After a gambler saw his losing streak continue, he then used multiple, modified assault weapons to kill 58 people and wound 546 in Las Vegas on October 1st. The Orange President of the United States of America (OPOTUS) president reacted by saying the issue should not be framed in political terms. I do not recall …
HELP, IS THIS ALREADY A SCI-FI STORY? In the year 20xx, a super computer at Cambridge finally becomes self aware. Our worst fears that such a computer will destroy our civilization comes to pass, but in a twist humanity itself is spared. The computer gains consciousness and becomes immediately aware of the evil, manipulation, and …
When I go back to Jamaica, one of my goals I am sending the mysterious German manager Lennart Tacke, is filming myself playing my Bond song at Goldeneye. Of course I haven’t written my Bond song yet. But I told Scott Rowe I would pen such a tune for our Brighton band Sherlock Soul. It’s …
I came across this passage last night while reading Tim Weiner’s book, One Man Against the World: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon. The next paragraph is verbatim (page 68). “We tried every operational approach in the book, and committed our most experienced field operatives to the effort to get inside the government in Hanoi,” CIA …
This last week, I happened to remember that Peanuts creator Charles Schulz lived in Santa Rosa, CA, so I did a quick search to check on the fate of his home and museum. The museum, with the bulk of Schulz’s original artwork and memorabilia, is intact, but his home was totally destroyed with his widow …
World-renowned cultural historian, author and longtime friend of East Portland Blog, Pat Thomas, will soon be coming to Portland and Seattle to celebrate the release of his new book, Did It! From Yippie To Yuppie: Jerry Rubin, An American Revolutionary. Did It has received many excellent reviews and write-ups, including this article in one of …
I am thinking about writing an absolutely chilling Halloween story called THE CHOSEN. It is an only barely dramatized version of what happened to my friends, but thankfully not my immediate family, as RIGHT WING & RUSSIAN BOTS began to scour the internet for victims. Throughout 2016 I watched as these BOTS zeroed in on …
I think I may have figured out how Americans of Indigenous Eurasian ancestry, such as myself, have confused the Jewish God Jesus with all our lost but only half forgotten Gods of War. This has something I have wanted to say for quite a while, but this has reached a boiling point. And traveling to …
“Damn The Torpedos” was one thing… but the album after that, and the one after that… we got into the 80s and there was nobody – metalheads, punks, New Wavers, “old folks” – who didn’t like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. You and your buddies got into your car one night, you put in “Long …
I tread very carefully here, but I have been getting…how can I say this? I have been getting interesting feedback from my conservative friends and acquaintances about what happened in Vegas. I am not throwing anyone under the bus here (Charlottesville & Nice has loaded that saying with unnecessary imagery). What I am driving at …
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 hottest …
OK I will say this, to put Las Vegas and the firepower we all heard echo in a historical perspective: As the automatic crack of a machine gun fire rang into my ears at a handful of rounds per second, I asked myself with little practical knowledge of American arms, if that was the sound …
I am not going to comment right now on the insane machine gun slaughter at a country music concert in Vegas, or tell you yet what Tom Petty means to me. But I will head into work to trim that sweet legal erb and keep getting a little smarter and laughing out loud a little …
Do you think our military might be dangerously overextended if we can’t ‘invade’ Puerto Rico and help what is inevitably going to be our 51st State? The National Guard should not be in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is a sign of Imperial stupidity. Folly in every sense. Sun Tzu would have some interesting things today …
I’m sure that an editor or two – and possibly a few peeps – might be curious as to my thoughts on Hugh Hefner’s passing. And so, on a borrowed laptop while on vacation, here goes: One has to be of a certain age, startlingly enough, to realize the influence of Hefner’s Playboy magazine in …
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 has dried and before the heat of the day. This is …
Eating from your yard tip ~ the fennel seeds are turning brown and ready to harvest! Fennel is in my top five favorite herbs. I carry a container of fennel 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 …
The versatile eggplant is sliced, cubed, mushed, breaded, stir fried, baked and fried all around the world except up in the far northern tundra. Maria Baher-Olomi bakes sliced eggplant then serves it with a yogurt and spearmint sauce. My Joy of Cooking cookbook is marked to open on page 74 baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant dip). …
My recent NFL post included the following: Speaking of which, NFL owners made a very short-sighted decision with their blacklist, informal or otherwise. Somehow, they appear to have forgotten that 75% of NFL players are black, with many of them having likely experienced firsthand the issues with law enforcement that Kap had protested. Two weeks …
Photos posted today in The Atlantic of wildfires in the West. Portland residents may be particularly interested in those of the Eagle Creek fire along the Columbia River. The first two, taken from the Washington side of the river across from Cascade Locks, are quite dramatic. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/09/wildfires-rage-across-the-american-west/538977/ – Chuck Strom
Eating from your yard tip ~ there are many basils with different tastes, colors of leaves and flowers. I have it on good authority from two elderly tipsy Italian women that purple opal basil is the key to a good marinara. Both the basil flowers and leaves are edible. A traditional basil pairing is tomato, …
“Service with a smile,” the customer said sarcastically as I opened the taxicab door for him. “Two months to live. Liver is gone,” he continued, apparently referring to himself. “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, not knowing what else to say. “Once you get to know me, you won’t be sorry.” He chuckled bleakly. …
My Facebook friend Sharry Debolt (nee Konopski) left this earth August 25 after a long battle with lung cancer. She was a really nice, cool gal who said very lovely things to me before and after my wife died last year. Though we had little in common besides cancer and living in the same state, …
Photos of Houston posted this morning. Lots more rain to come. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/08/hurricane-harvey-leaves-houston-under-water/538215/ – Chuck Strom
The Atlantic’s photo section just posted these pics of the damage from Hurricane Harvey on the Texas Gulf Coast: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/08/photos-the-aftermath-of-hurricane-harvey/538143/ Reported casualties were minimal after the first day, but it’s usually in the days and weeks following that we get a true indication of the scale of the disaster. In this case, the critical factor …
Eating from your yard tip ~ Hooray the garlic chives are in flower! Few people are more fond of invasive plants than I am, but my friend it is in your best interest to utilize the garlic chives flowers before the prolific self seeders take over the garden. The leaves and flowers are edible garlic …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~nasturtiums add color and a little taste of black pepper to your food. The leaves, flowers and seeds are edible. I have not eaten the seeds, but I have been told you can pickle them to substitute for capers. There is nothing tricky about eating nasturtiums you can eat them …
In July 2014, I had the privilege of visiting Charlottesville, VA to see Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the University of Virginia. I remember the visit fondly, but now my memory has to take into account the events of this past weekend. I attach these photos to remind myself that, in more peaceful times, it is …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~ Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis) are not a berry you pick and pop in your mouth. While birds can eat elderberry off the bush, it is best for us humans to remove the seed and heat it up a bit before eating them. I pick them when the cluster droops. Harvesting …
Eating from your yard tip~what to do with the glorious glut of tomatoes? Tomatoes are in most dishes we prepare, but after you have eaten your fill of fresh tomatoes on your BLTs, in bruschetta, sliced tomatoes served with basil and balsamic vinegar or put them in your egg casseroles, green and pasta salads etc …