Blue Nights, despite some lovely writing, is finally a closed loop, a personal missive from a grief-stricken mother to her dead daughter that fails to make enough space for the reader to work as literature.
Author Archives: Theryn
I needed words
I needed words because unhappy families are conspiracies of silence. The one who breaks the silence is never forgiven. He or she has to learn to forgive him or herself.
Spicy Potatoes & Fish
I didn’t take a photo. Too busy eating. Will have to make again 🙂
Spicy Potatoes
So, the secret to crispy on the outside, soft on the inside oven-fries or homefries or hashbrowns or what have you, is pre-cooking the potatoes. Chop the raw potatoes into the shape/size you want then either: microwave or parboil them. The length of time will depend on the size of the potato pieces. I don’t use the microwave for much (mostly defrosting & reheating some kinds of leftovers), but it does work well for precooking potatoes w/o creating extra mess or worrying about overcooking them. Essentially you want your potatoes to be pokeable with a fork, but still firm (not mushy/falling apart).
For this recipe, I chopped two medium-size Yukon Golds into ~1/2-inch square cubes.
While potatoes are precooking, make the spice mix:
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
zest of 1/2 a lime
sea salt
…or you know, whatever you like.
Toss potatoes with 1/4 cup coconut milk. Once coated, sprinkle with spice mix and toss until the spices are evenly distributed. Drizzle with olive oil and toss one more time. Place on oven-proof dish or baking sheet. Bake for 45 min @ 350F, tossing once or twice during baking time.
Perfection! Crispy, spicy, delicious!
Fish
Once the potatoes are baking, prepare the fish. Place fresh cod on parchment or foil. Smear with red curry paste, drizzle with juice & zest of 1/2 lime and 1/4 cup coconut milk. Wrap into a packet. Let sit until there is 10-15 minutes of cooking time left on the potatoes, then place in oven, and continue baking both fish & potatoes for the remaining time.
ETA 12.01.09: Photo!
Fear Narrative(s)
I’ve always felt that adolescence during the Cold War was like adolescence on steroids. It’s hard enough to be a teenager and deal with the difficult realization that the grown-ups don’t know what they’re doing; but when the grown-ups have nuclear weapons aimed at each other…then it’s a whole different ball game.
…
It’s fascinating to talk about this stuff with college freshman nowadays. They’ve grown up in the shadow of 9/11; that’s the Fear Narrative that’s been thrust upon them. A part of me thinks that it’s worse, as it actually happened; it’s not as nebulous as what I grew up with. Another part of me realizes that we survived 9/11, that we could survive another one if we had to. Thermonuclear war was supposed to vaporize all human life in an instant.
2: Death of a Department Chair
Death of a Department Chair by Lynn C. Miller
If I recall correctly, this was an actual remainder table book, which I picked up because it was a mystery set at a university, and thus I thought it might be amusing. It seemed apropos to read it when I finished my comps.
Not the worst book I’ve ever read, but otherwise this review is pretty accurate. It was a slog. I did finish it, by reading one chapter at a time. It suffered from many, many beginning writer problems. The characters were introduced with police blotter descriptions that were supposed to show how different they were, when in fact, they were indistinguishable aside from names–I did a lot of “who?” *flip, flip, flip* “ohh.”
Also not a fan of the experimental pov switches. A better writer might have been able to make this work, but it did not work here. The “journal entries” were totally unrealistic. I could continue, but you get the idea.
Miller is a theater professor, which helps explain some of the book’s issues (especially the lack of characterization). The story may have worked better as a play, since actors would be able to add nuance to the characters.
For balance, here is a more positive take.
1: The Line Painter
The Line Painter by Claire Cameron
This one came from the VPL Book Sale this spring. Here’s proof:
I picked it up because I remembered Cameron’s name from Bookninja (moment of silence), where she was a contributor. Ok, weirdly, as I go to Bookninja to get the link, I see that the last thing posted before its demise was this:
Do you think that might have influenced my purchase? I think it did! Anyhow, here’s the book’s page on Cameron’s website, with description, excerpt, video interview, and links to reviews. (Yeesh, she’s making this too easy ;))
I’d describe The Line Painter as being very movie-like. It’s focused: there are just a few key characters, a few settings. Minimalist, in a good way (you’re focused on what’s happening, not keeping track of who’s who). It’s suspenseful, but not overly plotty. The main story plays out over a few days, but with flashbacks to fill in the backstory.
I read it while visiting my family in the Okanagan in July. It actually turned out to the be the perfect read. I read it over several nights of before-bed reading and finished it within the week (just in time to go back to comps reading—gah, let’s not dredge that up ;)). That The Line Painter was able to grab and hold my attention at a time when my brain was being pulled in multiple directions gets it two thumbs up (or 4 stars at Goodreads). Definitely look forward to her next novel.
Toasted News
The September issue of TCLJ — Toasted Cheese 11:3 — is here. Go. Read. 😉
And… I think I forgot to mention my last Absolute Blank article, so here it is: “Running a Literary Journal, Part 1: Choices.”
Also, we’re having a mini-NaNo-warmup challenge at the forums — a 5k short story — and if you complete the challenge & post your story you get a critique from me, the elusive Beav. Value: priceless. It’s not too late to join! Here’s this week’s thread.
A single rich document
The codex is built for nonlinear reading – not the way a Web surfer does it, aimlessly questing from document to document, but the way a deep reader does it, navigating the network of internal connections that exists within a single rich document like a novel. Indeed, the codex isn’t just another format, it’s the one for which the novel is optimized. The contemporary novel’s dense, layered language took root and grew in the codex, and it demands the kind of navigation that only the codex provides.
Macaroni & Cheese
This week at TC, our Daily Writing Thread (which is actually a weekly thread with daily updates) somehow digressed into a discussion of mac & cheese. Which got me wondering if I’d ever posted my recipe. I searched and it doesn’t look like it, so here it is:
3½ cups macaroni
¼ cup butter
3 tbsp flour
¼ tsp salt
1¾ cups skim milk
1 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
2½ cups old cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups for cheesy mix, ½ cup for topping)
1 cup bread crumbs
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Boil macaroni for 7 minutes; drain.
- While macaroni is cooking, stir together butter, flour, salt, milk, 2 cups cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard in a large bowl. (It’ll be lumpy/imperfectly combined. Don’t worry about it. The next step will take care of it.)
- Add macaroni and stir with wooden spoon until butter and cheese are melted and cheesy mix is completely blended.
- Pour into 7×11 baking dish. Top with bread crumbs and remaining cheese.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Recipe adapted from The Absolute Beginner’s Cookbook.
It’s Marshall McLuhan’s 100th bday…
…today (or would’ve been if he hadn’t died in 1980!).
I just want to say, ahem, when I chose media ecology as one of my comps areas, no one was talking about Marshall McLuhan. Now? He’s trending. Yes, I am prescient. 😉
This video is awesome. (It’s from a CBC program called Explorations and aired May 18, 1960.)
(via The Georgia Straight)
The Remainder Table 