Before I get to that, the screen on my phone stopped working over the weekend. A new one has been ordered, but until then I would recommend against calling me (unless you are going to keep calling until I pick up) and certainly do not text me.
The Passion of Philip Glass
Three weeks ago I went to a performance of the Pacific Symphony. The honorable Aden had an extra ticket and invited me to the concert. The program was titled The Passion of Philip Glass and consisted of works by this current composer.
The main piece was The Passion of Ramakrishna which included the orchestra and the Pacific Chorale choir. I tried to imagine how difficult it was to write the music for the instruments and the choir. I enjoyed it. During the performance Mr. Glass was in the audience and came on stage for a short Q & A and to accept applause. To learn more about the performance you can check out the program notes or an audio interview with Mr. Glass. There is also a review of it by the Los Angeles Times.
When I told one of my friends about the performance, he immediately knew who Glass was and talked of how he liked his music. He then told me about the film Koyaanisqatsi which Glass scored and sent me a YouTube clip from it.
Saint Patrick's Day
The next Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. If you are out on St. Patrick's Day, it might be expected you run into someone with a name like O'Brien. When I went out I met up with Ngo and Nguyen.
In the afternoon I saw Larry who was on spring break from school in Arizona. We went to The Block where I picked up a book at 40% off at Borders. While I later determined I already had all of the text in that book in another book, I have yet to meet a person who had too many Shelby Foote books. With the addition of Stars in Their Courses I currently have five.
Later that night I ran into Kim, who was in town for work. I head the latest news of her life and what it is like working for a medical device company. It seems some people do not read the directions to medical devices and then file complaints when the product performs exactly as it was designed to. They assume any difference between the way they expect the device to work and how the product actually works must indicate a broken or defective unit.
The place we went had a menu with St. Patrick's Day themed items like Guinness, Irish Car Bombs, corned beef sliders, and corned beef sushi. Right before we left the bartender gave us these containers with green stuff in them. They hold just over a shot of liquid. He said he mixed them up the night before. When I asked him what they contained he said "That is for me to know and you to find out."
What do you think it looks like? I thought it could be the ooze, but I did not have any turtles to test that on. Also, the viscosity did not look right; it had the consistency of water. From the way the bartender talked, I though it would be hazardous if I drank it before I drove.
When I got home I drank it. The green stuff tasted like an A.M.F., which gave me an idea. For next year I will make a concoction like this. The recipe will start like an A.M.F., but creme de menthe will replace the blue curacao and the soda will be skipped. I plan to update you on my results in time for next St. Patrick's Day.
Silver Cups Arrive
Recently I ordered some silver mint julep cups. A mint julep is a strong drink that is mostly bourbon. They are popular in the South during summertime and traditionally served in silver cups. On Thursday I tested my cups. I had three different mint julep recipes but they varied on some key points. I combined the recipes and this is what I did.
First I heated (but did not boil) one cup of water and two cups of sugar on the stove to make some rich simple syrup. Then I poured the warm syrup over some mint leaves from my back yard. After muddling the mint leaves in the syrup, I closed the jar and put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning I removed the mint leaves. I added two tablespoons (or one ounce) of the syrup to three ounces of Early Times Kentucky Whiskey and mixed them in a mixing glass. In a silver cup I put some crushed ice (I used a bag and meat tenderizer to crush it), a mint sprig, a straw, and then the mix.
These are so good I have consumed over half a dozen mint juleps since Thursday. I had to put the cups away so I would stop making and drinking them.
The Glass concert was excellent. I'm glad we got to go together.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading "Music By Philip Glass" written by Philip Glass. The book is described as being the composer's autobiography, but it only focuses on the time period in his life when he wrote three operas in the late 70s and early 80s. Glass comes across as a grateful person and thoughtful artist, but the brevity of the book and the fact that a 1/3 of the book is opera lyrics are disappointing.