wiki wednesday

It's time for Wiki Wednesday.

1. Go to wikipedia.
2. Click on "random article" on the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Today's random offering is a stub. So if you know anything about this anti-poverty project, this is your chance to make a mark on "wiki scholarship."

Integrated Rural Development Programme is a program initiative by Government of India to promote rural enterprise.

back from new jersey—finally

Last Friday, John and I took the boys to visit Gma Dorothy and Gpa David in Princeton, NJ. We flew in and out of Philadelphia, which we seldom do, but flight times were more favorable than at Newark. For the record, Northwest flights leave from PHL’s worst terminal. The newsstand is criminal and options for food are paltry at best. This really only matters if you have a long layover or are delayed, as we were—repeatedly—on our attempted return to St. Paul.

I refuse to dwell on the particular details from this trip because, sadly, these sorts of delays have become routine when flying. I’m feeling especially angry about building extra vacation time into any trip to accommodate the airline’s worst practices. For the moment, I’m off travel and never want to fly anywhere again . . . or until the next time I have to fly somewhere.

We still managed to have a lovely time with John’s mother and her husband. We ate spectacularly well. On Saturday night we learned how to grill beer-can chicken. I know, we’re the last on the block to try cooking chicken this way, but I have to say this was the best chicken I’ve eaten. Steaming the bird’s cavity with liquid really does make the meat moister. The skin was perfectly seasoned with a cayenne-brown sugar rub, which totally and flavorfully permeated the chicken. Farmstand corn on the cob and New Jersey tomato slices dressed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and feta accompanied the chicken. The raspberries the boys had picked that morning were transformed into a silky-tart homemade ice cream, which is the best ice cream we’ve had this summer.

On Sunday, we took in the King Tut exhibit at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute. The show had some amazing treasures, which were well presented with each gallery serving as a tomb chamber. Various hallways connecting the galleries were constructed to resemble the passageways between tomb chambers—a nifty device to make a transition from the treasures of King Tut and those of earlier rulers.. Simon was a little creeped out by the chance that he might encounter a mummy (there were none), but Winston reveled in every detail. He especially was blown away by Tutankhamen's age when he became king—9, just a little older than Simon.

In all, our visit was too short, considering all the travel time involved. Nonetheless, it’s always fun to make this trip when the weather is warm and we’re the only guests.

Viva le King

This week marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis’s death. Do you remember where you were when Elvis died?

My family was on a major summer vacation, touring the western US in a (borrowed) RV. We were sightseeing in Salt Lake City when news of Elvis’ death broke. “Did you hear, the King is dead?” was a common refrain passed between tourists visiting Temple Square that day. I remember my father trying to explain what a huge deal this was, especially to people who had come of age in the 50s.

While I’ve never been a huge Elvis fan, I can easily acknowledge his place in the history of rock. And, I’m endlessly fascinated by Elvis impersonators, especially those in this feature.

Is anyone surprised to learn that Elvis is the second-highest grossing dead star? Kurt Cobain is #1. Cuing up my favorite Elvis number, “A Little Less Conversation.” Here’s the original version in a video clip from Live a Little, Love a Little..

Son number one exposes truth

Not long after Simon collected fifty cents from the Tooth Fairy this morning, he asked me if She was real. He had a theory about how She must not be real because of "the excuse Mom and Dad use when She's late." He lost his tooth on Saturday night, but the TF hadn't visited yet because, yes, John and I kept forgetting, and, conveniently, She'd been delayed by (very real, intense) thunderstorms.

But, John and I have never discussed how to handle The Confrontation so I asked Simon to tell his theory to his father after dinner this evening. And, that's when It happened. In one fell swoop, the ugly truth about the Tooth Fairy (mom and dad), Santa (mom and dad), and the Easter Bunny (Grandma Margaret) was revealed. I was certain he'd find out on the playground, from that thug Tony, but no, Simon's parents exposed themselves as (petty) frauds.

Bless John, though, for telling Simon that we perpetuate the myth about The Trinity because it's fun and for asking Simon to let Winston keep believing as long as Winston wants. Which will probably be until he leaves home for college.

Also, I've bribed Simon with extra special presents if he keeps his mouth shut.

Wiki Wednesday

Hey, it's Wiki Wednesday again. I've got my fingers crossed for an interesting entry! Here are the rules:

1. Go to wikipedia.
2. Click on "random article" on the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Oh, dear god. I am stunned by the complete randomness of this entry. Read more about Clayton, WI—the one in Polk County—here.

There are two other towns named Clayton in Wisconsin.

Clayton is a town in Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 912 at the 2000 census. The Village of Clayton is located within the town.

This probably wouldn't surprise anyone:

The racial makeup of the town was 99.23% White, 0.33% Native American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.33% from two or more races. 0.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Listening

My workload today called for something that would inspire me to keep at my project as well as provide an occasional worthy distraction. Scrolling through my iTunes file at work—all the way to the bottom (at the moment, I have music arrange alpha by artist)—I landed on The White Stripes' latest album, Icky Thump.

The somewhat bizarre album title should warn the listener that the musical arrangements and the lyrics might be unnerving—but only in the best sort of way. I have loved The White Stripes' hook-laden tunes from their very first album. While the duo has a very distinctive sound, this is the first album where they really stretch and flex their abilities. Icky Thump is , I guess you could say, an experimental album. As with any such changes to a band's musical style, some tracks wail while some fall far short.

Here are some of the tracks getting repeat play:

~Icky Thump—guitar stylings pay homage to 70s rock icons, such as Led Zepplin while the lyrics display a strange but brilliant quality

~300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues—soulful surf guitar and laid back Southern California sounds

~Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn—pleasingly folksy with a clear Scottish influence that seques into the utterly bizarro, very creepy St. Andrew , which defies description (Catholic anguish perhaps?)

Weekend report: August 11 and 12

Sadly, the weekend was a little stressful. Both boys were pretty demanding of our attention, and when they weren't physically pulling on us, they bickered. Some weekends are like that—even in Australia.

The Twin Cities experienced some severe thunderstorms on early Saturday morning—around 4 a.m. For the first time, I had a slight panic about tree limbs landing on the skylights about our bed, then remembered we had the tree in question removed in July. This storm's lightning was flickery and bizarre and was destined to keep me up. John and I didn't even have time to place wagers on how long it would be before the boys were in our bed when the skylight over his side of the bed started leaking. In a steady stream. Simon did wake up and found us in the den where I was reading HP7 to John. We all craved sleep so John and I each curled up with one of the boys. Winston managed, blessedly, to sleep through the storm. And, we were very lucky to have escaped any damage and to have retained our electricity.

Saturday: Simon went to a birthday party. Winston received a much needed haircut. The boys had a new sitter from the end of the block while John and I met our friend Liz M-P for a fantastic dinner at Saffron. We all shared a mezze platter with a feta cheese spread, potato salad with preserved lemon, lamb meatballs in harissa, and chickpeas. My meal started with a blue crab and avocado-citrus salad; the salmon-clam tagine (silky poached fish on a bed of sliced potatoes rather than couscous was unusual and tasty) was my main. For dessert we shared a tasty, spicy dried-fruit tart that was presented in a filo purse and a chocolate mousse cake, which didn't really meet expectations for a chocolate dessert.

Sunday: Simon served as John's tour guide when we saw the Pompeii exhibit (which really wasn't as good the second time around) at the Science Museum. Winston enjoyed looking at the little burial artifacts and satisfied his morbid curiosity in the room with the casts of people caught by Mt. Vesuvius' fiery blast. He's going to love the King Tut exhibit in Philadelphia, which we're going to see at the end of this week. On our way home, we had cocktails at our friends' Colin and Helena's. They served some really good food—cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto; figs with blue cheese, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar; and a store-bought salsa that they doctored with fresh tomato chunks. Friends Sarah and Dave were also there. I made "Thomas Jefferson" macaroni and cheese—this is what the kids call the not-from-a-box version—for the boys' dinner. John and I were pretty sated from the food we'd eaten at C & H's but managed to help the boys with their mac and cheese...and another bottle of wine. Nothing like a Sunday night lush.

We got a reservation!

After a day and a half of simultaneously speed-dialing on a cell phone and on my work land line, I finally got through the endless string of busy signals to reach a live body at The French Laundry. Getting that far is just the half of it. Then, you have to be willing to face outright rejection because all the tables are booked for the evening(s) on which you'd like to have dinner, oh, two months from now. Or, you'll be offered a table at lunch: "We have a table at eleven and at eleven-thirty." As if you'd settle for lunch to celebrate your milestone birthday.

Persistance with the humorless reservationist—Iris—yielded at 5:30 p.m. reservation on October 5, 2007.

A debt of gratitude to you Iris!

Lucky 13

This past weekend, John and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary—that would be the lace wedding anniversary if you follow the traditional gift table, or leather or fur if you're on the modern track. Long ago, we decided to relieve the pressure of another gift-giving occasion by opting not to buy each other presents for our anniversary. Instead, we treat ourselves to a lovely meal in a restaurant, where we gaze happily, gratefully into each others' eyes. Just as we did on our honeymoon, which we took in Bariloche, Argentina.

This year, we had our anniversary dinner at Muffuletta’s, in the charming St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul. Muffuletta’s menu highlights dishes with local and seasonal ingredients, prepared in generally innovative ways. My biggest quibble with the place is that the portions were enormous. The salmon rillettes I ordered as a starter could have satisfied four diners. But, the smoked salmon and wine-poached fresh salmon blended with aioli and served on toasted baguette slices was divine, and the gnocchi with heirloom tomatoes and a pistachio-almond pesto that followed knocked my socks off. We look forward to returning in the fall to see what JD Fratzke has up his sleeve for my favorite eating season.

Uncle Nik, who is staying with us for a week, was watching the boys so we took advantage of his bargain rate and lack of curfew to take in a movie. We saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the Highland Theater, which was approximately three hours long. It’s a trip to see the actors growing up, seemingly outgrowing their characters. I wonder how they’ll hold up until book number seven is turned into a move. As Order of the Phoenix represented the first truly bloated book, lots of scenes (such as Hagrid’s unnecessarily long search for the giants) from the book were edited out for the movie, which I truly appreciated.

It was a lovely, long evening, and a perfect anniversary celebration.

iota

I love what this architecture firm is doing. And, they have some great marketing—check out their website.Our home doesn't need the sort of residential overhaul in which this firm specializes, but if we did, I'd put them on the list.

Wiki Wednesday

Karen at Verbatim, one of my favorite daily reads, plays Wiki Wednesday, which has the following rules:

1. Go to wikipedia.
2. Click on "random article" on the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

I think this is just the thing to spice up my blog, so I'm going to participate.

Hugh Grant could play this guy in the movie version. Not only does Grant resemble this politician, but he often takes the role of cad.

Jim Rogers is a Democratic city councilmember of the city of Richmond, California. He was well known throughout the San Francisco Bay Area as a lawyer, until he was elected to ^[1] and ceased practicing law as of September 2006.

Rogers' legal career was marred by controversy, as he was repeatedly accused of fraudulent, negligent, and unethical practices by former clients^{[citation needed]}. A 2003 feature story in the East Bay Express ^[2] outlined the various allegations and lawsuits against him in detail.

As you can see, this Wikipedia article is wanting for credibility, but it also illustrates how far-reaching the "people's encyclopedia" can be.