Done
Congratulations to "The Simpsons" on tonight's episode. The eco bullcrap was as deep as the ocean and twice a smelly. The series has finally and irrevocably jumped the shark with the final irony being that the episode featured sharks. Good bye. Go to hell.

The Continuing Women Of Opera Posting
Today, for your listening and viewing pleasure I present the lovely coloratura soprano Diana Damrau in the role of Queen of the Night in Mozart's glorious "Die Zauberflöte." The Metropolitan Opera recently broadcast "The Magic Flute" in its regular Saturday "Live from the Met" series and it was superb. I haven't listened to it for, well, I really can't recall when I last listened but it was so beautifully done that I bought the DVD whence Ms. Damrau's performance here was taken. I love the staging and her performance has all the beauty and simmering menace the Königin der Nacht is meant to have.
I know the opera is supposed to be laden with all sorts of intentional references to Freemasonry but that's one of those aspects about which I care not a whit. It's an opera (technically a "singspiel" since not all the dialog is sung) that's dramatic, funny (Papageno has to be one of the best comic characters in all opera) and the music ... Well, it's Mozart. Need one say more? So, without further delay, the lovely Ms. Damrau sings.

..I leave Sunday April 25, 2010...wish me luck-EM

In keeping with my legend of strange and inappropriate posts I bring you the.. "Tibetan Sky Burial". Warning! very graphic photos.. do not view if you are a sensitive type. You have been warned. All in all, a very environmentally friendly method of disposal. I see myself at the end of my days having this done in my backyard and inviting friends and relatives over... followed by an incredible BBQ.
http://mbvtravel.com/burials-in-tibet-not-for-sensitive-souls

Screw the Stock Market ..this stuff has skyrocketed..I just wish I owned this piece..Would you pay $26,500.00 for an original Luftwaffe General's Private Purchase (Erstklassig by Clemens Wagner of Braunschweig) Visor cap? I assume you wouldn't..but there are those who will and do..

Who Has The Smallest Name On TV?
Mike Rowe. (say it aloud if you don't get where I'm going)

Workin' On It
I've just started work on a new screenplay. It's about a deaf kid who sees dead people. It's called "The Fifth Sense."

I Like The Looks Of This

SMOKED SALMON DEVILED EGGS

Makes 8 stuffed egg halves. Instead of yolks, these deviled eggs are stuffed with smoked salmon mousse that tastes as rich, although it contains significantly less fat and cholesterol.

1/4 pound smoked salmon, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons light cream cheese
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground white or black pepper
4 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise

1. Place the salmon, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Whirl until the mixture is nubbly. Add 3 or 4 grinds of pepper and whirl to combine.

2. Remove and discard the egg yolks. Place the whites cut side up on a plate. With a spoon, scoop up enough salmon filling to make balls the size of yolks. Roll the filling between your fingers to form round balls. Set the filling into the whites. Serve chilled.

"Discard the egg yolks?" Are you mad? Maybe they can't be used in this recipe but for the love of all that's protein, they can be used in other ways (added into a potato salad for example - but then I love an eggy potato salad).
And I love the instruction "whirl until the mixture is nubbly." Great image. I have a little shopping to do but I think I'll be assaying this one over the weekend.

Here are two I found for Ms. Dazzle: A combination of two of my favorite films, "The Birds" and "Jaws"..this will make you nervous at the beach...and the other I found amusing in an artsy kind of way. I think it's self explanatory.

Your Sunday Opera Moment
For your listening and I rush to say, viewing pleasure, the absolutely stunning mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca singing "Una Voce Poco Fa" from Rossini's "Barber of Seville." Her singing stands on its own (for those who watch the viddy) but I want to point out the facial expressiveness. This woman acts while she sings which is not always the case with great singers. I may have to dial down my enduring crush on Renee Fleming in favor of Ms. Garanca. And, if Latvian women looks like this, I know where I'm going for my next vacation!

Posting Will Resume Shortly
Or is that I'll be posting my résumé shortly? Hmm. No matter.
I have been engaged in the most boring of life and, after getting over a lingering week of GI tract badness, I will be back to boring youse wid my life in the next couple of days. Observations will include the Sherlock Holmes movie (which may as well have been titles "Yo! Holmesie!") and a brief mention of opera. That's right. I said "opera."
UPDATE: I think I'll get summat long-winded tomorrow. I'm enjoying the Metropolitan Opera's broadcast of "Traviata" too much today to think of writing anything mundane.

Low Level Sick
I'm dealing with one of those low-level illnesses that manifests itself in a number of ways that make my life not a living hell but kind of a living heck. Something is troubling my GI tract and I have absolutely no idea what it is but it severely interfered with my enjoyment of the NCAA championship game last night. I'm lucky enough to not have had anyone around because my moaning and groaning would have been just super annoying. It annoyed me and I was the one doing it.
It really doesn't help that the temp locally has gotten way too hot, way too fast. It's getting up to the 90s today and I'm going to turn on the AC. Last night my bedroom was around 80 degrees when I tried to sleep and it dropped all of three degrees overnight. Even with a ceiling fan, this doesn't work for me. Ah well. Kvetching about feeling rotten is a lousy past time and here I am subjecting my vast readership to it. My apologies.
On the traditional other hand, I got to see Duke take its fourth national title against a helluva Butler team. I was hoping to see the Blue Devils take about a 12 point lead and just nurse it all the way to the end but Butler would not let that happen. I think there's a picture of the Butler team pasted into dictionaries all over America where the definition of "scrappy" is. If it had been anyone other than Duke, I would have been pulling for Butler. But it wasn't. So I didn't.
I'm more than a little surprised. I though Duke was good enough to be a Final Four team and that's the level I pegged my expectations. But for a change, this team got steadily better through the season to the point they moved the trophy down I-15 to Durham. Where it belongs. Heh.
Now that's all you're going to hear about that from me. I promised myself I'd swear off hoops blogging this year and I think I held pretty well to that. But a championship must be acknowledged.

If You Like Wine
I am, as you who actually read this mess, no wine blogger. But I am "few glass a week" oenophile. To that end, I joined the so-called Wall Street Journal Wine Club which is sort of a "case of the quarter club" (as in "book of the month club"). The hook is a steeply discounted case of very good wines (you can choose reds, whites or a mixed case) and then the club member can opt for or out of future cases at a not as steep discount. They also hit you up with e-mails about special offers which leads me to call attention to this: 2006 Lionstone Selection Fritz Cabernet Sauvignon. I don't know how available it is out of the club and it's not particularly cheap (case lots will bring the per bottle cost down to under $25) but it is ... in a word: spectacular. Rich and smooth, a low tannin cab but with a tannin finish that gives a wonderful touch of astringency that almost rolls off the tongue. There is a lot of good wine in United States and there are incredible vineyards all over (Virginia, for example, has a vineyard called Naked Mountain that produces truly excellent wines).
I've never had hundred dollar bottles of wine because I ... well, I don't have the resources to put that kind of scratch into something that will last an hour or two and then be a memory. And I'm reluctant to drop even $25 on a bottle but I'm unutterably convinced that the half case I bought was well worth it. I'm even thinking of taking my supply up to a full case. If I had all the money I'd like to have, I'd keep a cellar full of this and drink it regularly.
Oh, and by the way, if you come over, I have several other bottles of good wine that will be deployed to your benefit. Don't be presumin' on my wines!

What Are We Going To Do Tomorrow Night?

Nuts
My Hackintosh is currently bricked. I ran the OS update and it's now kernel panic-ed. Buggeration. Well, I'm going to have to re-do the install I guess and then run an new version of the netbook installer and then do the upgrade. I really should have poked around the web before doing the software update.
Sigh. More time I'd prefer not to spend.
UPDATE: Reinstalling the OS. Then a shot at getting the upgrade installed correctly and then reinstalling the few apps that I use on the thing. Something to do while I run laundry loads up and down stairs.
Annndddd we are unbricked. Nice to know I can restore a masheen that's freaked itself out. Now to see if I have the chops to get the update done properly.

File In: Things I Found On Teh Intarwebz
Reading this Movie|Line article on "The 9 Most Memorable Paycheck Roles In Modern Cinema," I saw this picture:





Which really made me want to do a 'thought bubble' for Marlon that would go something like "Hmmm, with the per pound price that'd be.... I'll take it."

But that would be so unkind.

Almost Sorta Kinda Live From Lycurgus's Neighborhood
This handsome fellow is a Painted Bunting in a growth of mangrove along a canal in central Florida. Pic was taken with a 10X zoom by a neighbor of Brother Lycurgus. If a bird chose to dress like that, I'd have no hesitation introducing him to Ricky Martin.

Livin' La Vida No Gal
Ladies, you might want to get over anything regarding Ricky Martin.

Maybe Not Certifiable, But Close
The following viddy was produced by the strange folks at The Ginger People from whom I've acquired many a gingery treat over the years. It's hokey but kind of sweet at the same time. Of course I'm so insane about ginger that I don't find this weirdness 'out there' at all. And as for the allegations that gingers have no souls, well, phooey!

Next Up On The Foodie Front
Having watched Alton Brown go medieval on the tiny little asses of lentils, I had to get some into my pantry. So I ordered some Bob's Red Mill red lentils from the 'Zon. (I just got some Bob's Red Mill brewer's yeast after reading the consumer reviews at the 'Zon and I have to agree - very good brewer's yeast.) When they arrive, I'm going this way: mirepoix into some olive oil, sweat it a bit, add quartered onion (for substantial pieces to eat), bay leaves, a smoked ham hock broken and cut to allow maximum flavor over the short cooking cycle of the lentils, the lentils and, added about halfway through the cooking, walnuts for the crunch. I was thinking of using chicken stock but with the ham hock, just water should do fine. Smoked finishing salt and pepper to taste with a green salad and rice.
Done and done. I'd also het up the lentils with hot sauce but that's just me.