la melanzana angelo

Know Your Animated Villians.

2009-12-23T04:09:14Z

Quiz begin.

1)Hexxus (includedmiddle )
2)Mumm-Ra (ianmcin )
3)Venger (blackravenwyrd )
4)Skullmaster (striderhlc )
5)Queen Beryl (blackravenwyrd )
6)King Zarkon (ianmcin )
7)Yzma (krizoitz )
8)Admiral Zhao (krizoitz )
9)Percival McLeach
10)Don Karnage (ianmcin )

- Jux

juxtapose_42 @ 2009-12-21T21:07:00

2009-12-22T05:07:49Z

I know what you're thinking.

This is not related to it.

MC 117 - O Little Town of Bethlehem

Merry Christmas, all.

- Jux

on Sadness

2009-11-15T06:36:24Z

Friday night was so good... I love that feeling, even in my memory. I hold it close to me like some cherished childhood keepsake. I know I get down sometimes. I've described it as despair, but only for the sake of others. I don't know if there's really a good word for it. I don't need anything from anybody to make me whole... I have an abundance, and enough over to be generous. I feel more comfortable in my own skin right now than I ever have before. The only thing I need is truth, and he's told me who he is.
This feeling... it isn't anything inside me... instead it's almost more something with which I come into contact. Most of the time I feel a little detached, like I'm floating above my own life. It isn't a bad feeling, just insulated... maybe protected. Every few months, though, my buoyancy ebbs and I slowly touch down to the snowy surface. I gently place my head to the ground, halfway between worship and sleep, and can sense it through the vibrations; it is all ice, and endless. And I can hear thrumming the soft heartbeat of the earth, and it makes me sad.

- Jux

Just Like Not As Good As Mom Used To Make

2009-11-14T17:44:45Z

Pretty Okay Fried Rice [25 min]

Cooking supplies:
1 quart-sized pot w/ a lid
1 smaller pot w/ a lid
1 saucepan. Mine is 2 inches deep, which I would recommend.

In the quart sized pot -
3 cups water, brought to a boil.
ADD 2 cups jasmine rice (unless you are Erika)
cover, reduce heat to medium-low, let simmer for 18-20 minutes

In the smaller pot -
1 cup water
1 16oz package of Trader Joe's 'soycutash' (soy beans, corn, and a sad amount of red peppers)
dash of salt
bit of pepper
1-2 Tbs soy sauce
bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 8-10 minutes

In the saucepan -
Scramble three eggs in about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil. Chop the eggs up pretty small with your spatula, then scoop them out of the pan into your serving dish. Add a little more oil, then when your veggies are done, strain them and toss them in the pan over medium heat and let them sizzle a bit. Add the rice. Mix. Add the eggs. Mix.
Add some soy sauce
Add some teriyaki marinade, if you have it
Mix. Serve. Feeds more than three.

Could have used: more bell peppers, more salt, diced bacon (but i was making veggie fried rice).

- Jux

My review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-shelled for Xbox Live Arcade

2009-11-01T02:04:40Z

2 stars out of 5

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2XGQLHIDS15ED/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

- Jux

yesyesyesyesyesyesyes.

2009-10-31T07:56:25Z

Tonight was not an experiment. An experiment is an process where hypotheses and theories - themselves based upon prior evidence - are tested against observations of the natural world. Tonight was an exercise of faith.

Butternut Squash Tarts [1 hr 30 min]

YOU WILL NEED:
1 butternut squash. These come in a variety of sizes. Imagine yourself dramatically grasping a mystical orb with one hand, and then try to find a squash about that big.
1 Premade pie crust from the store
Some brown sugar
1 Can of concentrated orange juice. I used orange / tangerine blend and recommend it.

1) Cook the squash (60 min)
Cut the squash in half lengthwise, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and gooey part. Next, put both halves face-down on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for maybe an hour at 325 degrees. When the squash is done you should be able to poke a fork right through the skin with no resistance. Remove from oven and let the halves cool for at least ten minutes.

2) Make the sauce (2 min)
Pour half a cup to a cup of brown sugar into a small mixing bowl. Add the juice concentrate one tablespoon at a time and mix thoroughly after each addition. You won't need much; you want a thick sauce.

3) Prepare the crust (7 min)
A premade package actually comes with two crusts inside it. Unroll both crusts on some parchment paper or something they won't stick to. If you don't have parchment paper, you should buy some. It's super useful and pretty cheap. Unroll the crusts slowly, they tend to break. If they do, don't worry - you can just press the broken parts back together.
Stack the two crusts that come in the package after you've unrolled them, and cut them together into however many tarts you want. This will give you a top and a bottom for each tart. I cut six ways, which seemed to be a good size.

4) Okay let's make tarts (21 min)
Take the cooling squash off your cookie sheet, and line the now-empty sheet with parchment paper. Put one half of each tart on the paper (like, this will be the bottom of the tart). Use a spoon to just scoop some squash right out of the skin and spread it out gently on the dough. I used a spoon and fork together to spread more thinly and accurately. Leave some room around the edges so you can seal it up. Now spoon some sauce onto the squash. When it looks good go ahead and take the other half of the dough shell and put it on top. Press your index finger firmly along the edges to seal the tart, then poke some holes in the top. Repeat for each tart. Don't worry if some squash or sauce squeezes out while you're sealing up the tarts.
Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

The black is the extra that squeezed out when I made them. It's stuck to the parchment, and the tarts came off cleanly and looked great. I didn't bother poking holes in these ones because the dough tore a little. No worries.
These taste amazing and they're really easy to make - seriously, four ingredients, of which you buy two basically ready to go. They were a big hit, and I will definitely be making them again (partially because the squash I bought was way too big and I had to freeze half for later).
Vegetable tarts are something I will continue to tinker with, since I have a lot of curious notions I'd like to play out. Just whatever you do, don't call it science.

- Jux

Urgent communique from the department of silly music

2009-10-27T23:18:50Z

....INCOMING TRANSMISSION...
.........
....>>>Authorization Code Accepted<<<
.........
.........
....BEGINNING PLAYBACK

MC117 - Medieval Man

- Jux

due diligence

2009-10-19T05:52:04Z

View Poll: Gathering opinions on the subject of facial hair

- Jux

From the Archives: TLDoJD

2009-10-18T04:25:18Z

Today is two years since our awesome show.

What awesome show?

Glad you asked. =)

The Last Days of Jupiter Deathray, annotated

I have never been in a band. But for one night, a couple of friends and I faked it pretty good.
My friend Jason and my friend Alex and I put a totally sweet project together a couple of years ago and had one sole show which may be filed comfortably under "hours" comma "finest". We formed in the spring and spent the summer together, dividing our time about evenly between rehearsing and suggesting stupid band names to each other. By the fall we had found a stupid name we could all agree on, and had written a few stupid songs as well.
Soulfood Books kindly agreed to host our epic evening.

The playbill:

We had a great turnout and I was really tickled. Also nervous to the point of near psychological freakout, but that's actually pretty normal for me any time I go on stage. Jason was a veteran drummer of ten years, and Alex had already been in a few bands, so I was the greenhorn. I was also, by last call of "not it", the spokesman.

TRACK 1 - [Draw Blood] - Written by me. Me - elec. guitar & lead vox, Alex - elec. guitar
This was the first song I ever wrote that I didn't immediately hate. I improvised the lyrics in a jam session with Jason, and then we scrambled to remember them and write them down once we realized they were actually good. We decided our setlist order by all three of us writing down separately what we thought it should be and then comparing lists. This was number one unanimously. Stylistically it is a blatant rip-off of the White Stripes. Considering that the White Stripes blatantly ripped off their own sound, it's hard to feel too bad about it.

TRACK 2 - [Still On Course] - Written by Alex. Me - bass, Alex - acou. guitar & lead vox
Alex brought this song along with him from his solo stuff. I felt like it was the strongest piece we had in terms of both lyrics and composition, so we played it second. In addition to taking the show up a notch in quality, it was also a nice contrast to the sharp edge of our first number. My bassline through most of the song bounces along a "1, 1 2" beat, but when Alex sings about evolution I changed it up to "1 2, 1 2 3". Anyway, I thought it was clever.

TRACK 3 - [The Ragnarök Blues] - Written by me. Me - acou. guitar & lead vox, Alex - elec. guitar
I wrote this song while sweeping the floor at my old janitor job. There's a lot of mental space to fill between four and six in the morning in an empty showroom. This was also the first bridge I ever wrote all by myself - it took me two hours at least - and the final half-verse came to me in a stroke of rhyming inspiration later on. I love Alex's solo.
The beginning of the song is ripped off from an old tune by a friend of a friend called The Eskimo Blues. Also referenced are norse mythology, The Time Machine, "The Tempest", Dr. Strangelove, H.P. Lovecraft, and the Revelation of John.

TRACK 4 - [Awake] - Written by Alex. Me - bass, Alex - acou. guitar & lead vox
Another of Alex's solo tunes that we adapted for the band. I was pleased with both of the vocal backup parts I wrote for his songs. They were a lot of fun. Singing while playing the bass is harder than singing while playing guitar, for reals.

TRACK 5 - [Night of the Peacock] - Written by me. Me - elec. guitar & lead vox, Alex - elec. guitar
This song was an experiment on several levels. The guys had noted (correctly) that I tend to cram my songs full of lyrics. I wrote this to play with the idea of letting a melody carry the movement forward. It's written specifically for two vocal parts. The idea was that I sing lead in the beginning, but by the end we've switched and I'm singing backup.
Additionally, this was one of the first serious songs I ever wrote. It was actually the song I liked the least, but I was surprised a few months after the show when Jason the drummer told me that it had been his favorite. It's grown on me a bit since then. I wrote the chords, but the amazing hook was Alex's work.
It's kind of sort of about death, and trying to paint it as something personified, and not anything to be afraid of. As I said, an experiment.

TRACK 6 - [Norweigian Wood] - Written by The Beatles. Me - elec. guitar & lead vox, Alex - acou. guitar
Our first cover of the night! We played around with a lot of possible songs to cover, including Come Together, Foxey Lady, and Where Is My Mind. We settled on this one because it sounded so nice even the first time we took it for a spin.
Tracks five six and seven were the jangly part of the set, where we slowed things down a bit and set our effects boxes to "echo". This piece also marks the only time in the entire set where I don't change instruments between songs.

TRACK 7 - [Keep the Car Running] - Written by The Arcade Fire. Me - bass, Alex - acou. guitar & lead vox
This was my favorite song off of The Arcade Fire's second album, and I was inspired to try it back when Jason and I were idly jamming together. It was an obvious choice for Jupiter Deathray once the project actually began to take shape.
After a few rehearsals it was agreed that Alex would sing the lead part, since he had a higher range than me. I've fought jealousy ever since. He does sound great though, curse him. Synchronizing the half-a-beat-too-soon sudden stop ending took much, much practice. That's what makes great bands great though... it's not whether they sound good, because most of them do. It's those little touches where you suddenly realize they must have rehearsed for hours on one little bit to get it perfect. That was our inspiration for the project, really; not just to be a band, but to emulate a great band.

TRACK 8 - [Eleven Saints] - Written by Jason Webley. Me - acou. guitar & lead vox, Alex - bass
This song was so much fun. I came across Webley's music video on the internet, and had bounced the tune around with Jason the drummer previously. As the show approached, we checked the licensing lists to see what covers we could legally play, and had to cut a few. This was a last minute replacement for one of those, but I'm so glad we made the change. Jason Webley personally gave us permission to play this song, with the condition that we send him a copy of our version afterward (which we did). He wrote back, "what fun!" and complimented a small change we made to the original lyrics which was a special feeling.

TRACK 9 - [Ozymandias Had A Myspace Page (Cheer Up Emo Kid)] - Lyrics by me, music by Alex. Me - tambourine & lead vox, Alex - acou. guitar
This was another tune I penned when in all probability I should have been mopping floors instead. Later, Alex was just hanging out playing some weird chord pattern and I pulled out my lyrics notebook and began singing along. Against all odds, it worked perfectly. I love his backup harmonies in this one. Alex had (and still has, I imagine) a remarkable ear.
Jason, our drummer, despite furlongs of talent, was actually incredibly shy. This was the one song we insisted that he begin, before any other voice or instrument was giving cover.
The song draws an odd parallel between modern day "emo" nonsense and the titular character of Shelley's 'Ozymandias'.

TRACK 10 - [Volcano] - Written by The Presidents of the United States of America. Me - bass & lead vox, Alex - elec. guitar
Our last song of the night. Over already? Sadly, yes. We decided not to end on a song we had written just in case everyone hated our stuff. This was a sure-fire crowd pleaser and I don't think there's anything the matter in playing it safe. It's hard to tell, but the ending of this song was the section we practiced the most of any part of any song in our setlist. The cacophony of noise as we wrap up was improvised on the spot, but just before that there's a pair of hits that come "1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5". That part.
In our practice sessions we would rehearse not only the music, but non-verbal signs as well. Communication in the band structure as you play can be difficult, and with so many songs someone is going to forget something. To protect each other, you must be able to convey information to one another by your eyes, body posture, the way you strike the strings of your guitar, anything. This one was tough for Jason since the end hit came after a series of repeated riffs and it was easy to lose count. Both Alex and I worked together to help cue him with the way we played and moved. That sort of relationship is the camaraderie I loved about Jupiter Deathray. The band was always more important than any individual member. Everything was decided - song choices, venue, even specific lyrics - on the basis of whether or not it was good for the band.

So that was our adventure. It is a warm memory for me, even now. Jason and I still jam together, but he's decided that he is not interested in being "in a band". He's just happy making music. I've seen stills of Alex on the drums behind some guys playing the Tractor Tavern, so there's the opposite path. Me, I'm sort of in the middle. I still write songs, and I still like to go play them at Soulfood's open mic night. It's nice to see myself improving; Jupiter Deathray was the first time I'd ever tried writing real music. I don't imagine I'll ever be famous, and I imagine even less that I'd enjoy it if I was. But for that one night two years ago, it was a lot of fun to pretend.

- Jux

Baked beans!

2009-10-05T01:45:53Z

Hooray! I wish I had pics of this one, because they turned out great. These aren't totally legitimate beans, I'll admit, but the taste-to-ease ratio is so powerful I don't care.

Cheater Beans

About 48oz of canned beans. This is three or four cans, depending. If you use less beans there will be more sauce per bean, so go with what you like. I used pinto beans, but navy beans, black beans, or kidney beans would all probably be fine. Drain them, and put them in a big pot to which you have a lid.
1/2 a small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced. I almost accidentally used two bulbs of garlic. Don't do that.
1 c. barbecue sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1/4 c. brown sugar
Some honey, because everything is better with honey
3-4 strips of cooked bacon, optionally chopped. Don't do this if you have a Jewish friend coming over, though, because then you will feel really bad. Trust me.

Add all the ingredients to your pot, mix them well, and turn the heat to medium until it boils. Stir a little, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover the pot, and let it cook for at least an hour.

I expected my guests at seven, so I put the beans on the stove at six and they were perfect when we sat down to eat. This recipe is great because 1) it does not require a crock pot and 2) you can play with it a lot and still wind up with something good. It re-heats well for leftovers, stands solidly as a meal by itself, and goes wonderfully as a side dish.
I'll definitely be keeping this one in my bag of tricks.

- Jux

juxtapose_42 @ 2009-09-29T15:13:00

2009-09-30T01:38:21Z

Welcome home, Master Chief.

- Jux

artwork commission

2009-09-26T16:26:45Z

I requested miss Jenna Chew to create some art for me. I asked for something "pretty and inoffensive", and sent her a few samples of things I like. She asked me if I liked birds and was $35 okay. I replied yes to both.
Here is what she sent me this morning:

(only at about a million times this resolution)

Not only do I love it with all of my tiny heart, she was professional and unreasonably fast. In short, I cannot recommend her services enough. Her contact information is posted at her lj page, jennadelle.

- Jux

Second Stage Muffins review

2009-09-25T16:47:58Z

Ohhh, yes. That's what we had been going for. Yessssss.
[EDITED FOR ACCURACY] These are great muffiny muffins. The paper comes off clean, the flavor is good, and the texture is about perfect. Good for breakfast, or dessert (with perhaps a little caramel sauce drizzled on top?).

Second Stage Muffins

Set oven to 350 degrees.

IN ONE LARGE BOWL
2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
A generous dusting of cinnamon

Mix all together with a fork.

IN ONE NOT-AS-LARGE BOWL
1/4 c. butter (half a stick, melted. 30 seconds in the microwave should do it)
1 1/3 c. sugar (Cream this together with the butter using a spoon)
2 eggs (beat these in well with the same spoon, one at a time)
1 over-ripe mashed banana (How to mash a banana: Peel it, put it in a small tupperware bowl, and just stir it with your spoon, pretending like it's a liquid. The banana will catch on pretty soon.)
A little less than half a small container of sour cream. (Small = 8oz)
1 Pear, cored, peeled, and diced. I don't know if it would work as well (or better) if the pear wasn't quite ripe, but mine was about perfect. If you need a pear, ask shawnaduck.

Pour the contents of the not-as-large bowl into the large bowl, and gently stir. The Trick To Muffins, As Explained To Me By My Boss' Wife Who Can Cook Nothing Wrong: Don't over-mix. The more you mix batter, the less fluffy and more bread-like your muffins will be. You should still be able to see a little flour here and there when you spoon it into your muffin tin. It's okay; it'll dissolve as they cook.

This recipe made twelve generous muffins for me, but my baking powder and baking soda are a little long in the tooth. If yours are fresher you'll probably do well to try for eighteen instead. I spooned the batter into muffin-paper forms, up to almost the top of the pan.
bake for 12-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Keep the light in the oven on to check on them. I eyeballed it and was well-rewarded.

- Jux

Muffins, second stage

2009-09-25T16:29:58Z

Banana, pear, and cinnamon. With some sour cream for moistness. And banana because I keep getting them and don't have time to eat them all before they get soft. Review forthcoming.

- Jux

juxtapose_42 @ 2009-09-21T16:41:00

2009-09-21T23:42:36Z

Silliness, cont.

- Jux

juxtapose_42 @ 2009-09-21T09:00:00

2009-09-21T16:17:53Z

People who know me are likely aware that I enjoy complicated solutions to basic problems. Sometimes this is true in games as well.
more Fantastic Contraption silliness.

MORE MOVIE NIGHT REQUESTS
~~Ben-Hur (1959)~~ Ben-Hur (1925)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Batman: The Movie (1966)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Ladyhawke (1985)
Star Trek (2009)

- Jux

juxtapose_42 @ 2009-09-19T20:47:00

2009-09-20T03:50:02Z

Our rollicking pirate band

with a rollicking pirate pizza

Late-coming pirates:
Drownin' Quincy Dawkins
Rough-Sailin' Antonia
Sword-Jugglin' Ted

- Jux

juxtapose_42 @ 2009-09-19T13:53:00

2009-09-19T20:57:24Z

Full pirate breakfast headcount:

Cap'n Elmer Ropeburn
Frownin' Hank Morgan
Cap'n Finn Cannonballs
Disemboweling Morgan
Pirate Walt The BackStabber
Bella the Bitter
Rotting Jack Drake

A fine crew. But where there's two cap'ns, bloodshed be not far behind.

- Jux

juxtapose_42 @ 2009-09-10T17:30:00

2009-09-11T00:54:49Z

Baking of the inspiration: oatmeal butterscotch muffins.
350 degrees for twenty minutes of wondering whether this idea is terrible.

Still waiting for them to cool.

EDIT: Results! Flavor is quite pleasing. The butterscotch chips sort of... shrank. It was after I removed the muffins from the oven. I noticed the chips which had been on the surface were now depressed into little pits. At the bottom, the muffin-paper was extremely greasy/oily, and stuck to the muffins a bit. My guess is the liquid was butterscotch-chip runoff. Muffins themselves were a little crumbly. Overall very tasty. Recipe available upon request, though I'll be tweaking it next time I try.

- Jux

burger redux

2009-09-05T22:35:25Z

Still have a lot of hamburger patty material, so I've been trying a few variations. Added another egg, bread crumbs, and eventually flour. The mix seems to hold together alright now, and the flavor is decent, considering all the tinkering. The outside keeps cooking before the inside, though, even when the patty is quite thin.

- Jux

Hamburger recap

2009-09-05T05:34:48Z

Total failure. =/
The burgers seemed like they had good consistency, but once on the griddle they completely fell apart. Even adding an extra egg and more bread crumbs made no noticeable difference. There was too much moisture in the mixture for sure... I added too much water in the beginning. Also it might have gone better if I had cooked them on a real grill, so that they could dry out more as they cooked. I'd like to try again after cleaning the griddle and putting down a litle olive oil maybe. Or cook them on the stovetop where I can control the heat better (the griddle's minimum temperature is 200). Fortunately a combination of contingency plans managed to feed my guests.
Unfortunately, my "dinner rolls" were inedible once they cooled down. No recipes posted until I work the kinks out of this one.

- Jux

Cooking 2: Electric boogaloo

2009-09-05T00:30:15Z

Having some company over tonight. Hopefully it will be a regular Friday thing! Anyway, I did a google search for "easy impressive cooking" and decided to make hamburgers. I tried my hand at homemade buns last night. The recipe is dead simple, but when there's so few ingredients each one kinda matters proportionally more. I did not test my yeast before adding it, which was a mistake. The buns hardly rose at all. Curse you old yeast! So I ended up with dinner rolls instead.

They're still tasty, which is good, and I make a point of acquiring a back-up option whenever I try something new in the kitchen, so I've got store-bought buns in the freezer. The hamburgers I just finished mixing together, and I am cautiously optimistic. Everything I put in them is tasty, so they should be great, right? That's just science.
HELPFUL HINT: Mincing pineapple? freeze it first. =)

- Jux

Alfredo recap

2009-09-01T05:25:09Z

My sauce was a great success! I am pleased, considering I feared the inedible. Here's my final recipe.

1 lb of unsalted tilamook butter, melted in a cooking pot. Stir continually over low heat through the next steps.
ADDED: 6oz pre-shredded Parmesan. DONT DO THIS. Shred your own.
ADDED: 1 1/2 cups of fat free milk
ADDED: most of a block of Beecher's flagship, grated. Do do this.
ADDED: garlic, fresh-ground pepper, oregano, diced maple sausage that I had cooked up earlier in the week

At this point it was still too gummy, so I increased the heat to dissolve the cheese better.

ADDED: A couple small handfuls of spelt flour. This drastically changed the texture, for the better. the whole thing took me a little under an hour, but I was doing other stuff at the same time. Probably could have done it in twenty minutes if I had been focused.

I poured oil off the top once or twice during all this. Afterwards I put a lid on my pot and tossed it directly into the fridge. The next day it heated up well over the course of half an hour on low heat. I added some more milk, which helped loosen it up, and poured off the oil floating on top again. The final sauce was very rich and cheesy, a great companion to the bread and salad. Texture could have been smoother, but far better than I had feared. It also re-heated great the next day when I polished off the leftovers.

- Jux

Cook cook cook

2009-08-28T05:13:02Z

Trying alfredo this week. Results are so far more mixed than the sauce. An interesting fact is that store-bought shredded cheese often includes anti-caking ingredients. While useful for many things, these additives will sabotage any attempts to melt the cheese into another medium. My sauce may now be irreparably lumpy. The internet suggests grating your cheese fresh just before adding to the saucepan (which I did in fact do with my small block of Beecher's Flagship and that has dissolved nicely). I have added some flour in an attempt to thicken the sauce, and it seems beneficial. Next time I'll just start with the roux and work my way up. Cook and learn.

- Jux

Real Email Theater

2009-08-25T21:48:32Z

From: genesis2nn@shaw.ca
Subject: Hurry good horse

Sprang a horrible beast

- Jux