Keep it simple in the summer...(plus dogblogging Friday follies)

This time of year, I cannot be bothered with any recipe that calls for use of the oven (such as any type of casserole, even if it involves peppers and other summer standbys); if it can't be divided so that it can fit in a toaster oven, it doesn't get baked.

Thus, summer squash (which are not my favorite vegetables anyway, although I will slip finely chopped squash into a gumbo) such as zucchini do not get made into zucchini bread or muffins. Too hot for that mess, tasty as they can be.

However, one great summer recipe for zucchini is for mock crab cakes (Kim O'Donnell's version), which are easy to make and turn out well, especially if you don't make the cakes too big. The result is an easy, scrumptious meal (video via the saminal's flickr stream).

You must, however, use the original Old Bay Seasoning for any mock crab cake recipe; the other brands contain even more salt, and are thus dilute and bland. (I've checked the labels of the pretenders, and they don't even come close.)

Your great reward at the table:

(Photo by Kim O'Donnel of the Washington Post.)

So, don't be too surprised if your cakes are lapped up in double quick time because everyone can't get enough of them (I know I can't)...

One--with passion--made, and makes, a difference...

The death of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy, whose tenacity over the decades in pressing to improve the lives of many (civil rights legislation, the current healthcare reform, etc.), though he hailed from a wealthy background, makes you think about the impact one passionate person can make in improving the world.

Of course, we cannot forget his sister, recently deceased Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who helped millions lead lives of dignity, particularly those with mental disabilities. One can only wonder what kind of storied dinner table conversations went on in Joe Kennedy's house that propeled so many of his children (and now, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren) to take such prominent public service roles, whether in government or out.

Photo via Wikipedia.

* * *

Until a couple of years ago, I was unaware of the achievements of the late music pioneer Les Paul, and his instrumental role (pun intended) in the development of the modern electric guitar and studio recording techniques. He played 'til he could play no more, as he had a recurring gig at the Iridium Jazz Club, until recently, sharing his talents with the world until the end. The best way to go.

* * *

Still rocking, hopefully for many years to come!

Local music legend, the godfather of go go, Chuck Brown, recently celebrated his 73rd birthday, and even had a street named after him. How many other people can claim to have invented a genre of music? Not only that, but music listened to by Washingtonians of all stripes, an alternative to the overly synthesized bull that too often passes for music on the radio and in clubs.

Thankfully, he doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon, as he has concert dates scheduled for September. Anyway, if go go music doesn't get you dancing, get your pulse taken, 'cause you must be near dead! You've got to move when you hear jams like Chuck baby...


...or the classic, Bustin' Loose...



...and the classic that's all too appropriate nowadays, I Need Some Money...

Wisdom, after more than a week of foolishness

It's safe to assume that anyone who's old enough to get Medicare has lots of time on hand, even after listening to the coarse vocal tics of Limburger. (It would also be true that such people were young adults when Medicare was passed in 1965, and have heard the original debates about that legislation. Which you'd think would be remembered by the town hall yellers who don't suffer from dementia.)

Thus, such folk have enough time to read and listen to various informed opinions, such as a great post (followed by intelligent comments) about healthcare reform from Siditty, who used to be a health insurance underwriter (the horror!), who advises us to get real about healthcare reform.

One of the (many) scary points mentioned:

..."Ask me how often a medical treatment that is considered mainstream and widely used can be considered experimental under regular insurance policies." ... Yikes!

What I don't understand is, don't these folk have children and grandchildren? Don't they want their progeny to have what they have?

All this ranting can't be primarily over health care, else why would you behave like this...

This video of Sen. McCaskill's town hall was obtained by Dem. strategist Peter Glickert. While he can't (and probably wouldn't) claim to be an unbiased source, it is telling that this more complete video was only shown by CNN. Apparently the news editors at ABC, NBC, CBS, and MSNBC (FOX goes without saying) agree with the crowd cheering at the woman dragged out of the town hall. What ugliness.

My puzzled reaction on seeing such raw nuttiness on shocking display is similar to...

Find more videos like this on MyCorgi.com

A good group gathers...

There are many good things about living in the DC area. One of them is the variety of people of various backgrounds that you come across, who even get together from time to time.

One such group met yet again the other night, at Madam's O, and, as usual, a gabby good time was had by all. (Inexpensive drinks, like beers and vodka cranberries for $2.75, tend to help this along.) What's great about DC bloggers is that there's a mix of tech types along with us non-tech types, sharing tips, advice, and straight-up silliness to go with the seriousness. Of course, because you can find at least one of anything in this area, local bloggers also write, pontificate, and bloviate about a variety of topics--or even nothing special at all (as all three readers of this site already know). Here's the most recent mix:

http://thispersonstinks.wordpress.com/ What you didn't know about HR (and sports!)...
http://durosia.com/ Unrestricted thought. Hmm...
http://www.feedbacksecrets.com/ Good tips for online businesses, such as SEO strategies, etc.
http://notionscapital.com/ Thoughts about the random craziness of politics, art, and music in DC (and elsewhere).
http://knightleyemma.wordpress.com/ About old and not-so-old movies. A nice trip down memory lane.
http://www.freeindc.blogspot.com/ About free arts happenings in DC--what could be better?
http://www.autumnrain2110.com/ Science fiction--cool!
www.joelogon.com/blog Fearless!
http://swordandthescript.blogspot.com/ Great advice for those in the PR and marketing fields.
http://jadxia.livejournal.com/ Funny and serious musings from our feisty organizer.

A good mix--and I think I'll be going back for more, if only for continued proof that not everyone in DC with an opinion is a blowhard. (Then again...)

Not for potheads only...

Now that I've trekked to the Amsterdam Falafel House and noshed on its duo of delectable fried treats), it was only logical that I next check out the Capitol Hemp store, which I did yesterday.

The store is small but substantive in the variety of items stocked--books, jeans, shirts, dresses, socks, shoes, shampoo, hemp milk (yuck!), paper--and pricewise, are on the slightly high, but not ridiculous, side. Soon, I'm sure it won't be strange to print business cards on hemp stock or letters on hemp paper, if ordinary U.S. currency is now infested with traces of cocaine! However, I wanted SOCKS, because I've heard of hemp's vaunted durability and I go through socks faster than the cartoon Tasmanian devil creates whirlwinds, but none of the soft footies available were in my size. Bummer.

Reluctant to try the personal care stuff, because I've been underwhelmed by hemp-based products like Merry Hempsters lip balm (doesn't moisturize the kisser nearly as well as other non-petroleum ones, sorry), I decided to risk some dollars on a lip plumper from Phat. (I've been told that this company is not associated with Kimora Lee Simmons.) I guess my score is now 0-2 in the hemp-based lip products, because I've noticed no more plumpness in my lips than before. Oh, and the stuff is strongly scented, like some weird mix of mint and eucalyptus, too medicinal to wear in public. Which is kind of a shame because it's very shiny, more of a lip gloss. Whoops, I noticed that no ingredient list is on this product--although someone kindly (?) placed one on this forum.

Hemp--you can't smoke this stuff!

P.S. Had I seen the website for Phat beforehand, might not have bought the stuff--being that it gives you "sexist" lips and all!

Come on, ring my bell! (Brown, why you gotta get me down?)

Recently I've made a number of orders online. While this innovation is great, frankly I'm surprised that Internet ordering has become as popular as it is, given that UPS is usually the company delivering the goods.

Don't get me wrong--the electronic package tracking system is great, but what good is it if Brown doesn't do one simple thing (which FedEx, which delivered one of my packages, did)--ring your bell (or use your door knocker)--to let you know they delivered your package? I mean, they recently delivered a package when I was at home, with the car in front, and STILL didn't ring my doorbell to let me know that it had arrived; only because I decided to track to see if my package was delivered did I find that it had been delivered a couple of hours earlier. This has happened a number of times, to me as well as to others (a former co-worker had a package delivered, when she happened to be at home, with no notice of course--I had tracked her package and let her know that the person had delivered it to her garage).

Sheesh! I'm sure the FedEx and other deliverypeople occasionally have to haul packages as heavy as anything that Brown's carriers have to, yet still are able to gently take a finger to ring a doorbell, which is probably the easiest thing any of them have to do in the course of a day.

Really, UPS, it's just this easy...



(OK, so this song by Anita Ward is the most annoyingly catchy song ever from the disco era. Still.)

Ah, cooling it...

Even a morning scene like above is not enough to cool you down with brutal temps in the 90s, like today! Thankfully, the a/c was working everywhere I needed to go, as well as at home, and I carried the trusty water bottle around. (I like to freeze three or so partially full water bottles, and fill one up with plain water to take around with me, so the water remains cold for hours. Unfortunately, this only works with Fiji bottles--others are too fragile, and most of the environmentally friendly brands are not transparent.)

After an appointment, I was in the vicinity of a Whole Paycheck, er, Whole Foods, and picked up a couple of things. I was thirsty, but wanted something a bit feistier than plain water, but not too sweet, if possible. I was a bit sickened when I looked in the beverage section, because I saw a few of those *@& vitamin "water" type drinks, or so I thought. Before leaving in disgust, I spied an unusual drink, an herbal water.

I chose the lemon verbena-rose geranium flavored herb water, which, like it says, is simply water with herbal extracts added--just enough to give it a lift without overpowering its wateriness. I like that it's not sweetened and not carbonated, because any drink with carbonation had better have some sweetness or alcohol to keep me from hurling. The presence of carbonation coupled with the absence of sweetness is why I would not be interested in the dry soda put out by a Seattle-based company, as interesting a concept as it is. Much more to my liking is the slightly sweet, mildly carbonated ruby grapefruit juice squeeze put out by Crystal Geyser, which is one of my favorite drinks, when I can find it, that is. (Last place I spotted it was Rodman's.) Ahhh....

Sad but true...

What appears to be a group of trees over a hill in the great distance is just a few trees on the other side of a mound--not so substantial after all. Even less substantial is the so-called health insurance that most Americans have, which led to this week's detailed lament on The Baseline Scenario site, You Do Not Have Health Insurance. That's right, unless you're over 65, you do not have health insurance, for any number of reasons, based on the fact that it's employer based and the health insurance market is not regulated enough. The money quote, ..."you can't count on your health insurer being there when you need it."

Michael Hiltzik's recent article in the LA Times, What's so great about private health insurance?" and Matt Miller's op-ed in the Financial Times (!!!), America's healthcare should no longer be tied to jobs," (based on the models of Holland and Switzerland) are additional wake-up calls regarding the state of health care in America; anytime a major financial publication, which are not known for their liberal ideas, is in favor of universal healthcare, it's time for even Republicans to get the memo (or e-mail).

* * *

The truth is that there's been a limited form of universal healthcare in the U.S. for decades, and it's been a raging success. (I'm not speaking of Medicare, thought that has also been a success, for the most part.) It's rare to hear of an American child falling ill to any of the former "childhood diseases," because almost all American children are inoculated against them. That's because regardless of family income, vaccinations are available and are in fact mandatory before entering public school. Thus, while there are regrettably other forms of infant and childhood death and illness that occur (often because of a lack of prenatal care), the diseases that formerly ravaged children (measles, rubella, mumps) before the age of five are no longer a scourge, because we, as a society, decided that everyone was to be protected from these diseases, and expense was to be no object in providing such protection.

Tuesday treasures...a summer edition

As much as I grouse about summer heat, even I have to admit there's a good side to this time of year. The food!

While the heat gets you down, the good fresh food puts a smile on your face. It's the time of year that makes healthy eating almost effortless. Exhibit A is the haul from Clagett, today's share.

Pictured above are squash, green peppers, rainbow lights Swiss chard (which tastes, and is prepared like, spinach), eggplant, four ears of Luscious corn (a bi-color variety), Hungarian hot pepper, couple of garlic bulbs, and two pounds of various types of tomatoes, including the uber-sweet Sungold and the unctuous Paul Robeson, which tastes as rich as its namesake's baritone. Also pictured are flowers and herbs I picked, the latter consisting of sage, mint, and basil. Time to make a tomato salad (just throwing together sliced fresh tomato with slices of pickled tomato)--sooooooo good.

Summer, and the living is easy? Summer madness...

It's summertime, and summer weather decided to make a comeback...which may not be so good, as it makes me feel like doing this...



Nonetheless, a relative has to interact with the health-industrial complex tomorrow, so along I go. I only hope I can tune out the incessant noise from cable channels, to avoid nausea from hearing their negative spin on healthcare reform while in the waiting room, with their sudden concern about the budget deficit, an invisible concern during the Bush years.

* *

Former CIGNA public relations person, now health insurance industry whistleblower, Wendell Potter, who recently testified before Congress, is sharing his views on the reforms needed now. As he relates,

..."remember this: whenever you hear a politician or pundit use the term "government-run health care" and warn that the creation of a public health insurance option that would compete with private insurers (or heaven forbid, a single payer system like the one Canada has) will "lead us down the path to socialism," know that the original source of the soundbite most likely was some flak like I used to be."

Ouch.

In case you wonder how other industrialized nations have universal healthcare coverage to their citizens and residents, and why, the website of Germany's Ministry of Health and Social Matters mentions this basic reality as a motivation..."a health care system is not a "normal" market." Think about that fact anytime someone raves/lies/spins about the Democratic healthcare reform proposal as taking away choice (as though the insurance company bureaucrats aren't already doing that).

Once more to Potter--he's none too fond of one type of health care insurance "plan" dear to conservatives' hearts, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). He mentioned that while employed at CIGNA, the company forced employees to switch from HMOs and PPOs and into high-deductible plans (euphemistically called "consumer-driven plans"), and that other companies are following this awful trend of forcing employees into these plans (almost rhymes with "scams").

Lastly, all the people smugly crowing about how wonderful their current health insurance plans are should know about all the other folk, who previously also believed that they had solid health insurance before they decided to use it, who unfortunately found out about the nasty practice of "rescission," when an insurance company decides, retroactively, that you are no longer covered for treatment! (Info from the Baseline Scenario site).

* *
Just thinking about this stupidity makes me upset. Time to chill out to the ultimate summer classic from Kool and the Gang, aptly named Summer Madness.

Comfort eats on the cheap--indie edition

(View from the Amsterdam Falafel Shop.)

Sure, most of us have been metaphorically tightening our belts, as money's been tight. But sometimes even budding chefs want to get away from their own kitchens. Of course, there are choices for cheaply treating yourself without picking up food from a national chain, which often don't care what's in their food.

* *

The hearty aroma of fried food that a family was eating outdoors lured me to the Amsterdam Falafel Shop (although I actually ate elsewhere that evening), so I decided to quaff the in-house lemonade, for three bucks. While waiting for my liquid refreshment, I practially drooled at that giant salad bar, aka toppings bar, with all sorts of unusual things to top the fried garbanzo cutlets--fried squash, eggplant, beets, as well as the usual toppers. I have to go back--fried nutritious food and french fries (to be followed with delicious lemonade)--is too much to resist forever. After all, a half pita filled with three spicy fried bean balls for $5.50--with three kinds of salads, two kinds of sauces, and assorted pickles--this could fill you up for a couple of days.

Instead, I went to the bar down the street, the venerable "dive," Madam's Organ. Of course, the music playing and the company was all great, and it's a decent sized space, but the food and drink are, shall I say, the right price, with considerably sized portions. (What else could you expect from an establishment with its famous mural?) You can mix and match with the veggie plate, so I chose coleslaw (they don't stint with the cabbage, although it's a bit sweet), fried okra (just so-so), fries (I don't care for batter-fried fries), but the homemade cornbread is awesome. All at close to $9. However, cornbread and beer sounds like a good way to pass the time while there, so that's what I'll get next time, although the macaroni and cheese is calling.

* *

To fortify myself for a rough day, I recently headed to the Teaism at Penn Quarter, this time to get lunch (usually breakfast is my meal there, of ginger scones and anxi oolong tea). The time I came was the sweet spot, early, so it wasn't yet crowded. Thus, it only took five minutes for my sweet Japanese green tea (only $2) and stir-fry seitan (just under $10).

If you're thinking there's a lot of food on that plate, you'd be correct. Spinach, macadamia nuts, chile pepper, seitan, and brown rice, in a slightly sweet and spicy sauce equals yum. Again, no skimping on ingredients (although there was slightly less spinach this time than a previous visit, but I quibble). That also means that after this delicious, filling meal, there was no room for dessert, which was a shame. Maybe next time. (I haven't had the chocolate torte and green tea ice cream in a while. Uh oh.)

* *

Haven't had pizza in a while, so a craving may be coming on. I normally make my own, but if I eat pizza out anytime soon, I want one of the fantastic pies at Matchbox again. We had the terrific "Fire and Smoke" pizza (which was preceded by tiny brioche balls as appetizers); not only is that pizza rich and smoky, with a thin crust, but the place also has a reasonable (as in, you won't fall down laughing when you see the prices) wine list.

* *

I did fulfill my craving for Caribbean food when I went to the local chain, Tropicana, to pick up the small size of the brown stew tofu, a rich, mysterious, delicious concoction which comes with rice and peas and cabbage. Did I mention that I got the small size? For under $9, it was enough for dinner for two, plus lunch the next day for one. I'm curious to see how many people the large size could feed for one dinner!

* *

Of course, you can't forget Chinese food, particularly the lunch specials, when you want good food cheap. I had reason to scoot near, and have lunch at, The Vegetable Garden in Rockville, which was full, as usual, at lunchtime. (And also does plenty of carryout business.)

The weekday lunch special includes a soup--the spicy hot and sour soup is what I always get--along with the moo shi cilantro roll, which is OK, and some type of mysterious homemade bread, which I can forgo without guilt.

I tried a new dish, the emerald bean curd, which was nice and spicy and also seemed to contain bits of crispy mushroom. As usual, tasty and filling, but again, no room for dessert, which would have been the key lime pie, if I weren't concerned that I might explode with additional food.

The only downside to eating there, if it's rainy, is that in supposedly public transportation-friendly lower Montgomery County, you have to gently wade through this muddy mess to get through the strip mall parking lot, when coming from the subway:

Um, can't one of the most affluent jurisdictions in the nation afford to put a few bricks down to make a walkway from a popular subway stop? Way to encourage people to use public transport, MoCo!

* *

Periodically, the site Wisebread hosts the blog carnival, Carnival of Pecuniary Delights--I have a vintage post there, but there are lots of other good ones there as well, so stop on by. You can never have enough info on saving money, I say.

Gone, but not forgotten...

On the anniversary of Minnie Riperton's passing (has it been 30 years?), a "duet" with Michael Jackson, "I'm in Love Again," released on her posthumous album, "Love Lives Forever."



Nothing else to say but "wow"!

Friday Follies (pre-Independence Day edition)

Oh, to relax on a holiday weekend--after the potato salad, barbecue, watermelon, corn, whatever--and before the fireworks, in a semi-blissful state...



Of course, it's easier to rest if you take steps to make it easier on yourself if having folks over. If you have some vegetarians over, break out those new Morningstar "Hickory BBQ Riblets," as they are chewy and delicious, with a nice smoked barbecue sauce (which is sweet, but not as sweet as many others, and the smokiness is a good contrast). However, for premade veggie burgers, Boca brand is the best, if you put them on a grill after microwaving to make sure they are slightly chewy on the outside. Also, oddly enough, the bulk packages of Boca burgers from Costco not only have more burgers than you can purchase at the grocery (10 in a Costco pack), the burgers themselves are noticeably larger. Because at a barbecue, more is better--isn't that the American way?

Has hell frozen over? (AMA is now open to public health insurance option.)

Didn't think I'd ever see a headline saying that the American Medical Association, which has been obstructing Americans' opportunities to obtain universal health coverage since before 1948, is now open to the idea of a government-funded health insurance option. Perhaps the fact that not only is much of the public in favor of such an option is one reason for the turnaround. Another may be that most physicians are not AMA members (surprising), and many feel like Harold J. Fallon, M.D., who perceptively notes that "Universal coverage a must for effective health-care reform."

The only problem seems that many seem to want to put the health care cart before the horse--worrying about the costs of covering everyone beforehand--instead of worrying about the present costs of NOT covering everyone, which creates some of the tragedies that America is now grappling with--from emergency rooms overflowing with patients who don't have consistent access to medical care (a situation that's a public health crisis in its own right), to millions of Americans being underinsured.

* * *

More good news is that the Senate committee working on health care reform, HELP, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, has retained the public option in its bill. Senators Kennedy and Dodd maintain that their bill will "dramatically reduce the number of uninsured_fully 97 percent of Americans will have coverage, a major achievement."(Associated Press via the Huffington Post.) A major achievement, indeed. Let's hope that Democrats maintain a spine and press for the public option, as opposed to some weak "cooperatives" bill.

The only real question is, who are the three percent who will remain uncovered by the HELP legislation?

There's No Health Care Choice Now!

In the continuing drama that is health care reform, President Obama will be holding a town hall meeting at the White House today. I hope he will be pushing for a public option in any health reform legislation that goes to Congress, in order to give Americans a real choice regarding health care, because even with the plurality of companies offering health insurance, the insurance companies, being insufficiently regulated, offer what they want, IF they want, at whatever price they want, to whomever they want.

One consequence of this one-sided market is that some companies offer, in addition to ostensibly real insurance policies, offer "limited benefit" policies, which can leave policyholders worse off than before, as chronicled in today's New York Times article, "Insured, but Bankrupted by Health Crises."

Now, there's more than one way to underinsure, and some of them involve leaving patients with fewer choices, as I found out the hard way years ago. Yes, like the couple in the article, I was covered by my employer's insurer, which happened to be Aetna. I assumed that it was regular medical coverage, so I blithely went to a highly recommended doctor at a nearby clinic near Wisconsin and Western Avenues in DC.

When I provided my insurance card, I was told that I was not covered. How could that be, I asked. I was then told that my type of coverage, I could only be treated by a doctor in my jurisdiction, MD, not in nearby areas like DC, not even at clinics which were almost directly on the MD-DC boundary like this one. Huh? Most of my co-workers also lived in Maryland (they were the ones who recommended this excellent physician), and were covered. I found out that the most recent hires (me and two others) were covered under a slightly different, more restrictive coverage plan than more senior employees at this small consulting company. Ick.

So, I sucked it up and paid for the office visit out of pocket. Thankfully, no tests were needed, or I would have been up the creek. Thus, in practice, I was underinsured. Of course, no one was told this at orientation--it's likely that the HR manager was not fully aware of the consequence of the change in policy. Nonetheless, that such a restrictive health insurance policy change was even implemented speaks to the squeeze that small businesses are placed in regarding insurance premiums, as they pay high prices for coverage because they are not in large coverage pools.

Oh please--as it is, the American public doesn't have health care choice--you are covered by an insurer your employer chooses, by a policy chosen by your employer, etc.--IF your employers offers health insurance, and even that's only if you don't have a dastardly "pre-existing condition." Anytime one of these Republican talking heads screeches that a universal health care plan would reduce patient choice, ask if the coverage of their Congressional representative is restrictive.

Members of Congress who refuse to vote for a true public option (not some watered-down state cooperatives) in the reform plan should be seen as backstabbers.



Unfortunately, one prime reason that Congressmen and women (and anyone else, for that matter) become backstabbers is the love of...

Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

Photo via Wikipedia.

It happened so suddenly, the death today of superstar Michael Jackson, as confirmed by the Los Angeles Times.

I was thinking recently about how people forget how famous he became at such a young age--the adulation was ridiculous. In the seventies, in addition to touring with his brothers, they also had a weekly variety show for a couple of years; Michael even had a Saturday morning cartoon for a while!

As a little girl, I remember seeing the Jackson Five live at the Shady Grove ampitheater (dating myself--this was pre-Capitol Center!), which had a revolving stage. Groovy!

When he went solo, his album title, Off the Wall, was perfectly named, as it reflected how much more crazy his life would become.

In the end, however, he was just like the rest of us--time is limited. So, I have to listen to one of my favorite songs from him, which I haven't listened to in a while--Time Waits for No One.

Just folks (Smithsonian Folklife Festival)

Decided to shuffle on over to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival today, if for no other reason that this will probably be the most reasonable day to attend, weatherwise, because it was not exhaustingly hot, as is usual this time of year.

There were various aspects of different cultures emphasized (although foods from each culture are available, the common cultural feature), which made for quite the experience.

At the Central and South American pavilions, Las Americas, the exhibitions tended to be mini-concerts of one type or other, which seemed to have enthusiastic participation from people of all ages.

It was cute enough, until one of the musicians announced that upcoming music would include a polka, which was my signal to leave.

Naturally, my interest was piqued when I spied this sign:

A harp? Except for Jeff Majors, I didn't know that anyone played one anymore, and certainly not at a fast clip.
Yet, here's someone playing a full size harp (in the center), accompanied by a guitar, making dance music. Talk about there being a first time for everything!

That's when I knew it was time to mozie over to the Wales pavilion, which specialized in arts and crafts, and probably has the most varied exhibitions. However, at least on this first afternoon of the festival, there was not as much music as I would have thought from the land of Tom Jones.

The craftspeople work in media as varied as slate, intricately wrought cast iron, and sculpted wood, but the one that intrigued me most was the fabric arts, as there were a couple of makers of woolen goods giving spinning demonstrations and displaying their wares.

The "poor man's" wool spinning contraption, which is used while standing.

The "rich man's" wool spinning contraption, which is used sitting down, and has more intricate controls (such as a foot pedal).

I was tickled to see colorful, stylish, and soft woolen and woven goods which hail from Pembrokeshire, the origin of my favorite type of dog--one of the companies is even named Corgi [Hosiery Ltd.)!

Extremely soft cotton socks from Corgi Hosiery Limited.

Perhaps the softest wool scarf I've ever handled. If it only were not so hot today...

The most surprising part of this exhibition was at the "Energy" exhibit, which concentrated on the historic struggles of Welsh coal miners. There was a corner with information on Paul Robeson's solidarity with Welsh coal miners. For some reason, I never knew that Paul Robeson performed in Wales (several times) in sympathy with the coal miners. (Then again, you never hear about Paul Robeson unless you seek it out anyway.)

At the other end of the Welsh energy spectrum, there was a demonstration house put up by Ty-Mawr, which uses native Welsh materials to achieve significant energy savings. The gentleman there confirmed that the woolen part of the insulation provides acoustic insulation as well, and that its type of construction also was efficient in wicking away moisture from the home (which would be a good thing for the humid Washington area as well).

Example of the layers of Ty-Mawr insulation, including the wool. The literature claimed that its insulation is more fire-resistant than most commercial insulation.

Last, but certainly not least--because I was there almost two hours, listening spellbound to some of the storytellers--was the Giving Voice exhibit, which specialized in the relationship of African Americans to the spoken word.

There was a session on the development of black radio, hosted by veteran radio host Lorne Cress Love, who was speaking with Deborah Smith Pollard, about the struggles of women in radio. Love, one of the founders of WPFW FM, revealed that most of the other founders of that station were women, which surprised me.

Also, there were storytellers aplenty at Giving Voice. Not surprisingly, the children's storytellers exhibits were well attended.

More confusing (perhaps in a good way?) was that a couple of the other storytelling sessions, Hair Stories and Beauty Tales, were attended mostly by white adults, with a few black women and other people present. Who knew that other people would be so interested in black women's hair tales?

Storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston emphasizing a point, with singer and storyteller Branice McKenzie on the right.

The world is changing faster than I thought.

Metro, Metro, where art thou?

The continuing news about the Metrorail collision, unfortunately, gets worse and worse, with the death toll at 9 people. It's chilling to think about the crash, because even if you weren't on the train, you might have been about to take the train, or know someone who regularly takes the train. That the weather was beautiful (no ice or witheringly hot temperatures to deal with), makes the trains' malfunctions all the more distressing.

As scary as the situation was for people at the collision site yesterday, I empathize a lot with the confused people in the subway station, waiting to find out what to do, what happens next, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, there's a LOT of room for improvement of communication at Metro rail stations to passengers.

The last time I was in the station when there was a problem of some type was a few months ago. Who knew what delayed the trains that morning? There was no announcement from Metro management, of course.

Now, being a longtime Metro passenger, I knew that I could get off the train and use my Smartrip card to take a bus, which I did; this enabled me to be merely a bit early for my appointment, instead of way ahead of time. How many passengers know that they can use the smartrip on the bus as well? Does Metro announce this possibility when there are major system delays? (Answer: Are you kidding?)

Unsurprisingly, the "M" word--maintenance--rears its ugly head. The fact that Metro users take it on the chin financially because there's no dedicated source of funding (other than occasionally begging Congress and local jurisdictions) means that maintenance, too often, gets short shrift. Sadly, I'm not surprised that the NTSB has found that an old train that should have been replaced is part of the reason for the crash.

Finally, can there finally be a real Metro board? You know, comprised of people who regularly USE the system. The fact that the head of the Metro board, Jim Graham (who's had his own recent troubles) doesn't regularly use the system (which, sadly, is not unusual for the Metro board), has insulted Metro passengers by implying that they are not busy people, unlike him, is a real travesty. You can't tell me that this indifference doesn't affect the running of the system, because for people who don't use the system, any problems that come up are mere abstractions, so there is no sense of urgency to repair them.

* * *

It's been a rough couple of weeks in town--the shooting at the Holocaust museum, in Columbia Heights, and now this crash. Ugh. I need to chill to this classic Roy Ayers tune, "DC City," to put me in a better mood.

Straightening out the mess that is DTV...

Yes, I procrastinated in getting a digital converter box for the one tv in the house without cable, partly because I somehow lost the $40 coupon, so I had to spring almost $50 to buy el cheapo supremo brand from Target yesterday.

Well, of course I didn't have it set up right yesterday; however, the stellar manufacturer's customer service had only one telephone line, and all the FAQs at its site refer to DVD players. Sheesh! After e-mailing the manufacturer with photos and all (but with no response), I went to the government website in desperation today; sadly, its site's instructions on installing a DTV converter were more informative than the manufacturer's! Because we've had cable for so long, I'm conditioned to think that the channel that you'd have to "set" the converter to would be 3. I was wrong, it's 4. (I'm glad I heard the option "3 or 4" from the video at http://www.dtvanswers.com/.)

Well, here's what you get with digital hookup:

The NBC affiliate, channel 4, came in clear as a bell, of course. However, I had to move the antenna around a bit to be able to get the "next" channel, Fox 5 as well.

In reality, there are a couple of "new" digital channels in between stations 4 and 5, and both of the new channels are NBC stations. One is an all-weather station, and the other is a sports channel (?!?).

However, except for the public tv stations, I'm unable to get the other local stations (you know, 7 and 9) AT ALL. Depending on how I have the antenna positioned, I can sometimes get channel 20, which I only watch occasionally anyway.

There are new stations that I now have access to; while one is a Christian jazz station (the blue writing comes on initially when you switch from one channel to another). However,

most of the new channels are foreign news stations. One is Japanese (and somehow I don't believe it's the NHK), another Nigerian, another one still is Chinese, and another for news from the UK. (But I can get BBC programs on most public tv stations, overnight on NPR, and online, as well as British newspapers online, so what's the big deal?) Another station is a "weekend" lifestyle channel--more garbage.

You have to play around with the antenna to find the optimal location, because if you receive a channel with a spotty signal, you can get a pixelated mess like the following picture...

(And this was on the station with the strongest signal, the NBC affiliate Channel 4, so you know I had to move that antenna around quick to get it clear again!) Sometimes you get a "weak signal" warning blazened across the screen when you encounter a potential channel--sometimes this means you can get the channel if you, yes, move the antenna around. (Then again, maybe not.)

More often than I would have liked, the "no signal" banner came up when channel surfing with the digital converter remote. (Yes, another remote to add to an already bursting collection.) I suppose I have the same complaints that most people have with the digital conversion--that to get really good digital tv, you will have to pay for it. (Verizon did not pay me to say so, although I wish it would.)

One good thing will probably result from this ordeal--I'll watch less tv. I think.

The rooster crows at 10:30, or 12:30, whenever--late spring harvest

Um, there are cows at Clagett, but no sheep. Hmm.

The other day was a nicer one than there's been in a while, with the sunshine and all. Thus, a great day to mozie down to Clagett Farm to help with harvest and other tasks (such as hoeing a row of potatoes, for the first time).

An interesting surprise--there was a crew from the Emeril Green show at the farm, which was on-site the entire day. For most of the day, they were at a distance as we picked the humungous and fragrant Siberian kale (with a scent mildly reminiscent of dill) and Russian kale, etc. However, the pleasant crew and the affable show host did briefly shoot us a bit when we were preparing the day's haul for customers, who pick up their shares in the afternoon--splashing and cleaning the bok choy and lettuce so that they'd be beautiful for their closeup.

After the fuss was over, it was time to settle down and pick herbs and strawberries before heading home (with plenty of kale, lettuce, and garlic scapes, as well as some asparagus). I'm always amazed at the variety of herbs that can flourish in a wide range of temperatures. For instance, the sage was as plentiful and healthy looking in the hot June sun as it was last November. However, I am more intrigued by the flowering herbs of summer, such as chamomile and lavender (pictured above), two plants whose mere appearance are simultaneously cheering and calming.

More reasons to eat your veggies!

Recently, a nice article on the health benefits of various common fruits and vegetables appeared in the Huffington Post, by David H. Murdock of Dole Foods. While he is, of course, not an entirely unbiased source, his chart mentioned a range of health benefits that I've never heard of, such as that strawberries protect against Alzheimer's, that bananas reduce symptoms of asthma in children as well as increase fat burning, and that kale counters harmful estrogens that can feed cancer (as well as increase bone density), among the foods mentioned there. (Oddly though, it seems from the article comments that some of his employees labor under the impression that papayas and pawpaws are the same fruit, when Dole only sells papayas, and pawpaws are native to the eastern US.)

Whatever. It's time to dive into a fat-burning banana right now, followed by some of those tiny strawberries I picked from the farm. Mmmm.