~~She'll loan you her toothbrush, She'll bartend your party~~
EMAIL ME! -- pesadidas[AT]yahoo[DOT]com
HELP ME GET A FREE PHOTO iPOD...PLEASE!!!
Friday, April 30, 2004
A POET, AND DIDN'T KNOW IT
| As I was browsing around and reading my daily blog reads, I noticed this little tidbit over at Mac's place: April is National Poetry Month. I knew that. I did not know, however, that today, the last day of April, is also Poetry on Your Blog Day. And, so, I give you one of my favorite poems... The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door — Only this, and nothing more." Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; — vainly I had tried to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow — sorrow for the lost Lenore — For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore — Nameless here for evermore. And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me — filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating "'Tis some visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door — Some late visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door; — This it is, and nothing more." Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, "Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you " — here I opened wide the door; — Darkness there and nothing more. Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!" This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" — Merely this, and nothing more. Then into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, Soon I heard again a tapping somewhat louder than before. "Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice; Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore — Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;— 'Tis the wind and nothing more!" Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not an instant stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door — Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door — Perched, and sat, and nothing more. Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore — Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the raven "Nevermore." Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly, Though its answer little meaning — little relevancy bore; For we cannot help agreeing that no sublunary being Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door — Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door, With such name as "Nevermore." But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing further then he uttered — not a feather then he fluttered — Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before — On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before." Quoth the raven "Nevermore." Wondering at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken, "Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster Followed fast and followed faster so when Hope he would adjure — Stern Despair returned, instead of the sweet Hope he dared adjure — That sad answer, "Never — nevermore." But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling, Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door; Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore — What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore Meant in croaking "Nevermore." This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core; This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er, But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er, She shall press, ah, nevermore! Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Angels whose faint foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor. "Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee — by these angels he hath sent thee Respite — respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore; Let me quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!" Quoth the raven "Nevermore." "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! — prophet still, if bird or devil! — Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted — On this home by Horror haunted — tell me truly, I implore — Is there — is there balm in Gilead? — tell me — tell me, I implore!" Quoth the raven "Nevermore." "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil — prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above us — by that God we both adore — Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore — Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore." Quoth the raven "Nevermore." "Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting — "Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken! — quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!" Quoth the raven "Nevermore." And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted — nevermore! -The End- ¶ Ξ PDawg Composed at 1:41:00 PM |
Monday, April 26, 2004
WELCOME TO KITCHEN STADIUM
| Ok, ok...so maybe it wasn't really Kitchen Stadium, but it was the house of the Iron Chef himself, Masaharu Morimoto.
This weekend, as a belated 30th birthday celebration, I made reservations for myself and 2 friends to have dinner at Morimoto in Philadelphia. Well, the dinner was quite concievably the best dinner I have ever had in my entire life. Honestly, I have never tasted food like that before, nor have I ever recieved "the treatment" like that. Let me start off by saying that when the cab driver pulled up to the restaurant, the Morimoto people opened the cab door and the door to the restaurant. Walking in, there were people to hold every door, and every single person that worked there was incredibly pleasant and helpful. They were awesome. Our server was a super nice chick who was VERY helpful to us, especially since it was our "first dining experience" there. We ordered a bottle of water, and there were dudes who would come and fill up our glasses after we took like 3 sips. We also were overjoyed to find that the $200 gift certificate we had was totally usable (despite the fact that it was past the expiration date), and so, we decided "what the hell" and we ordered top of the line. We started with a bottle of wine from a price range that we would have never ordered otherwise. The Suz and I ordered the OMAKASE (pronounced oh-ma-KA-say), or chef's choice sampler, which is an 8-course meal, prepared at the whim of the chef. It comes in 4 variations of pricing: $80, $100, $120, or, as our server put it, "the sky's the limit." We decided that we would go all out and we each ordered the $120 omakase. Brian ordered the $50 sushi combo, and got 16 of the biggest pieces of sushi I have ever seen, in an amazing presentation on a long wooden board. He actually could not finish it, and that was with the Suz and I each tasting one of his rolls. I tasted one of the spicy tuna rolls on his sampler, and I honestly have never experienced anything like that before. The spiciness was incredibly subtle, and rather than the heat being the first thing I tasted, it was actually the last sensation I noticed when I ate that roll. It was a very slow heat that built up in my throat, but not in a harsh or uncomfotable way. It was amazing. Ok, now for my meal... Course #1: Toro tartare--a little mold of ground up toro tuna with fresh ground wasabe and caviar in an amazing soy sauce (AMAZING!) Course #2: 3 raw Kumamoto Japanese oysters, on a bed of ice, each with a different salsa Course #3: 4 slices of yellowtail, seared in hot oils (AMAZING!) Course #4: a scoop of wasabi ginger sorbet to cleanse the palate before the hot dishes (like nothing I have ever tasted before) Course #5: Lobster 'epice', or 8-spice lobster--a whole half lobster--tasted like it was barbecued--cooked PERFECTLY Course #6: Steak filet and fois gras layered on a half of a yam, cooked drizzled with hot oils (UNBELEIVABLE) Course #7: Sushi--about 8 pieces of sushi, with 8 different fishes, including salmon, needlefish, eel, yellowtail, and toro tuna. Hands down, the best sushi I have ever had. Course #8: Chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sorbet for desert. Unbelievably decadent, and a perfect ending to the meal. Honestly, I have never ever in my life experienced anything like that before. It truly was an amazing dining experience. Everything that was brought out to us was explained by the server, including preparation and ingredients. Our bill was almost $500, but it was well worth it. It was unbelievable. The only downside to the whole evening was that Chef Morimoto himself was not present. Oh well...guess I will just have to go again sometime... *grin* ¶ Ξ PDawg Composed at 1:43:00 PM |
Sunday, April 18, 2004
HAPPY BIRFDAY TO ME
| Yay! I'm 30!
If you read the previous post, I had not planned on doing anything scintillating for my big day. I just wanted to go out for a quiet dinner with my 2 best peeps. They surprised me. We got to dinner, and there in the dining room were colleagues from school and friends from home. What a great time. Totally surprised. I love my friends. *grin* ¶ Ξ PDawg Composed at 10:53:00 AM |
Saturday, April 17, 2004
YOU'RE FIRED.
| Gosh, don't we all wish this could be true?
Check it out, and pass it along, yo. ¶ Ξ PDawg Composed at 12:52:00 PM |
Thursday, April 08, 2004
AND, IT'S OFFICIAL.
 You are a GRAMMAR GOD! If your mission in life is not already to preserve the English tongue, it should be. Congratulations and thank you! How grammatically sound are you? brought to you by Quizilla But, hey, we knew that all along, didn't we? ¶ Ξ PDawg Composed at 11:08:00 PM |
Sunday, April 04, 2004
HEY, GIRL...IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY
 Yes, it's true I have not posted in a while. But, as usual, I have an excuse. March Madness. It has been an amazing tourney on both the men's and women's sides, and I have been consumed by this.I have since recovered, and I am now able to take the time to post about the excellent Garrison Starr show that I attended on Saturday, March 27th. The show was at the NorthStar Bar, and disappointingly, not more than 30 people attended. On one hand, it's a rare treat to be able to (quite literally) sit directly in front of a musician whose music you have been listening to for the last 7 years and shout out requests, and have her play them. On the other hand, it's a terrible shame for her because she is such an amazing talent that is going unnoticed (at least here on the east coast). The great thing was that there were some real Garrison fans at the show because the requests being yelled out included some old G*Starr--songs from her first album, "Eighteen Over Me" which is now out of print. And, of course, G*Starr didn't disappoint. She sang all the requests and a majority of the new songs from her latest album, including the hidden track. One of the best things about going to see Garrison is the amount of conversation she brings to the stage. Going to a G*Starr show is like sitting through an episode of VH-1's "Storytellers." I love hearing about where a song came from, or what inspired a song, and Garrison is always good for a few stories--including the one about how she played an entire show with a wad of toilet paper stuck in her ass and didn't know it until afterward. In this case, three of my favorite songs from the new album were explained. "Hey, Girl," which might be my favorite song from "Airstreams & Satellites" is a song about Garrison's realization that she has a problem with anxiety. She said it was written on an airplane to Chicago on a gorgeous clear day of perfect weather, and the pilot told the passengers to "sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight." At that moment, she knew she had anxiety issues because she was worried about what the pilot wasn't telling them. So, on that flight, she wrote a song to herself, and it became "Hey, Girl." Another excellent song on the album is "Sing," which she described as her answer to the screwed up world we are all living in at the moment. She talked about how she can't make heads or tails of all that is going on currently, and because things are so out of whack, she started to ask herself what she could do to make a difference. The answer that she came up with is that she will do the only thing she can: sing. She will keep writing her songs and keep going out there and singing for people, and that's all she can do. I, for one, am glad. Perhaps the greatest moment was her introduction of her hidden track, "Inside Out," which is a story of a gay woman coming out to her mother. Garrison said that "it's not a song about sexuality. It's a song about how God loves everyone...and so, even YOU, President Bush--even though you are a racist bigoted prejudiced jerk who thinks God only loves rich white old men like you--yes, God even loves you." That is why I love her. Well, that and the fact that she ALWAYS chats with her crowd after the show. I love talking to her. And, she signs cd's, too. I bought 2--even though I already had it--and gave them to my firends. Please, people, go out and buy this woman's cd. It is soooo worth it. And spread the word about her. She is an amazing artist and deserves to make it HUGE. I shall leave you with yet another set of crappy camera phone pictures (because I forgot my real camera). Enjoy.  
¶ Ξ PDawg Composed at 11:16:00 PM |
