The Place of Dead Roads

"Oh they weren't notions like yours, they were notions like mine, all spasm, sweat and trembling, without an atom of common sense or lucidity. But they were the best I had."

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Tsukiji Fish Market on a Saturday morning, after the crowds.

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Yanaka district and Old Cemetery, Tokyo

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But these words, "transgender" and "transitioned" are hard for me because they both have lost their complexity in their assimilation into the mainstream. There is a lack of nuance of time and space. To be transgender is something largely understood as existing within the dogmatic terminus of male or female. And to "transition" imparts a sense of immediacy, a before and after from one terminus to another. But the reality, my reality is that I've been transitioning and will continue to transition all of my life, through the infinite that exists between male and female as it does in the infinite between the binary of zero and one. We need to elevate the dialogue beyond the simplicity of binary. Binary is a false idol.

From Lilly Wachowski's press statement http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/m/APPredirect.php?AID=54509

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Damn, my daughter can make a beautiful and tasty dessert! Apple Puff Pastry Roses.

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Lemoncello, my recipe. Which is to say, what I merged together from the various recipes online and having spent some time practicing.

Start with a 1L of vodka. 100 proof is nice, 80 proof works too. Don’t go too cheap, but not sure it’s worth getting a top notch vodka. Peel the outer rind from a bag of lemons. For 1L vodka, I used a 1lb bag. Just a matter of how lemony you want your drink. Key thing here is to avoid the white pith of the lemon as much as possible. In there lay bitterness and regret.

Combine lemon rind and vodka and seal. Wait at least a week. But don’t forget about it, it needs love every day. So pick it up and give it a shake. Talk to it, gives your kids something to worry about.

After a week (or in this case, two. Because life), separate the now spend and useless rind from what now should be a most aromatic liquid. You know you waited long enough when people in the next room comment on the fresh lemon scent. I like to strain the lemon vodka. I use my pour-over coffee setup. This go around, I filtered it twice because last time, with a single pass, still wasn’t clear. I don’t think it effects the taste; I just also like the aesthetics of the glass of lemoncello.

While filtering, make some simple syrup. I used 3 cups cane sugar to 3 cups water, heated to just before a boil. Then let cool. You can vary the amount of sugar to taste, or the amount of water for the strength of the lemoncello. For my first attempts, I made more than enough syrup and kept adding and tasting until happy. N.B. Stop adding syrup before you think the taste is ideal. After adding the syrup to the lemon vodka, the taste will soften in 24 hours. Also, I made this once with Turbinado sugar. Not as good. The result was muddy in appearance and the added molasses taste didn’t fit.

Combine the cooled syrup and vodka and bottle. Rubber stopper flip tops are best. Clear is great if you want to show off your yellow elixir.

Best to be patient and wait to the next day to enjoy. On the other hand, you’ll have enough that it doesn’t matter. Best enjoyed chilled. If it’s summertime and your Lemoncello ended up alcoholic enough, you should be able to keep it in the freezer. Perfect for a hot summer afternoon while watching your kids mow the lawn. Also, refreshing to add a shot to a glass of seltzer water.

My favorite cocktail to use with is a modified Negroni: 3 parts Gin, 2 parts Lemoncello and 2 parts Grand Classico Bitters. Ideal location: the deck of a beach house at sunset.

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A perfect autumn afternoon at the apple orchard.

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Tropical Water Lilies, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

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Hibiscus, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

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"There may be an initial inclination to await further legislation, litigation, and debate...While the Constitution contemplates that democracy is the appropriate process for change, individuals who are harmed need not await legislative action before asserting a fundamental right.

"The Nation’s courts are open to injured individuals who come to them to vindicate their own direct, personal stake in our basic charter. An individual can invoke a right to constitutional protection when he or she is harmed, even if the broader public disagrees and even if the legislature refuses to act."

Obergefell v. Hodges

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Old padlock, close up

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Exploring the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, VA

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My wife cooked up a new Cherry Wheat beer a couple nights ago. Yesterday we pitched the yeast. Turns out she did an excellent job converting the starches to sugars. We woke up this morning to discover the yeast has exhibited an exuberance of enthusiasm for multiplying and fermenting. The airlock is on the floor in the next room.

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Why the end of May is one of the best times of the year. My wife's irises love this weather. Reminds me of yew try years ago when we married.

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More fun with sourdough.

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Letter from a Birmingham Jail (MLK)

"I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection." MLK, Letter from a Birmingham Jail 16 April 1963