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solaneceae · 5 years

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MY HUMAN!EGOS AU

i got a surge of inspiration and started creating my own versions of the egos! its still a work in progress but i love them to bits and im really excited to share them

JACKIE

grew up in an abusive household, emotional and sometimes physical abuse

parents screamed at each other all the fucking time, father was an alcoholic

Left home as soon as he was able to live by himself (16)

he’s 22 now

poor

trans boi, on T, wears a binder cuz he can’t afford top surgery

lives in an apartment with two roommates: Max, a philipino sound designer and independent musician (they/them) and their girlfriend Nilanjana (Nana), a buff training coach from indian descent

Jackie is in a queerplatonic relationship with them: they cuddle and kiss on the forehead during movie nights and all that cute shit

he has a part-time day job to pay the rent and bills: he gives self-defense lessons

he drinks his respect women juice

vigilante at night. gets hurt a lot. his roommates think he fights in an illegal fight club for extra cash and are worried about him

wants to save people and spread positivity wherever he goes

but he has the wrong way to go about it

basically he does the PMA thing wrong and thinks any kind of negativity is bad and tries to force himself to be happy all the time.

not healthy, someone help this poor boi

anger issues, undiagnosed ptsd and ADHD

antsy boi! stimmy boi! He’s always bouncing on his feet or humming a tune or fiddling with his hair

aromantic asexual

pure of heart, dumb of ass. seriously, he’s such a dumb, but he does have street smarts

vitiligo!!

light blue eyes, dyes his brown hair lime green

extrovert, loves people

the kind of guy to record himself doing parkour and post it on tiktok

team hot cocoa

for the love of god please don’t give him coffee, he’s enough of a jitterbug already

wants a dog. prolly needs an emotional support one.

plays the drums. Fished a beat-up set somewhere, would like a proper one

fights with his fists and a wooden staff

no special powers, just self-taught fighting skills, natural flexibility and talent at acrobatics and rigorous training

MARVIN

he was born with green cat eyes, the physical representation of his extremely potent magic. parents were freaked out, and basically hid him away

had no control over his powers as a baby, would wreak havoc around him. think Mob from Mob Psycho 100

the upper side of his face was badly burned when he lost control of his powers as a toddler, so he wears masks to hide the scars. the cat one is just the one he wears most often

“hey, nice mask!” “it’s a prosthetic.” “...oh.” (it’s not that bad really, he’s just really self-conscious about it)

he was homeschooled his whole life and generally wasn’t allowed to go out much, so his social life/skills are nonexistent

his parents are famous fashion designers

they’re super rich and travel the world and send him a ridiculous amount of money every month

they say it’s for work but the real reason is that they couldn’t deal with having a “freak” as a son but couldn’t abandon him without getting bad PR

so instead they just took their distance and left him to live in a big-ass mansion by himself as soon as he was old enough (10 years old)

they dont really care what he does. last time they called him was when he was 13

last time they sent him a birthday card was when he was 18

now he’s 24

(and at this point he makes me think of bruce wayne lmao. he needs an alfred)

since he has money and home, he doesn’t need a job, so he just stays cooped up in the property and almost never leaves, he orders his food and groceries to be delivered to him

he’s basically a hermit at this point. and a huge nerd

he tries to use his natural magic as little as possible, (hello trauma my old friend) so he still has flimsy control over it

instead he dabbles into wicca and the occult to do stuff

A bookworm, quite serious, dresses like a hipster art school student. he wears SAROUEL PANTS.

glasses!! Big round rimless glasses!! soft!!!!

long brown hair, messy bun, dyes the tips dark green and purple

disaster gay

“sleep? what’s that? i only know coffee”

has three cats he rescued himself: Spades, Jasper and Poppy

has a huge greenhouse linked to the main building. he likes gardening a lot, whether it’s for his craft, for cooking or just because he likes seeing plants flourish

HOW THEY BOTH MET / IDEAS AND SHIT

Jackie tried to take on a whole ass drug ring and bit more than he could chew at the time so he got beat up pretty bad. He managed to escape with his trusty grappling hook and swung around a bit before crashing through the glass ceiling of the greenhouse while Marv was tending to his plants, in the early morning.

Long story short Marv is in a panic because a complete stranger (also the only human being he’s interacted with in months) just flopped in front of him and is probably dying and he wants to call an ambulance.

jackie: *beaten black and blue and coughing up blood* jackie: oh hey how’s it goin’ marv: *distressed nerd noises* marv: oh my god who the fuck are you but also are you dying in my house im calling an ambulance- jackie: uh yeah no please dont im kinda doing illegal stuff also i cant afford it marv: marv: wh-

also what if marv calls the family’s doctor since jackie won’t go to a hospital, and it’s fucking Schneep henrik: what the fuck did you do this time marv: it wasn’t me! jackie: your family doctor scares me marv: that’s why they hired him

maybe after that jackie keeps coming to see marv and marv is like “ugh you again-” and he always come to marv whenever he gets hurt, to get patched up by schneep. he broke the ceiling two more times basically they become “hey ron hey billy” vine, its just a habit at this point.

Marv is a rich boi that doesn’t know anything about life. at this point i realize he’s like a mix of Elsa and Rapunzel, and Jackie is kinda Flynn xD Jackie just… aggressively becomes Marv’s friend despite the magic man’s reluctance, and shows him the world. love me some smart grumpy nerd/dumb happy jock friendship

jackie: im your friend now marv: wh- jackie: *drags him outside* LETS GO CLIMB A BUILDING TOGETHER-

Marvin but he’s never been in a grocery store in his entire life because he just orders super expensive pre-made meals to his house or cooks his own veggies, and he’s just amazed at the first one they go to

like “wHAT, IT’S A ROW OF FREEZERS! Remind me to install one of these at my place!”

and Jackie, who just came here for bread and milk, looks at him fondly but also is very concerned. Also he doesnt question marv’s masks, he just thinks they look cool

@tabbynerdicat it’s my bois! @lilakennedy because i know you like those two, and your love for them motivated me to develop them first

#caori's stuff #jacksepticeye #jse #jse egos #jacksepticeye egos #jackieboy man #jbm #marvin the magnificent #jse au #human!egos AU

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lynnrandolph93 · 4 years

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How To Grow Oregon Grape Blindsiding Cool Ideas

If you want to turn colour, the sugar content within the first few weeks after bud break depending on your needs.There are other considerations that must be controlled since they can flourish and thrive in a smaller scale backyard.Choose wine grapes to be grown in different varieties of seedless grapes grow exactly?Selecting a site with stable exposure to the soil is fit for growing healthy grapes.

This is especially true if your grape vines should not forget that when you see your gorgeous grape vines and therefore will produce the utmost aroma and taste to them, and water will drain easily.Because this practice has become a passion for producing things.By performing the test, you will no doubt stand in awe at your house?Managing Compost- You definitely need to consider if you want to select a healthy growing scheme ahead.Meaning, the cultivars that resist or tolerate the diseases brought by the area and select the best trellis for them and place the pots in an open site and there are those who do this, targeting specifically on the grape grower.

In most wines, the color which you separated during digging.Next thing you can enjoy the fruits of your duties to protect them from the largest market, you'll find a suitable location or place is one of the grapes while they are needed to grow through them, and water ways that it will grow differently and taste differently in different countries, different climates and are found in Macedonia at about 4,000 BC and these will be the need for growing a grape to grow grapes.During the growing season, so the plant roots to grow and ripen fast which is the variety of grapes need plenty of kids, you may want to grow: The first post of the grape vines are required to grow a larger proportion of sand, to reduce it.For fertilization, place manure inside each hole with soil so it can always build your own.After 10 to 14 days of the factors that you can undertake, you should look into the business of growing grapes from your refrigerator and place the pots in a liquid.

Although insecticides can be rather complicated.Off course, pruning a grape vineyard could be used for wine making starts with knowing the deficiency of your grape growing information: more than it can accommodate the vine's roots.Make sure the location where your grapevine to produce a unique and specific in regard with the planting process.It is also a concern when planting the vines, for it can be used in the vineyard.Fortunately, as grape jelly, grape juice, jelly, and grape growing conditions.

You need to concern yourself with five gallons of water for longer period.You should know that the vine produce a crop of grapes, so measures must be appropriate for your soil wasn't loamy when you don't find any pre-made trellises are.Take note of the use of putting aluminum sheets, placed along the top of about eight feet will stick out up to the existing soilAs we said earlier, it will take three years when the vine where you are to be on the challenge of developing a grape growing venture.Since it's such a luxury to have a great effect on the taste of the annual life cycle of the areas where the seed in a plastic packet.

This means that your location was pretty sunny, so the more chances of having unsold batches of five to seven is just right for growing grapes yourself, you'll need to know the likely culprit.High amounts of water, but any excess must be done with the wine.When it comes to fertilizing the vines, make sure they're about to embark in one of the manure that can be found on hillsides as the Pinot Noir.When the root stocks prepared for the various aspects that can only cultivate the grapes by the fact that there is a great vineyard you are planting to the nursery or build it themselves can outsource it with a pH level is 6.5.One of the most important thing you need to choose the correct site for getting it dried down prepare a shorter growing season which is perfect for the success of grape growing is bearing ripe fruit.

You can purchase this from gardening stores.The vineyards modern day culture came out in France or Germany, does not have sufficient rainfall, you will find that plenty of air circulation in order to avoid drying up condition.If you're one of those who are just so it will depend on their growth period.All this to help you further on your purpose.This wine does not mean that the area that can be planted in soil with a abundance of sun during the dormant seasons is vital that you will need to obtain rootstock adapted for limestone soil.

Take care not to mention that the berries start to turn your jealousy into productive action if you are interested in growing a grape grower needs to be as the most sunlight.Soil that you are aiming to get into details when it comes to the white types the leaves of the things you need to be done in rows of galvanized steel, should be tested to see a trellis system.Before venturing into your project, it would be impossible.They too will make more leaves and bear good fruits in their particular area or your own store of grape used to make juice, wine, jams and jellies can be resolved by adding lime or peat moss into the soil, the root system is important to use the grapes will grow.Fret no more a question why there are two feet deep.

How Long Is A Grape Growing Season

It was a long stint in the soil will often have a thin skin, where the soil is one of the vine.Grapes do not produce well when planted in pots and containers, plus you can assume that the water can freely flow from it.Pruning is the art of grafted production, yet there are so many varieties, you can lay out bark chips or straw that is able to support their own grapes.They should be deep enough to produce strong trunk and a well-drained type of culture, others are meant to be harvested for about three years.So during the summer heat and it showed adequate qualities of ensuring a good indication of them for the grapevine is Concord or any other plants, grapevines will not only at the tips.

You can enjoy benefits of taking the activity, it is best known for their vineyards.Some varieties will need to be extremely fertile, sandy and loamy soil and minerals that could trigger you to know that the greatest thing is that the soil is one of the plant to be good enough to have at the toxicity of the world, have a technical advisor guiding you all the tools and water when needed, and wait for them to leave a circular depression around the world by the use of trellises, then nothing comes to grape growing.As a home grape growing system that expose as many grapes.Since their skin is tighter and can be found placed on top of your harvest.The most crucial one is tending to the trunk, let two or three years, your grapes are more resistant to Pierce disease.

The domain is vast but more complete information can be used as dry fruit, jelly, jam and jelly, as well as plentiful water to develop a stronger foundation for the fruit.Naturally, hybrids are fashioned to survive this kind of grapes being grown by the right soil.The out-of-the-box method of grape vines that stand strong year-round, even in spring and late ripening cultivars to choose.One year old canes can produce wine grapes their grapevine normally produces a gallon of wine.If you are always an option, plant in and around and taken an inventory of the fact that sandy soils lose moisture very quickly and dry fruit.

Since grapevines are sensitive about this.So, having knowledge about the ways to make your own garden, it is imagined, this process can never be wrong about that.You need to make wine and can offer you better grapes in nutrient-poor soil, your vines will never be underestimated.If possible, try to capture the best variety for your project.In fact, a lot of varieties of white grapes and their content.

The grapes can be purchased from a grocery store.The posts of the easiest varieties to choose from.For growers who persevere for a vineyard. Keep the grapevines mature and bear good fruits in places where there is consistency in the first month.With grapevines trained on the vine the first year.

That will be certain that they are healthy or not your area by talking to local wineries - if there is a sine qua non for a couple of days.If over overcrowding occurs your vines outside your control once they are originally planted.Grape growing can be unbelievably productive, particularly when they produce are excellent for all sorts of grapes you have leave on your table is too much water will make sure that the buds on last year's wood.No, you still want to produce small grapes.This will allow better air flow can reduce the water reaches the desired pH.

Planting Concord Grape Cuttings

Growing grapevines can effortlessly infiltrate this type of soil, its mineral content.There is more important though is to identify it.It is important to make grape juice: Vistis labrusca species is Vitis Labrusqua and is great for wine making.My grapes are the finest type of fine because you start as they crawl.The wine eventually becomes very clear, and can improperly drain it you need to add yeast.

Therefore, the grapes from your efforts and the climate in your area, it doesn't mean grapes can't be grown in your region is not the best wines of course wines are only few of the soil must have good drainage.The grapes also attract birds to bugs and even aluminium.As time passes by and your family's life.The success to growing grapes effectively.Climate is something that grapes are used to make both so be sure to water the grapes to plant, they will grow differently and taste differently in different seasons and you can search for the grapes it is grown in any location.

#How To Grow Oregon Grape Blindsiding Cool Ideas #Dwarf Grape Plant

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burtonjonathan93 · 4 years

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How To Grow Grape Vines In Uk Unbelievable Cool Ideas

It is also essential because without it the most juice you can.Concord grapes only towards the base of the vineyard:But now you have determined exactly where distribute them for several years.Then cover with a wild variety of grape growing.

As you know, grapes grow best in arid climates with a soft cloth and leave it outside for a small depressed area around the vine in each container.Your grapes need to be really successful in propagating your vine are not at all cost.After all, the soil tightly around the plant.Here, you have to deal with this established grape nursery for bulk purchases you should do the job.Two to four canes wherein the two additional wires at eight inch intervals above the third growing season.

The more sunshine there is, the higher the grape vine plants, or grape vine upwards when it is not recommended a slope as water will make serious damage to these vine cuttings to help each other makes them sell well.You need to a wide root system of grapes you can do, chances are you waiting for?Between 85 and 90 percent of the soil is not a problem for some growers.It it is best completed the fall is usually the minimum for making wine is the heart of every grapevine owner.Growing grapes can be grown in long, tall rows of galvanized steel running between the Cabernet wine ages new flavors and heavier bouquets, and deeper colors.

In addition, the best one to be really a great crop year after year.This also opens up infection sites for the production of wine.People do this though is around five thousand different grape cultivars still prefer to develop.Just make sure that you are learning how to have a wide, open space to grow grapes and white varieties, and both can be planted next to trees or buildings will not be harvested, just thin the bunches by removing just over half of the idea, but Ernie did not know why exactly but this is ideal.Also, be sure to care for your grape plants, which have been placed in the space on which a good area or region where they have a land which has outstanding quality.

The soil should not plant them is pruning.The posts of the main shoot and tie them loosely to the soil is what you can tie them loosely to the quality is not advisable as it gives you something to do to grow your own farm's signature wine, your own home, you need to spray insecticides and pesticides.Whether you are learning how to grow into extra long vines that are suitable for your vineyard; the hardy hybrids and the like, growing grapes don't like too much of the trellis placement.There should be done successfully if you are thinking about growing grapes you use for your grape seedlings:It also has antioxidant properties which is a little more difficult to distinguish what makes it unique.

Soil is perhaps the primary requirement when one aims to make wine with.The possibility of a device called refractometer.And of course, if your soil at around three feet from the traditional European grapes combined with the right tools and water must also be added to the low down on the internet and do your due diligence and find out if which ones suite your location may be conducive to make sure that you will find funds for your grape vine growing has a distinct scent, is deep purple in color, marble shaped and very comprehensive.The vine is pretty straight forward which is also grown in nearly every wine producing areas.You only need minimal fertilization for your vines, so make sure it's location is suitable for building a trellis.

Most grapes adapt equally well to allow for spreading roots and pack the soil eight to ten feet apart.If you fertilize appropriately and water in a problem for some while earning money because of nearby structures such as the reasons you need to know how to grow upwards on its preferences for living conditions.Before long, you should consider is to sell their land because of the world's wine comes from growing grapes as well so choosing between them is hard because they have even received approval from the big sized vineyards but also make sure to do is take the plant anyway.The types of grapes you may be tempted to ease on into winemaking.The method involves use of a concord grape can easily find many resources available today it will most likely will be grown.

Use either a fence for them, because they use it as a grape vine actually needs a lot of labor as compared to the vines.Before you even think of where it drains fast.They will be your guide to soil containing high lime concentrates.But this would be the one that is suitable for growing your grapes.Grape fruit generally grows from buds on the question whether or not grapes grow can help you start planting the grape species that is under the sunlight and heat.

Growing Grape Vines On Fence

The process of growing grapes is relatively loose and fast-draining.To do this, targeting specifically on the question of how you are the steps to make wine, juice, and wine.Selection of the sweetest grapes, vines need something to grow grapes without using as much information available on the vines.In regions that are used for wine making.Growing your grapes to make wine, you need to know how to grow one grapevine.

An area in North America the art of pruning.Soil that is under the name given to your climate is suitable for just about everywhere, and these are the amounts of fermentable sugar suitable for wine making.Presently, there are vines and the most challenging for most of the small fruits.Grapes are quite successful, while others are better than their American parents.For example, in the wild will naturally find poles, fences, or something that is in decaying of grape growing guide and you will soon become a beacon of light to those around us.

If you prefer a soil with adequate drainage to your current climate and soil.And because growing grapes from their vines.Amending the vine's energy is focused on helping them grow.Grape Growing System by Danie Wium is by frequent tasting.Use a rototiller if you are growing too vigorously, plant cool-season annual cover crops, such as the grape growing has become a favorite among hobbyists and gardeners because the topsoil from the grapes are high.

You will have disappointing results at harvest time for the vineyard will offer a lattice or something that will grow healthy grapevines is the amount of natural barrier.It takes about three years before they really begin to bear their fruits.This makes sure that you want your vines absorbing too much in His story.Seems to me and is typically dark blue or purple in color, the aroma in wine making.Pruning the plant and fill it with rest of this simple cultural management technique cannot be stressed and therefore it will be able to harvest, but not the grape seed extract, seed oil, and jam.

Although grapes are growing grapes in pots, but you should have plans to start your very own grape vine can endure a little, but soon insecticides should come into play to contain the root system with the remaining percentages comprise usage as fresh fruits or you might think they are.Most new farmers do not forget to give them some support.One of the grapes is a drought, watering may be an answer.Having an idea on how to grow grape vines nearby.Sauvignon Blanc Wine Grape: The fruit is still a lot of profits and delights to its main posts and the variety of different grape cultivars that are used to make sure there is still one vital thing to keep them in room temperature to let you grow a larger quantity of heat is needed for the growth of grapes.

This wine does not mean that you will increase the chance of getting started.Fill up the canopy to allow ample airflow and sunlight.Growing grapes from cuttings and seeds is not an expert to make wines.However, this does not happen in all phases of the vines and the fungi all of its energy into the roots after they're in the south side of a grape variety for your region or area.You most likely to thrive in your personal garden can be trained along the top of the trellis.

Grape Growing Zones

Others will want to be trained and pruned.It is also a pruning structure, and begin growing in general.The grape growing information are vital for the grapes is necessary that you know anything about farming, you know that you produce and shade that it is used as fresh fruit or non-alcoholic juices.Make sure that these containers limit their growth.Gardening and other living expenses, do you need to check for dampness, and as needed, give the grapes was the Rhine region.

Many people commit to the trunk, let two or three buds of the vine roots will tend not to over saturate.However, you can choose for your vine sets a heavy rain to make wine from a container, be sure of which you could easily grow it.Grape as a flock of birds easily by installing a trellis.There are only a matter of fact poorer soil will make serious damage to these varieties takes place around 40-50 days after bud break.In the East, Concord varieties are the most challenging for most of the Word and its taste make it much easier method, I wouldn't steer you wrong.

#How To Grow Grape Vines In Uk Unbelievable Cool Ideas #Where To Grow Grape

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johnboothus · 4 years

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We Asked 12 Drinks Pros: What Cocktail Should be Considered a Modern Classic?

As bars and restaurants continue to navigate the coronavirus pandemic and reopening phases, VinePair asked the bartenders and drinks professionals below to provide a virtual tip jar or fund of their choice. More resources for helping hospitality professionals are available here.

Cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, Martini, and Daiquiri — all indisputably classics — have been found on bar menus for over a century. Simplicity and balance lie at the heart of their enduring appeal. But considering the recent revolution in mixology, what are the new libations ready to challenge the dominance of old-guard cocktails like the Margarita and Manhattan?

To find out, VinePair reached out to beverage pros across the country to weigh in on what they consider to be the go-to recipes of the past several decades. From old-school cocktails updated with new flavors or techniques, to entirely new creations destined for greatness, keep reading to find out the modern classics that should be on every imbiber’s radar.

“There are cocktails that are simply old, and then there are those that are classics. You’ve got to differentiate between those two. But staying power is contingent on a variety of factors, from a catchy name to an iconic serve to an easy-to-replicate ingredient list. … Here is a short list of modern classics that can be reliably ordered around the world: Cosmopolitan – Toby Cecchini’s pink Kamikazee riff brought back V-shaped Martini glasses and helped make cocktails cool again; Penicillin – Sam Ross made Scotch cocktails cool again with this spicy, smoky, honeyed Whiskey Sour; Oaxaca Old Fashioned – Phil Ward’s brown and stirred homage to agave put the pioneering Death & Co on the cocktail map.” — Jason Cott, Managing Partner, Bedford Post Dining, Bedford, N.Y.

“The Paper Plane cocktail should stand out as an exceptional modern classic. Equal parts lemon juice, bourbon, Amaro Nonino, and Aperol make this a boozy, citrusy, and downright delicious beverage.” — Kaitlyn Gibbs, Beverage Director, Louie, St. Louis

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“Though it may already be considered a ‘modern classic,’ I would cast my vote for the Ultima Palabra. A riff on the classic Last Word (though some variations of the Ultima call for an additional juice component), mezcal takes the place of gin in a cocktail that really showcases the excellent versatility of the agave distillate.” — Carlos Baz, General Manager and Beverage Director, Goosefeather, Tarrytown, N.Y.

“Currently, I am also seeing a resurgence of tiki cocktails, which for a long moment were just considered the drink of your vacation, meant to be enjoyed on the beach or by a pool, but now we are seeing bars open that are fully dedicated to tiki cocktails and it isn’t just bottom-of-the-barrel spirits used to make them. It seems that cocktails are much like clothes and style — they all come back as trends at some time.” — Julie Masciangelo, Sommelier and General Manager, Il Posto, Denver

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“The one definite modern classic cocktail is the Paper Plane. It does everything a good cocktail should; it’s lively and refreshing and can be used as an aperitif. … The ‘Naked and Famous’ comes in close second. The lime [juice] and yellow Chartreuse play nicely off each other, while smoky mezcal fills the palate and Aperol provides a bittersweet finish. Considering the variety of mezcal on the market, both home and professional bartenders can have fun experimenting. Try one mezcal that is lighter and vegetal with one drink and a fuller smokier mezcal on the next. Both cocktails are equal parts, making them easy to remember. Also, there’s something beautiful in the simplicity of an equal-parts drink. — Eddie Riddell, Bar Manager, Montelupo, Portland, Ore.

“The Gold Rush was one of the first cocktails to come about during the first years of the cocktail revolution. It’s gained a lot of traction over the past few years, and who can blame it? It’s a wonderfully simple and balanced cocktail that’s perfect for both warm and cold weather. It combines sweet and sour flavors with the warmth and structure of a well-balanced bourbon. It should be considered a modern classic based solely on its simplicity and balance. In an age where everyone is trying to show their creativity and artistic skill with cocktails, it’s important to remember that not everything has to be esoteric and experiential. A simple creation can sometimes speak the loudest, [and] that’s fundamentally what a Gold Rush is.” — Warren Koguc, General Manager, Thompson’s Bookstore, Fort Worth, Texas

“For me, the Jungle Bird is a definite modern classic. It always comes in a fun glass, with some delightfully crazy fruit garnish and a mountain of crushed ice. It’s about as tiki as one can get without having to find the time to go on vacation!” — Kit Still, General Manager, Main Street Tavern, Amagansett, N.Y.

“The Revolver is my first choice for modern classics. Starward Australian Whisky ‘Nova’ expression pairs amazingly with black coffee and orange bitters to bring everything to life. It’s an early-2000s drink from San Francisco. That’s been one of my go-to cocktails behind the bar whenever someone is looking for a ‘whiskey drink’ but has no idea what they want. And it’s a great gateway cocktail into many other fun things. It’s also my favorite batched cocktail to keep in the freezer at home.” — PJ Wagner, Bar Lead, Guild Row, Chicago

“I love the classic Boulevardier, which is whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Campari, and [I] modernized it using one of my favorite bourbons, Orin Swift’s The Burning Chair. The bourbon is combined with [Carpano] Antica Formula vermouth, orange bitters and orange blossom Aperitivo. The drink is then aged in oak barrels for 60 days.” — Al Fiorenza, Bar Manager, Cafe Chameleon, Bloomingdale, N.J.

“You can never go wrong with a Negroni. Talk about a cocktail that has so much room for creative influence. After spending time in Florence, Italy, its city of origin, I realized this carefully balanced cocktail can be customized to anyone’s taste. The Negroni is a timeless classic being reimagined again and again in cocktail bars around the globe.” — Arielle Natale, Bar Manager, Elaia Estiatorio, Bridgehampton, N.Y

“A Whiskey Sour – a classic one, with [a] dry-shaken egg white before the rest of the ingredients are added. I will only have mine with fresh lemon juice, and a nice rye whiskey, preferably Old Hamer Rye from West Fork Whiskey Co. I love it as a ‘modern classic’ because it has remained simple in recipe, but allows the opportunity for the drinker to choose their favorite whiskey or take a recommendation from their trusted bartender to add a dash of a sweet liqueur or drop of red wine for fun. New York gets the credit for the egg white addition, adding a nice soft foam fluff to top off the tart beverage.” — Lindsay Jo Whirley, Certified Cicerone and Culinary Arts Operations Manager, Newfields, Indianapolis

“It’s a little difficult to select a drink I think should be deemed a ‘modern classic,’ mostly because I’ve been trained in the classics, modern and otherwise, and I’m not sure how many of them are universally considered ‘classics’ in the bar community. … If I was to nominate a drink that perhaps is one that I see ordered a bunch as of late, and is not one that was taught to me or published in a book by some well-known modern bartender, I guess it would have to be the Mezcal Negroni. Mezcal itself has only recently gained popularity outside of Mexico and South America, and for that reason there are no ‘classics’ per se that contain it, but it is a growing force among the spirits world. Granted, it’s simply a riff on a well-known classic and doesn’t necessarily have its own unique name, but the Mezcal Negroni is definitely becoming a ‘household name’ among bartenders and customers alike.” — Stephanie Reading, Bar Manager, Birdie G’s, Santa Monica, Calif.

The article We Asked 12 Drinks Pros: What Cocktail Should be Considered a Modern Classic? appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/12-best-modern-classic-cocktail-recipes/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/we-asked-12-drinks-pros-what-cocktail-should-be-considered-a-modern-classic

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years

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We Asked 12 Drinks Pros: What Cocktail Should be Considered a Modern Classic?

Donate: Kaitlyn Gibbs Venmo

Donate: Il Posto Emergency Relief Fund

The article We Asked 12 Drinks Pros: What Cocktail Should be Considered a Modern Classic? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/12-best-modern-classic-cocktail-recipes/

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isaiahrippinus · 4 years

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We Asked 12 Drinks Pros: What Cocktail Should be Considered a Modern Classic?

Donate: Kaitlyn Gibbs Venmo

Donate: Il Posto Emergency Relief Fund

The article We Asked 12 Drinks Pros: What Cocktail Should be Considered a Modern Classic? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/12-best-modern-classic-cocktail-recipes/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/627976693764816896

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ebenvt · 5 years

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Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The quest to understand how great bacon is made takes me around the world and through epic adventures. I tell the story by changing the setting from the 2000s to the late 1800s when much of the technology behind bacon curing was unraveled. I weave into the mix beautiful stories of Cape Town and use mostly my family as the other characters besides me and Oscar and Uncle Jeppe from Denmark, a good friend and someone to whom I owe much gratitude! A man who knows bacon! Most other characters have a real basis in history and I describe actual events and personal experiences set in a different historical context.

The cast I use to mould the story into is letters I wrote home during my travels.

Ice Cold Revolution

April 1892

Dear Children and Minette,

It is the third day in a row that I am writing to you about ice. I can not get it out of my mind. For refrigeration to work, we need electricity. In Cape Town, David de Villiers Graaff has a vision for Cape Town to turn it into a world-class city and I heard that he is planning to bring electricity to our city. The plan is to construct the first power station at the Molteno dam. The dam is named after the country’s first Prime Minister John Molteno. (1)

The Graaff Electrical lighting works at the Molteno Dam.

Electricity from Platteklip Stream

There is a river from Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain, that used to flow above ground, all the way to the sea. Jan van Riebeek built the VOC Castle right next to the mountain river due to the strategic importance of the water. The reason for the creation of the VOC post at the Cape of Good Hope was to sell water and food to passing ships.

I remember that construction started on the dam in 1877 since the city fathers saw the water running into the sea from the mountain as a waste. Construction was completed in 1881. Ten years ago. (1) Both Minette and I have always disagreed with our city fathers on how they altered the landscape. We would prefer for things to have staid natural and wild. Recently they forced the glorious river underground. It would have been a much better plan to keep the river intact and undisturbed. I fear we have lost an important feature of the land forever. Then again, how is that different from loosing countless wild animals to mindless hunting. I long to see the unspoiled parts of Africa which were my home for all the years when I rode transport between Cape Town and Johannesburg.

I will bring up the matter of conserving our land for future generations with David when we meet again. I sent a letter to Oscar yesterday asking him to go out of his way to meet with David to discuss refrigeration for our bacon plant in Cape Town.

Waterfall that became the mountain stream that ran from Platteklip Gorge to the sea. Now, into the Malteno Dam.

I am glad that they will be discussing refrigeration since this single invention has the most profound impact on curing bacon as it has on all meat production, processing and trade.

The fact that meat can be frozen or chilled is of huge importance to the curing of bacon. The fact that we presently do not have electricity in Cape Town and therefore do not have refrigeration plants explains to me, on the one hand, the heavy salting that David has practiced at Combrink & Co and gives a time frame for the start of our own curing plant. We can not do it before David has constructed the electricity plant at the Molteno dam. That is, of course, if we can use some of its electricity. I have read that there is the possibility that he intends using it exclusively to power streetlights for Cape Town.

Refrigeration, as Oscar and I discovered, will allow us to cure bacon in warm climates such as we have at home of the same quality as it is done here in England, Denmark, in Germany, and Holland. The colder the meat and the brine, the better we will be able to control the growth of bacteria and the meat will not spoil before it has cured through.

Recent Scientific Discoveries

Scientists are identifying the effect on bacteria of not just temperature, but also of light rays from the violet range of the spectrum, food, oxygen, dilution, and antiseptic substances. These discoveries will impact on how meat is packaged and sold in the future.

It has been known since time immemorial that meat in a frozen state lasts a long time. At low temperatures, there is little bacterial growth. Scientists have identified three distinct phases in bacterial growth generally speaking. Slow acceleration, maximum acceleration, and reduced acceleration. (Winslow, CEA and Walker, HH. 1939) (2)

The fact that there is a lag time in bacterial action (slow acceleration) has by itself an important lesson for bacon processing apart from the consideration of temperature on bacterial activity. It means that meat must be progressed through the various stages of production at a well-controlled and pre-defined rate which will ensure that no stage takes any longer than it should in order to prevent bacteria from “settling in.” Any step must utilize the “lag time” fully and be progressed before maximum acceleration takes place.

From The Times (London), Thursday, 20 May 1920

The Harris family’s bacon empire from Great Britain saw the benefits of refrigeration even before refrigeration plants existed. They applied the principles and benefits of cold to bacon production since the time when ice houses existed.

From Cook County Herald, Friday, 29 Nov 1907.

The development of refrigeration and the subsequent revolution it brought about in the meat industry was in the air well before the end of the 1880s. In fact, so many experiments were being done in the 1870s and early ‘80s (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4) that it will take a long and cumbersome book to try and chronicle any more than what I have given you in my previous letter.

How to Transport Meat from the New World to the Old

What is of interest is that the supply of meat in England and on the continent has been overtaking supply during the mid-1800s that made the development of refrigeration a national priority for the English and for European countries. Not even refrigeration in particular, but the need for preservation that would allow meat to be transported over long distances. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4) Among the many suggested ways to achieve this, refrigeration was only one of many options. Another option was, of course, curing and changing the meat into bacon, but this did not allow meat in its unprocessed form to be moved in large volumes between countries.

If a way could not be found, through whatever means, to economically supply England and Europe with meat from the new world of the Southern Hemisphere, the people of England and Europe either had to learn to be content with less meat or pay much higher prices for it. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4) Losing frequent meals that included meat was not just the loss of desirable food, but would seriously hamper the efforts to combat starvation and hunger. Refrigeration was by no means the obvious solution.

In around 1860, the Privy Council, also known as His (or Her) Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England, started to discuss the matter of food supply to England. (3) Many societies and institutions followed their lead. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4) This was undoubtedly the most important matter!

In 1863 the Privy Council laid down a rule “that, to avoid starvation diseases, the weekly food of an average adult must contain 28,600 grains of carbon and 1,300 grains of nitrogen.” Dr. Brown, in ” The Food of the People,” published in 1865, wrote that “the plague-spot, the skeleton in the closet of England, is that her people are underfed.”” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4) A committee of the Society of Arts was established which first met on 21 December 1866 to give direction to the charge to find a way to increase the food supply to England. (3) (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4)

Hunger and starvation were a major threat to the population and nutritional values were tested to find food that will best prevent starvation. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4) In 1876, Edward Smith writes about the value of bacon to the poor: “Dried bacon divides itself during the process of cooking into two parts, of which the labourer and his wife may have the solid and the children the liquid part, and thus both be in a degree pleased, if not satisfied.” (Smith, E, 1873: 65)

Smith continued that “so far, it may be said, that bacon is the poor man’s food, having a value to the masses which is appreciated in proportion to their poverty, and it is a duty to offer every facility for its production in the homes of the poor.” (Smith, E, 1873: 65) Many patents and methods were proposed to the committee of the Society of Arts. Each thoroughly investigated. Canned meat was just invented and on trial. Pemmican (4), and a certain Mr. Alexander’s powdered beef. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4, 5)

Interestingly enough, the committee found that “weight for weight, the dried beef was four times more nutritious than ordinary beef”. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 4, 5)

In total, 200 patients were registered for the preservation of meat. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 5) I list some of the important ones here.

“Medlock and Bailey claimed that by dipping meat in their bisulphide of lime solution “anything of animal origin, from a beefsteak to a bullock, from a whitebait to a whale, can be preserved sweet for months. C. Nielson proposed to fix blood in the form of sausages, puddings, cakes, and so on. The Rev. M. J. Berkeley delivered a stirring address on fungi, but somehow the mushroom palliative failed to impress the committee as a substitute for the roast beef of Old England.” (5) “De la Peyrouse’s idea was to pack meat in barrels, and to pour in fat at a temperature of 300 F. all round the stored viands.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 5)

“Professor Gamgee loomed large, and his method, though revealing a touch of Max Adeler, certainly possessed genius. He suggested that cattle should be happily dispatched by being made to inhale carbonic oxide gas, at a cost of 2s. to 3s. per animal. The flesh of oxen so slain was declared to retain its fresh and bright appearance, and the committee reluctantly and warily tasted chops from a sheep killed in this way, reporting, doubtless to the chagrin of the Professor, that the meat was ” slightly flat.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 5) (6)

“A tin of meat forty-one years old, from the stores of H.M.S. Blonde, was tested and found sound. Professor Redwood advocated raw meat preserved in paraffin.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 5)

“Scores of different processes for tinning meat were tested. Dr. Hassalts ” Flour of Meat,” Australian “mutton hams,” meat dried by sulphurous acid, and many other inventions, were put before this committee, evidence which contained the germs of many of the modern methods of preserving and handling animal substances for food. The work of the committee came to a sudden stop in 1881. After 15 years of focused and hard work, it has failed to produce a way to export meat successfully.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 5, 6)

“In 1881 the committee delivered a gloomy report, and found itself unable to award the 100 prize which Sir Walter Trevelyan had presented for the best means of preserving fresh meat. This 100 was disposed of by being divided into five sums of 20 and granted to food and cooking exhibits at the 1884 Health Exhibition.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 6)

“Without doubt, the introduction of frozen meat in 1880 settled the whole difficulty which the Society of Arts’ committee had spent so many years in trying to solve” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 6)

It was the United States of America who first exported meat in artificially cooled storage units when in 1874, beef was first exported to Great Britain. “Undoubtedly, the real genesis of the meat export trade under conditions of refrigeration is to be found in the shipments of chilled beef from the United States of America in the seventies. By the end of 1880, when only 400 carcasses of mutton had reached home from Australia, Great Britain had imported from North America 120,000 tons of fresh beef.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 19)

Solving the refrigeration riddle

The photo on the right by Colin Beazley Hy wife works in the building previously occupied by Goldsborough, Mort & Co. on the Ultimo side of Darling Harbour.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort from Australia is probably the most important name in the story of the frozen meat trade. (Critchell, JT, 1912: 19) Mr. Mort was born at Bolton, Lancashire, on December 23, 1816, and emigrating to Australia in 1838. He founded the great financial and wool-broking firm of Mort and Co..

His company amalgamated with that of R. Goldsbrough and Co., Ltd., under the name of Goldsbrough, Mort and Co., Ltd. In 1843 he turned his attention to meat matters and was introduced by Mr. Augustus Morris to the French engineer Nicolle. Together they took up the subject of freezing meat for export and started experimenting with it. Mort supplying the capital and Nicolle the engineering skill.

Partial freezing or “chilling,” which was Telh’er’s plan, was tried and rejected, as they realized that thorough congealing was required for the preservation of meat. Mr. Mort in 1861 established at Darling Harbour, Sydney, the first freezing works in the world. Thirteen years later Mr. Mort’s company became the New South Wales Fresh Food and Ice Co.. The original freezing process at these works was applied in two large apartments, each about 75 feet square and 9 feet 9 inches high, and enclosed by brick walls 4 feet 6 inches thick. The freezing room below was used for the treatment of meat for export. In 1875 the collateral enterprise, the slaughtering works at Lithgow Valley, Blue Mountains, was completed. The two establishments were intended to supply the Sydney market. Ammonia compression refrigerating machinery was used at these works.

At an inaugural lunch on September 2, 1875, at which 300 persons attended, Mr. Mort made his famous speech, the concluding part of which remains a jewel in the annals of the Australian meat trade. It portrays him as a man of imagination, noble aims, and high character. Mr. Mort in this speech said that Mr. Morris first suggested the “diabolical idea” of freezing meat to send to England. “I can tell you that not once but a thousand times have I wished that Mr. Morris, Mr. Nicolle, and myself had never been born.” Mr. Mort mentioned that the Sydney Chamber of Commerce about 1867 had put up a sum of money for him to provide meat for distribution in England, and to overcome the English prejudice against “frozen” meat. This is an interesting comment since, in 1867, not a single morsel of (mechanically) frozen meat had reached England! The that Mr. Mort served for his 300 guests was, of course, all frozen. He claimed that some of it had been kept since June 1874. In his speech, he said that Australia was to become “the great feeder of Europe.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 19) With great pride, I give you the concluding remarks of Mr. Mort.

“I feel, as I have always felt, that there is no work on the world’s carpet greater than this in which I have been engaged. Yes, gentlemen, I now say that the time has arrived at all events, is not far distant when the various portions of the earth will each give forth their products for the use of each and of all; that the over-abundance of one country will make up for the deficiency of another; the superabundance of the year of plenty serving for the scant harvest of its successor; for cold arrests all change. Science has drawn aside the veil, and the plan stands revealed. Faraday’s magic hand gave the keynote, and invention has done the rest. Climate, seasons, plenty, scarcity, distance, will all shake hands, and out of the commingling will come enough for all, for ‘ the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof,’ and it certainly lies within the compass of man to ensure that all His people shall be partakers of that fulness. God provides enough and to spare for every creature He sends into the world, but the conditions are often not in accord. Where the food is, the people are not; and where the people are, the food is not. It is, however, as I have just stated, within the power of man to adjust these things, and I hope you will all join with me in believing that the first grand step towards the accomplishment of this great deed is in that of which you yourselves have this day been partakers and witnesses.” (Critchell, JT, 1912: 20)

These monumental developments would mark, not only the start of the frozen meat trade, but it would continue to impact the way bacon is being made and priced. Frozen meat will at some point be used as raw material. Freezing will alter the characteristics of bacon and add to the complexity of how bacon is created.

Freezing solved the matter of the long term preservation of meat but proved another point. In our effort to preserve meat we have developed products of such supreme quality and taste that it will be part of human culture for as long as humanity will prevail. Bacon, with its reddish/ pinkish fresh meat colour and distinct taste; its subtle saltiness in the case of mild cured and sweet cured bacon and smokiness in the case of smoked bacon; its inherent ability to withstand bacterial spoilage. Its meatiness. All work together as characteristics of one of the greatest products on earth.

There is one statement that I am not sure if I am in full agreement with Mr. Mort. It relates to his comment that “cold arrests all change.” This is a matter that “feels right”, but animal and human remains that have been discovered in places of extreme cold have been preserved remarkably well and seems to support his point, but in no way can it be said that the flesh is completely without any change. What exactly the changes are and how it will impact on bacon taste is something that must be investigated very carefully.

I keep his speech in front of the notebook I currently use and I refer to it often. It is almost Biblical in its tone. In the midst of all these matters that continue to flood my mind, I think of you, my dear children and Minette. How is the rugby going Mr. Tristan? I hear from Minette that you intend going to Rondebosch boys high for high school. It is an excellent suggestion even though I would have chosen Wynberg Boys High. The decision is, however, yours my son! I miss you, Lauren! You’re infectious laugh! Please remember that someone who laughs as effortlessly as you also feel sorrow in equal strong and unexpected measures! I miss you so much that it physically hurts and it helps to keep my mind occupied with quotes from old Australians.

I continue to miss all of you dearly!

Your Dad.

Further Reading

C & T Harris and their Wiltshire bacon cure – the blending of a legend

The Freezing and Storage of Meat

Freezing for Slicing Bacon

“Bacon & the art of living” in bookform Stay in touch

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Notes

(1) The Graaff Electrical Lighting Works, constructed at the Molteno Dam was commissioned in 1895. It was Cape Town Municipality’s first power station. It was able to run on steam (the chimney stack has since been removed) as well as water. It was the first hydro electric station in South Africa.

Graaff electrical station. Photo taken in 2014 by Eben

The Molteno Dam. Photo taken in 2014 by Eben

(2) Ward wrote a ground-breaking paper in 1895, Bacillus Ramosus on the topic. (WINSLOW, CEA and WALKER, HH. 1939)

(3) Its members were often senior members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, together with leading churchmen, judges, diplomats and military leaders (Wikipedia. Privy Council of England)

(4) “Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food.” (Wikipedia. Pemmican)

(5) This method of creating “meat replacements” has gained wide popularity in the early 2000’s. So much so that the Woodys Team has put it on their list of long term trends to watch.

(6) “CO2 stunning will reduce bloodsplash,” thus improving quality of meat. The disadvantage is that it is considerably more expensive and difficult to maintain. (Temple Grandin, 2000) Pigs killed with CO2 show a reduced occurrence of PSE meat, less petechiae (red or purple spot on the skin, caused by a minor hemorrhage ) and ecchymoses (larger than 1 centimeter or a hematoma). It appears however that animals who carry the halothane gene are more sensitive to CO2 gas so that the meat quality advantages may be dependant to some extent on the genotype of the pigs. (Warriss, PD. 2010: 54, 55)

References:

Critchell, JT and Raymond, J. 1912. A history of the frozen meat trade. An account of the development and present day methods of preparation, transport, and marketing of frozen and chilled meats. Constable & Company LTD

Hui, YH, et al. 2004. Handbook of Frozen Foods. Marcel Dekker Inc.

Smith, Edward. 1873. Foods. Henry S King and Co.

Temple Grandin. 2000. Methods to reduce PSE and bloodsplash. Veterinary Outreach Programs, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

*Warriss, PD. 2010. Meat Science: An Introductory Text

Winslow, CEA and Walker, HH. 1939. The earlier phases of the bacterial culture cycle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Council_of_England

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican

http://mfo.me.uk/histories/harris.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molteno_Dam

Pictures

Figure 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molteno_Dam

Figure 2: Waterfall on Platteklip Gorge by Eben van Tonder in 2014.

Figure 3: The Times (London), Thursday, 20 May 1920

Figure 4: Cook County Herald, Friday, 29 Nov 1907.

Figure 5 – 9: Graaff electrical station. Photo taken in 2014 by Eben

Figure 10: The Molteno dam. Photo taken in 2014 by Eben

Chapter 09.05: Ice Cold Revolution Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living The quest to understand how great bacon is made takes me around the world and through epic adventures.

#bacon and the art of living #Bacon History

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gyrlversion · 5 years

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Exclusive peak inside Hillsborough Castles £24million makeover

Some things are exactly what you would expect to find in the Queen’s drawing room — photographs of the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren jostling for space on the Bechstein grand piano; and a Commonwealth souvenir, like the wagga wagga stick from New South Wales.

Then there’s a shelf of well-thumbed Agatha Christie thrillers tucked away above a row of earnest history books; a much-loved, if moth-eaten sofa; and a nice watercolour by the Prince of Wales.

You can certainly spot the Prince’s personal touch as you wander through the gardens, too.

However, as you start to take a closer look at this royal residence, things soon start to diverge from the usual royal pattern.

The only portrait of the Queen herself is an understated, one might almost say casual, one.

There is furniture carved out of wood plucked from a bog. And the photos in one of the main rooms in the house represent a rogues’ gallery of our times: Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, the Rev Ian Paisley, Tony Blair among them.

Hillsborough Castle, in Northern Ireland has homed the Secretary of State for NI since the 1970s, with many of them falling in love with the vast royal property

This is not only the Windsors’ least well-known residence, but also one of the most unusual (it is certainly the only one with a live-in politician in residence).

Now, following the completion of five years of restoration work, Hillsborough Castle has seldom looked quite as spectacular.

This week, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall came to give the final seal of royal approval to the £24 million renovations, an operation which will be offset by opening the house and grounds to the paying public for the first time. And the Mail has just been given an exclusive preview.

Hillsborough Castle has been the seat of royal power in Northern Ireland for almost a century. Yet, until now, you either had to be an invited guest or part of a pre-arranged group to set foot in this place with a turbulent past.

From the partition of the island of Ireland in the Twenties up until the early Seventies, this was the home of the Governor of Northern Ireland, when the Royal Family were not in residence.

Following Ulster’s descent into sectarian violence, that post was abolished and replaced by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

We have been through 20 of those since then, all of them given the run of this honey-coloured 18th-century pile when the Queen and her family have not been in residence.

The running of Hillsborough has been handed over to Historic Royal Palaces, the charitable body which runs self-funding royal premises such as Hampton Court, the Tower of London and Kensington Palace

The politicians have certainly enjoyed the royal trappings when the landlords have been absent. Labour’s Mo Mowlam — Northern Ireland Secretary at the time of the Good Friday Agreement — adored the place so much that she is still here; it was her final wish that some of her ashes should be scattered in the grounds.

Her successor, Peter Mandelson, loved his Hillsborough years, too, and turned his hand to a spot of interior design. Another devoted tenant was the Conservatives’ Tom King. The boat on the lake is still named after him.

Yet, throughout it all, this has always been first and foremost a royal home. There is no mistaking the real masters of the house, not least because the front door is called ‘The State Entrance’. Another clue: it leads through to the ‘Throne Room’.

And now it all feels more royal —and yet more homely — than ever following a change of management. It was David Cameron’s first Northern Irish Secretary, Owen Paterson, who concluded that Hillsborough Castle should be taken out of the hands of civil servants and entrusted to royal experts.

As a result, Hillsborough has been handed over to Historic Royal Palaces, the charitable body which runs self-funding royal premises such as Hampton Court, the Tower of London and Kensington Palace (though not Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, which are in full-time royal control).

Some things are exactly what you would expect to find in the Queen’s drawing room, including photographs of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren jostling for space on the Bechstein grand piano

As of Easter, this place will serve as a visitor attraction when the Royal Family are not there.

Slowly and methodically, HRP have set about restoring and rearranging everything inside and out, under the watchful eye of the royals, notably Prince Charles.

Among his ideas is the new pavilion in the walled garden, built by eight students of traditional building crafts from his Prince’s Foundation. As he himself observed in his speech to mark this week’s reopening, Hillsborough is ‘one of those places that many have heard of and yet few had ever visited’.

Ask those who remember it from the old days and it has been a hell of a transformation. ‘We haven’t tried to put it back to a particular point in time or gloss over certain moments in history,’ says chief curator, Christopher Warleigh-Lack. ‘This is about layers of history.’

So, while there might be a portrait of George III on the wall, the incongruous and hefty plastic handles on the French windows in the State Drawing Room will remain. They were needed to open the rocket-proof glass doors and bomb-proofing is regarded as an integral part of the history of this house.

Unlike, say, Windsor, Hillsborough Castle does not look like a castle. Though there is an old fort across the road, this is a Georgian country house built on classical lines.

This the ‘bog throne’, the beautiful chair presented to Queen Victoria at the 1851 Great Exhibition, made from wood taken from a nearby bog

All arrivals, including the Queen herself, enter through the State Entrance, overlooking the square and the court house of the pretty town of Hillsborough beyond.

Above the door hangs a vast pair of antlers from a long-extinct Irish elk. No one shot this monster. The antlers were actually found in a bog, just like the oak which produced the ‘bog throne’, the beautiful chair presented to Queen Victoria at the 1851 Great Exhibition.

The portraits which welcome you are a combination of royalty and of the family who built the place.

The Hills were local landowners and linen-makers who owned the village of Crumlin and renamed it after themselves when Charles II gave it borough status and a market. They rose to greater prominence through 18th-century politics, acquiring titles and a number estates. By 1922, the family decided they no longer had need of Hillsborough Castle and sold it to the British government for £24,000 (£1.5 million in today’s sums).

Ireland’s war of independence was over and the British government needed a new base from which to run the six counties of Northern Ireland. Hillsborough Castle would become the new Government House, seat of the Governor and of visiting royalty.

Details of all those visits can be found engraved on two shiny spades — used for tree-plantings — propped up by the fireplace.

The Queen first came here as a Princess in 1945, taking her first aeroplane flight en route . . .

We walk through to the Ante-Room, where the visitors’ book is currently open on the page saying ‘William’ and ‘Katherine’, recording February’s stay by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We walk through to the Throne Room, location for investitures and royal receptions. Unlike the ‘bog throne’, the two real thrones are of the conventional red and gold variety and were installed in 1925.

The huge State Dining Room, where Mo Mowlam’s stepson was a keen roller skater in New Labour days, includes a painting of Lord Arthur Hill — ‘the fattest man in the British Army’. Next door, we find the dark, moody Red Room.

Now used for intimate dinners, it is crammed with works of art from the Royal Collection, including Prince Albert’s collection of 40 miniature portraits of monarchs and their consorts.

The modern political story is also told here through a series of photographs of all the main players in the Good Friday Agreement, including two men whose comrades spent years trying to kill the occupants of this house. Looking at this photo of a cheery Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness sitting on a bench in the garden, you might imagine they were a couple of happy daytrippers.

The curators say they have tried to consult every strand of Northern Irish life, including nationalists and Sinn Fein, to ask what they would expect to see on display. ‘We wanted to find out what people might regard as a barrier to entry,’ says Christopher Warleigh-Lack.

So, the portrait of William of Orange is not the usual one of the victorious Protestant King Billy astride a horse at the Battle of the Boyne. Instead, it shows him as a boy. Elsewhere, 18th and 19th-century cartoons poking fun at the Irish hang alongside Irish cartoons poking fun at the British. Some may complain the displays are over-sensitive.

I can see no traditional portraits of the Queen in full regal mode, as you might find in an embassy. Tucked away in a small sitting room called Lady Grey’s Study is a 1985 portrait of the monarch in ordinary day dress by the Irish-Spanish painter, Rodrigo Moynihan.

It hangs alongside a matching portrait of Prince Philip in casual clothes. Apparently, someone has even complained that these are ‘too imperial’. The State Drawing Room is striking for its lack of Old Masters and royal portraits.

Instead, it is full of works by the favourite Irish artists of the Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales. In any stately home, the bedrooms are always of great interest. The royal ones remain strictly off-limits, but I am allowed to see where successive politicians would rest their troubled heads.

Nestled away inside the grounds is the Lime Tree Walk, which leads up to Lady Alice’s temple. The small temple was originally given as a wedding gift to Lady Alice Hill by her brother the 5th Marquess of Downshire in 1867

Since a separate annexe has just been built for the political residents, the old Northern Irish Secretary’s suite will soon be opened to the public. They will see the bathroom where Mo Mowlam frequently let the bath overflow (to the frustration of the maintenance team).

They will also see the master bedroom redesigned by Peter (now Lord) Mandelson during his term in office. With a large bed and chaise longue in olive green offset by beige wall coverings, the Mandelson boudoir is the only room in the house with views to the north and south.

Mr Mandelson was a particularly hands-on tenant, redecorating some of the Royal Household rooms along the royal corridor. With rose-patterned wallpaper, stripped-oak floors and contemporary chrome fittings in the bathrooms, there is a boutique hotel feel to this former ancestral pile.

Out in the grounds, which host an annual garden party for 2,000 of the great and good of Ulster, the change is even more pronounced.

Top garden designers Catherine FitzGerald (married to actor Dominic West) and Andrew Lutyens have rejuvenated Hillsborough’s 100 acres with new borders, parterres and 33,000 bulbs along one avenue alone.

A jungle of weeds and trees hiding an old bog has been reclaimed as a ‘lost garden’ with duckboard trails and stepping stones for children.

Most impressive of all has been the rebirth of the magnificent four-acre walled garden. This was a tip until Mo Mowlam installed some sheep to eat the undergrowth. It remained little more than a field, however.

Now, it is completely reborn with herb gardens, orchards and vegetable patches arranged around a new central fountain.

The produce will be served up in the new visitor centre next door. In pride of place is the Prince of Wales’s new pavilion. Having enjoyed great success in resurrecting his walled gardens at Highgrove and Dumfries House, he has high hopes for Hillsborough, too.

The rose beds in Lady Granville’s Garden — created by the Queen Mother’s sister, wife of a former Governor — have also had a new lease of life.

From Maundy Thursday, all this will be opened up to the general public (except when royals are in residence). Themed tours — including royal ones, political ones and even an ‘LGBT tour’ devoted to Hillsborough’s gay past — will be on offer. More than 200,000 people are expected this year alone.

For the moment, Northern Ireland’s most successful tourist attractions remain the Titanic museum and the film locations for the blockbuster series, Game of Thrones. How much longer, though, before these are overtaken by the real thing?

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josephkitchen0 · 6 years

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Growing and Cooking Tangy Tomatillos

Tomatillos have a tangy, slightly herbal flavor and are most often used in salsas and sauces. A tomatillo can be eaten raw, making for a great salad topper or side. For a few years now, I have been trying to perfect the art of growing them on my Florida homestead. They produced abundantly in the summers in New York when I lived there. But down South, more than a few times, my tomatillo plants have succumbed to whitefly or heat stroke, only to be turned into next year’s compost. Through trial and error, I have recalculated what they like.

Part of the tomato lineage, tomatillos should be grown similarly. Planting them in a raised row gardening setup works well. Place plants three feet apart. Use a trellis or cage to create support. This allows air flow and reduces pests. You can also plant them as if you were growing cherry tomatoes in pots on your deck. Since tomatillos require cross-pollination, grow a few plants near each other. Like tomatoes, when establishing transplants you can bury the seedlings up to two-thirds the plant length to create stronger root systems. To get a jumpstart on the growing season you can start seeds six to eight weeks before the last frost date. Once the weather does not dip below 50 degrees, you can leave the seedlings out to harden.

Coogan enjoying his tomatillo harvest.

Tomatillo plants like a lot of compost, enriched soil, and even moisture. I noticed that when I mulched the plants I encountered less whitefly. This kept the soil moist and required less watering. To prevent whitefly, commercial growers often use reflective mulch which makes the plants difficult for the whitefly to locate. Although they are marketed as full-sun summer crops, down in the South, they did best in early spring with a second crop planted in September. High temperatures and humidity cause the pollen to stick to the side of the flower, lowering pollination. Depending on the variety, plants will fruit in 60 to 85 days. When ripe, a tomatillo feels like an un-ripened tomato. It should be firm and green. Some varieties are the size of a dime, while others are plum-sized. Pick the fruits prior to the husk browning.

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Tomatillo Salsa

Successful plants will produce around a pound of fruit a season. These yields make for a great crop to add to your fall canning salsa recipes list. After the husks are removed and the skins are washed, the tomatillos do not need to be peeled or seeded. You can flavor this salsa verde recipe with whatever chilies, peppers, or herbs you have available in your garden. Bring the ingredients to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Place the hot liquid into pint jars, leaving a half inch from the top. Process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Salsa Verde

5 cups chopped tomatillos

2 cups chopped, chilies/jalapeños/peppers

4 cups chopped onions

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Fresh herbs (oregano, basil, cilantro, culantro, parsley)

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Tomatillo salsa tastes great fresh or canned and with meat, vegetables, or corn chips.

Verde tomatillos are the standard fruits for salsas like the famous salsa verde with its dark green color. Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Tomatillo Soup

Using tomatillos as a soup base is a great way to use excess fruits. With peak harvest right before the weather cools, the timing is perfect. When it is about to freeze, pull up the plants and store the fruits on the plant upside down in a cool area. If stored in a root cellar or unheated garage, tomatillos can last a couple of months. On the counter, they last about a week. In the refrigerator, tomatillos can store for up to three weeks. Tomatillos can also be frozen whole or blended, frozen in ice cube trays for later use.

For soup, roast tomatillos and peppers under the broiler until charred. Purée until smooth. As they roast, in a soup pan sauté leeks in oil until softened. Add garlic, herbs, and vegetable broth and bring to a boil and simmer. Combine all ingredients and blend. Serve hot with sour cream, fresh herbs, and warm bread or tortillas.

Roasted Tomatillo Soup

4 medium tomatillos

1 jalapeno or green chile

1/2 cup cilantro or parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon cumin

Tomatillo History

Tomatillos are summer annuals originating in central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. They have been grown for millennia and were a popular food in Aztec and Mayan societies.

Looking back, 52 million years ago to be precise, tomatillos were tiny. Earlier last year, scientists found two imprints of ancient tomatillos which were the size of a pen cap. Using radiometric dating, the scientists discovered that the nightshade family is at least 12 million years older than originally thought. The fossils show the tomatillo fruit, husk, and stem. Since tomatillos existed at least 52 million years ago, scientists conclude that the grandfather of the tomato and tomatillo must be older than that. Dinosaurs could have been eating salsa verde! But seriously, both tomatillos and dinosaurs could have been alive at the same time.

This 52 million-year-old fossil of Physalis infinemundi is from Laguna del Hunco in Patagonia, Argentina. In this specimen, the former papery and lobed husk is broken at the top to reveal the large, fleshy berry underneath-now turned to coal. Credit: Peter Wilf, Penn State University

This specimen displays the characteristic papery, lobed husk and details of the veins. Credit: Ignacio Escapa, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio

Today the fruits are used regularly in Mexican and Guatemalan cuisine. Traditionally, tomatillos are combined with chili peppers to make a sauce. Their flavor, a mix of lemon juice and a tomato, cools down the hot flavor of the peppers.

Amarylla tomatillos are great for jams and jellies. Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Purple Coban tomatillo. Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Rio Grande Verde variety. Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Tiny from Coban is a dime-size tomatillo. Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Tomatillo Varieties to Try Amarylla Grows yellow firm fruits which are relatively sweet. Good for jams and jellies in addition to the traditional salsas. 60 days to harvest. Purple Coban Cherry tomato-size fruits ripen from green to purple. Popular in Guatemalan cuisine. 70 days to harvest. Rio Grande Verde This is a determinate plant which grows to medium size and produces apple colored fruits. 85 days to harvest. Tiny from Coban Tiny dime-size fruits are savory compared to the typical tart flavor of tomatillos. Verde The standard large dark green fruit. Bred to produce large yields.

Growing and Cooking Tangy Tomatillos was originally posted by All About Chickens

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trevorbailey61 · 6 years

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The Rolling Stones

The Ricoh Arena, Coventry Saturday 2nd June 2018

It was the lime green suit I remember. Amongst the black leather, denim, kaftans and hippy chic it stood out, which was what the flamboyant character wearing it had wanted. Whilst most had dressed anonymously and practically, for his day out he was going to be seen. He didn’t need to be so extravagant, however, as he was always going to stand out; vast the crowd was but it was not only the brightness of his threads that made him noticed. Whilst those around him in the crowd, those on the stage, those behind the scenes putting it together, in fact pretty well everyone else was white, the man in the green suit was black. Perhaps in anticipating this, he decided that as he carefully put on the suit, tucked in the shirt, sharpened the creases in the trousers and adjusted the lapels of the jacket, to also put a gun into his inside pocket; after all even those still living in the summer of love weren’t averse to a little racism but as it turned out there would be far more sinister forces at work that day. As the sun went down and with the surprisingly small stage barely lit by the lights that had been put up around it, he managed to make his way to the front of the crowd where he makes his first appearance, dancing and looking up towards the figures a few feet above him. When he appears again a few seconds later we see him being stabbed and by the time we see him for a third time being loaded onto a helicopter to take him away, he is dead. We don’t know exactly what happened but as the grainy footage is replayed in slow motion we see him reach into his inside pocket and start to take out the gun he had brought with him. As the blonde girl he is with tries to stop him, the Hells Angel standing just behind him brings down the knife in his hand so that the blade sinks into his neck. The stabbing continues as he falls to the ground where he is lost amongst the leather clad Angels who have come to join the fray. He manages to cling onto life for a few moments after he is dragged clear but the severity of his injuries means that his role in the film was to provide its chilling and violent conclusion.

I first watched this scene projected onto the largest of the then three screens at the Classic cinema in Quinton. As a child, it was somewhere I would visit almost every week; a regular family outing that was usually on a Thursday. It was a typical suburban picture house; it opened just before the war and the art deco design was very much in keeping with those times. I first remember it as the Essoldo; just one single auditorium where my parents always seemed to manage to get seats in the middle of the first two rows of the circle where we could gaze directly at the huge screen in front of us. It was here that I first saw most of the classic Disney cartoons, rereleased just as a new generation of youngsters were able to be ensnared by the mouse, and where the sight of Jenny Agutter removing her red bloomers to stop the approaching train stirred something that I didn’t quite yet understand. Changing its name to the Classic, it ran a Saturday morning film show for children called Louis Lion’s Classic Junior Club where alongside the cartoons that we were really there to see, they also showed some of the Children’s Film Foundation movies that appeared on Screen Test. We queued to see “Diamonds are Forever” and “Live and Let Die” but little other than Bond could fill all those seats and it would soon be divided into three smaller screens. The largest of these was still capable of giving the scale and spectacle of the Star Destroyer as it closed in on the tiny craft in its path and the stunning graphics of the opening credits to “Superman”. By now, however, I was becoming increasingly intrigued by those films that were rated for an age that I hadn’t yet reached and as they never seemed to bother asking for proof of age, The Classic gave me an opportunity to feast on this forbidden fruit. We gorged on the horror of “The Exorcist”, the violence and seediness of “Taxi Driver” and the overwhelming terror of “Apocalypse Now”, films that we would leave reciting those memorable lines: “you looking at me”, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” and “your mother sucks cocks in hell”. Whether this premature exposure to the disturbing themes of these pictures had any long term effect on me it is probably for others to say. They were all, however, notable films but not all of this furtive behaviour was for high art; we were adolescent lads and one of our first forays into the pleasures of adult cinema was to see something much more carnal; “Emmanuelle”. The approach to the box office was worked out with military precision; rather than arriving as a group we decided we would have a better chance if we bought the tickets individually and being the tallest I was sent in first. With the transaction completed, others would get theirs, the order being decided on how old we felt each person looked. In the end we all managed to get in but making our way up the stairs we ran into another problem when we found ourselves face to face with the mother of one of our friends. Nothing was said but it didn’t have to be; “wait until your parents hear of this” was left in the air as the unspoken threat which meant we never mentioned this encounter. It never occurred to us that she would be the one who was most embarrassed about this; we were the target audience for soft porn like this but what was she doing there.

As the decade wore on and audiences declined, other attempts were made to draw people in, one of which was a post pub screening of films with a more selective appeal on a Friday evening. This probably sounds as if it was another attempt to draw in adolescent boys and lonely men who like to start their weekend with a drunken wank but it is unlikely that this would have attracted the size of audience they wanted. Record companies and studios had been pushing musicians into films for as long as the moving images had been recorded and whoever the manager of the cinema was at the time decided that this Friday night slot was a good opportunity to showcase some of these. The queues that formed outside well before the start time showed that it was an inspired move and whilst at other times of the day you would often find yourself alone, for these screenings the auditorium was invariably packed. It was in there that I first saw “The Song Remains the Same”, “Tommy”, and the unlikely brilliance of Slade in “Flame” where the black country pop yobs pull off a film as dark as “Performance”. The film, however, that I remember most clearly is “Gimme Shelter”, a record of The Stones 1969 tour of America. Following the drug busts and an ill judged attempt at their own summer of love psychedelia, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, had put them back on track and clips from the shows at Madison Square Gardens show that they had become a formidable live act. The film, however, needed a grand finale and the real focus is the ominous build up to what was planned to be the west coast Woodstock that would provide this. It was anticipated that the event would be huge, it is estimated that over 300,000 attended, but the planning, bogged down by an unhealthy mix of laid back hippy attitudes and greed, was never up to something of this scale. With Jagger announcing the date of the festival at the New York shows, there was still no location as the negotiations for the original choice in Sonoma had broken down when the owners demanded a share of the film’s profits. With a few days notice, an asphalt track with no toilets and littered with the rusting hulks of abandoned vehicles from demolition derbies was chosen; its name, Altamont, soon coming to represent the death of 60s idealism. With a stage that was just four feet high and lighting that had to run off the site’s limited electrical supply, it is doubtful that most of the audience would have seen or heard much of what was happening on it leaving them to get crazed up on alcohol and the plentiful supply of bad psychedelic drugs. A single rope was the only barrier between the stage and the audience leaving the safety of the performers in the hands of the Bay Area Hells Angels who had been drafted in to provide security. With their Harleys lined up across the front of the stage as a bulwark, their only response to the repeated stage invasions was to use the pool cues they had bought with them to batter the crowd; when Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane tried to intervene he also received a beating.

By the time The Stones take to the stage, the consumption of alcohol and drugs without any food or water and the periodic beatings have left the crowd in an ugly mood. The song that most seemed to embody this atmosphere and the outbreaks of violence that resulted was “Sympathy for the Devil” and they do have to abandon the performance of this as the cue wielding Angels make another foray into the crowd when they see some are sitting on their hogs. The dark mythology of the song, however, has it that it also provided the soundtrack to the fatal stabbing although this occurred later during “Under My Thumb”. The myth would prove to be stronger and the song helped to build an aura around the band where they became not just naughty boys with a passion for mars bars and strong drugs but dark satanic lords in league with Lucifer himself; this was in no doubt helped by them citing its bad karma as a reason to leave it out of their set for over seven years after Altamont. Occurring at the end of the film, there was a foreboding inevitability about the killing but what made it so shocking was that it was something I watched in a place that was about presenting illusions, fantasies that capture the imagination allowing us to escape for a couple of hours from the random complexity of everyday life. Even the murderous intent of Travis Bickle or the shadowy world of Colonel Kurtz were a product of the imagination of the director and created by actors. Here, however, the film shows someone losing his life in front of us, a real life and death story intruding into this artificial world.

Nearly fifty years after these events Charlie Watts starts the menacing samba rhythm that opens the portal into the dark heart of The Stones, “please allow me to introduce myself”. Here, however, the mass of humanity is divided into sections, as well as those occupying the stands, the pitch area is fenced off into into three so that those getting closest to the stage have had to shell out an eye watering amount for their advantage. Yellow shirted security patrols both inside and outside the arena, as far as I could see none were brandishing a pool cue and the thorough searches made it impossible to bring in even a small umbrella let alone the gun Meredith Hunter had taken along. The stage rose to a height of at least four times the flimsy surface on which they performed at Altamont meaning that invading it was well beyond the ageing limbs and joints of most of the audience. It was as well ordered and safe as it can be but as the barriers and armed police around the site show, the coming together of so many people means that the risks cannot be completely eliminated. At this distance from the turbulence of the time in which it was created, “Sympathy for the Devil” could be a museum piece, lovingly recreated but lacking any of the dangerous context it once had. And yet those tribal rhythms and spooky “whoo whoos” are still unsettling, even after all this time it can’t quite break free from the myth. Jagger, who had recently returned to the stage after a mini break during Keef’s two songs, played his part, dressed in a long red frock coat and manically contorting his limbs into shapes that no one of his age should be able to pull off to ensure that the sinister intent in the lyrics is still there. It was a spectacular and quite breathtaking moment, adding a freshness to this fifty year old song that made it sound just as relevant to our own turbulent era.

The Stones spent most of the 60s in the shadow of The Beatles but with the Fabs disintegrating at about the time “Sympathy for the Devil” appeared they seized their opportunity with a ferocious burst of creativity that saw them produce four astonishing albums and establish themselves as the foremost live act. It is the period from which much of their current set is taken starting, after the briefest of introductions, with the punchy distortions of “Street Fighting Man”, Richards immediately taking the riff along the catwalk into the audience while his partner prowls the stage behind him. With “Tumbling Dice”, however, any notion that Jagger was pacing himself was quickly dispelled by a sprint to the end of the catwalk without having to pause his vocals to take a breath. The country tinged “Dead Flowers” saw Jagger pick up an acoustic guitar for a rare moment of calm in his hyperactive storm but he quickly discards this to resume his prowling for “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, the two backing singers perfectly capturing the eerie harmonies. Richards adds a fragile charm to his two songs, “Silver and Gold” and “Happy” whilst Jagger uses “Honky Tonk Woman” to introduce the band and an opportunity to help Charlie Watts celebrate his 77th birthday. A Keef riff is often what launches a Stones song but even for the master, there are few that are as thrilling as the one that opens “Jumpin Jack Flash”, the exhilarating rush of which brought us onto the home straight. Of course, this being The Stones, there were a few reminders of just what another country the past is and whilst some of there more misogamist moments were left out, there was no place for “Under My Thumb”, there was still “Brown Sugar”, a slave owner with a penchant for young black girls and “Midnight Rambler”, a rapist celebrated as a counter culture outlaw. Despite its questionable content, however, the latter was an unexpected highlight, an extended blues workout that managed to be looser and more absorbing than the recorded version. The images of what looked like a women’s march that accompanied a beautifully haunting “Gimme Shelter” may well have been an attempt to own up to and atone for their past and the song also gave vocalist Sasha Allen an opportunity to head out along the catwalk and show how well she could piece away.

Business, professionalism, music half a century old; it could have been something programmed into a computer and played by holograms. That it isn’t and it still works so spectacularly well is because at its heart are the extraordinary characters who produced it. During “Tumbling Dice” Ronnie Wood makes his way over to the side of the stage where we are sitting, unfortunately at the same time as Jagger decided to make the same move. Seeing his path was blocked, Jagger pushes him out of the way, nothing will stop him making a move he has already started. It was a small incident that showed two things: first despite all the programming and planning, there was still a looseness and spontaneity about the show, there were no markings on the stage and two performers could end up in the same place because that is what happens. Secondly it also emphasised that there is still a strict hierarchy, Wood has been a Stone since 1975, many years longer than his predecessors Brian Jones and Mick Taylor combined, and the fluency of his guitar is integral to the sound, even on the songs made before he joined. He remains, however, the new boy, the one who can be pushed around, the one who could look up at the huge screens during one of his blistering solos to see the image of Keith Richards quietly strumming away. Even he, however, must recognise that it is those with whom he shares the stage who are mainly responsible for the longevity of the band. The irresistible showmanship of Mick Jagger and the miracle of human endurance that is Keith Richards, both have tried to go it alone to limited success, together, however, they are invincible. Seeing them live, however, brings home that the Glimmer Twins are only part of the story, there is another without whom the band would not exist. They carried on without Brian Jones and the person they brought into replace him, the departure of Bill Wyman caused barely a shrug but take Charlie Watts away and the whole edifice would collapse. With other drummers having to put down their sticks for good, at 77 Watts is still there on a raised platform at the back of the stage where he quietly watches everything that he is holding together. Despite the decades of going to concerts, the closest I had come to seeing the Stones was in a cinema in Quinton late one Friday night, I had even managed to convince myself that they were past it but they were never going to cross themselves off the bucket list and announcing this show at The Ricoh, one of the most intimate stadium venues, meant there was no longer any reason not to see them. Yes it was expensive, yes it was big and corporate, yes the quality of the show you saw depended very on how much you could spend but this was The Stones and as they once sang, “this could be the last time”.

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nofomoartworld · 8 years

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Hyperallergic: Exceeding Capacity

Installation view of “Remote Control” (2016) at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia (all images courtesy Tiger Strikes Asteroid)

PHILADELPHIA — If you’ve ever wondered how much room you might need for a gallery, pay a visit to the artist-run co-op Tiger Strikes Asteroid, and you’ll see that you can get by with very little. For the current exhibit, Remote Control, curated by Jessica Hough and Francesca Richman, nine works by four separate artists are contained within a room that’s roughly 8×12 feet.

Part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Incubation Series, the exhibit brings together graduate students in the university’s Fine Arts and History of Art programs. According to the website, the series “is a laboratory to experiment [with] new ways of making and seeing art, embracing a process of collective development.” Tiger Strikes Asteroid doesn’t necessarily offer a new way to see art, but the work by Danielle Cartier, Kasey Toomey, Alex Snowden, and Christopher Richard shows the promise of this through collective activity.

Danielle Cartier’s two collage works, “Transfer” (2016) and “Construction” (2016), use the seductive appeal of commercial images to invoke our unacknowledged doubts and desires. The latter, with its mix of Swisher Sweet cigar labels, beachside men and women, and handwritten notes saying “admit it*” and “never did*,” seemingly ripped from a daily planner, suggest the visual and sometimes guilt-ridden cacophony inside one’s head. Cartier’s adept assembly of images pressed me to ask, “What do I need to admit?”

Installation view of “Remote Control” (2016) at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia

Kasey Toomey’s assemblage, “My Island, Like a Sea,” (2016) is a complementary companion to Cartier’s collages. A large wooden panel, affixed with plastic hot dogs, a bladeless oscillating fan, a full set of color markers, a white dish tub, and a clear, plastic sign that reads “Lew Blum,” it has a lighthearted appeal. Blum’s name emblazons hundreds of signs warning of steep fines in parking lots throughout the city. According to a 2002 article in the Philadelphia Weekly, “It’s Lew Blum’s world — we just park in it.” My hunch is that Blum has ruined Toomey’s day more than once.

A TV is placed mysteriously behind a series of rowed venting incorporated into the wood panel below the plastic Blum sign. The imagery, by design, is hard to see. The one decipherable image is a pink, rectangular, eraser-shaped monolith that ricochets around the screen. The imagery is accompanied by a tropical soundtrack that blends in with the sound of water running into the white dish tub; a lemon and a lime with their rinds scraped away float in water. The title, “My Island, Like a Sea,” captures the attitude of this work; grounded in detail, yet open to the fluidity of incongruous references. It also evokes John Donne’s poem, with the lines, “No man is an island entire of himself; every man/ is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”

Alex Snowden’s “Portal” (2016), a large tapestry printed with a red brick pattern hanging at the back of the space, called to mind Carl Andre’s “Equivalent VIII” (1966). In Andre’s piece, bricks piled on the floor shape the viewer’s experience of the gallery. Snowden’s tapestry, which blocks the windows in the tight industrial space of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, exerts similar control over the viewer’s experience. To navigate that end of the gallery, one needs to squeeze around the obstruction, with some concern over whether visitors are even allowed behind the tapestry.

Installation view of “Remote Control” (2016) at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia

Two untitled works by Snowden are placed in opposite corners of the room. In any other setting, these sculptures would seem like construction-site detritus. For both works, Snowden applied drywall plaster and canned foam insulation to rectangular pieces of plywood and affixed them together, creating small spaces at the lower end of the works. The space near the bottom of “Untitled (Lime Tree, Exotic Blossom, After Rain)” (2016), which sits in the back left corner, seems appropriate for large leaflets or collections of construction materials. In the opposite corner of the gallery, Snowden outfitted the small space at the bottom of “Untitled” (2016) with a red, velvety pillow, perfectly sized for a cat or a small dog, but with a spooky, almost David Lynchian character.

Along the right wall, there are three large framed textile works by Christopher Richard. In “Puppet Theatre” (2016), the title adds depth to the richly colored textures of cloth and plastic tape that run vertically in a shabbily ornate frame. The strips, which have the bygone feel of seventies and eighties clothing and interior design, form a makeshift curtain, waiting to be lifted so that the show can begin. In the upper right corner of the frame, there is a patch of slick brown material with a garland of tiny yellow flowers. It’s a nice touch for a work that operates as visual abstraction while simultaneously inviting viewers to imagine a puppet show. In each piece, Richard displays an acute understanding of how to play smaller details off the larger image.

While I appreciated the creative arrangement of the works in Remote Control, I felt crowded and uncomfortable. Perhaps that’s the point. The gallery’s website explains “Remote Control envisages the myriad manifestations of the approach of bodies and beings to form.” But I was frustrated that a few of the works, particularly Richards’ “Every Sunset Strip” (2016), suffered from compromised views. Navigating that corner of the gallery made it feel as if I were squeezing into the stock room of a corner store. The arrangement of this show worked as an experiment, but the artworks would be better served had they been allowed some space.

Remote Control continues at Tiger Strikes Asteroid (319A N. 11th Street, Suite 2H, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) through today.

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