winter. As a general rule it is best to harvest herbs mid~morning after the dew …
Ancient Greek Mastos cup, ca. 500 BCE In October of 2008, my wife finished chemotherapy for Breast Cancer. She was diagnosed in April and started radiation therapy in June, finishing the Friday before the October Race for the Cure in Omaha. She was determined to walk the one-mile route to poke her finger in cancer’s eye, and I decided that if she could walk the mile, I could …
Jesus, Eddie Van Halen is dead. The wind’s been knocked out of me. What? Eddie Van Halen is gone, and with him, one of the last crouton-crumbs of my salad days has been swept away. Arguably the most influential rock musician of my generation, definitely the most influential rock guitarist since Hendrix. As with Hendrix, …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip ~ There is a pepper for everyone from sweet bell peppers and sweet banana peppers on the mild end and habaneros and ghost peppers on the hot end of the spectrum. Where to start? My grandson demands jalapeño peppers on his pizza and loves a who can eat the …
White Russian – recipe below When I was a senior in college, I spent my last semester studying architecture in London, and happen to have lucked into joining a group of fellow students from Fresno State in a week-long trip to the Soviet Union. Not Russia – this was an actual behind the iron curtain trip in 1985. We spent the first four days in Moscow, and one night we smuggled a group of Soviet kids our age into the International Hotel we were staying in. Citizens were not …
Tuesday eating from your tip~Of my wild harvesting friends, I am the most risk adverse. If you can potentially die or get sick from eating something at the wrong time and if I’m not starving then I don’t eat it. Pawpaws are the exception ~ the creamy custardy innards taste like a mixture of mango …
Here in Nebraska, and specifically in Nebraska City, we are in the middle of the 52nd annual Apple Jack Festival. It is a yearly celebration of the apple harvest, and a signifier of the transition from summer to fall – just as we have been celebrating for centuries in America. Apples have been an important part of …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~I’m in the midst of harvesting the bronze fennel seeds! Fennel is in my top five favorite herbs. I carry a container of seeds in my purse to ease coughs, upset tummies and freshen up breath. All parts of fennel are edible. Some people get upset because their bronze fennel …
Photo of John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed The temperatures at night are falling, this week we see the transition to Fall, and here in Nebraska it is time for the annual Applejack Festival in Nebraska City. As all you arborists out there know, Nebraska City is the home to Arbor Day, the brainchild of J. Sterling Morton, one of Nebraska’s most famous citizens. But the season – …
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a pioneer in the women’s rights movement and the second woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, died Friday at age 87 due to complications of pancreatic cancer. She was a survivor of previous battles with cancer. I have read that Justice Ginsburg could not get a job with a law firm …