ESP: Eastern State Penintentiary

Beauty in the breakdown. Sometimes it is hard to find the beauty when things fall into decay. Other times the beauty of how nature takes it course smacks you upside the head and forces you to pay attention. It forces you to understand that time marches on and that the horrors of the past may never be completely erased, but they can fade over time.  There is always beauty that can be found in broken places. 

Eastern State Penitentiary  (ESP) was much more than I had ever excepted or anticipated. It was one of those places that sounded interesting and even if the trip was a total bust, I could say that I had been there. I didn’t have high hopes for the trip, even if it was my idea to begin with. I will admit that when it comes to planning things to do, I am not very inventive.  The idea to visit the ruins came from looking at a website about haunted attractions in Philadelphia. I thought it would be fun to feed my paranormal addiction and this looked like a good compromise with my husband, who believes the paranormal is all a bunch of malarky.  If anything ESP would give us an experience to remember. 

The ruins are rich with history and you could tell that the audio tour with Steve Buscemi was something that he had wanted to do. There was a vibe of energy that poured out of the narration and highlighted the voices from the past. The richness of the history seeps through your bones as the dust motes floated in the air. Around every turn was something more to see and something more to discover. I felt like I was transported into another time and the grasps of reality around me was just an illusion.  It made me wish I had brought a better camera than relying on my cell phone. It made me wish to go off an explore the dark and scary parts of life, because even in those dark shadows there is always a bit of beauty that could be found.  It made me want to come back and take another tour, and take more pictures just to make sure that it wasn’t all a trick of light. 

It made me realize that some of the most normal things can be the most startling.  There is nothing quite like rounding a corner and wondering if what you are seeing is really real and if every one else that sees it is getting those same sort of goosebumps crawling along their spine. I don’t know if Eastern State Penitentiary is truly haunted, but I do know that the icy grip of time standing still is strong there. I do know that I would never want to be there in the dark and that even if it is not haunted the corners of my mind would gang up on my and convince me that ever sound I heard was something more than it really was. I think that that constant pause and questioning is what makes ESP beautiful in its controlled decay. There is always be found in broken places, you just have to know how to look.  

Jars of Blood

I look at the jars of blood on the counter, and I wonder what I did wrong. Clearly something did not go according to plan, and now I need to figure out what to do with thirteen jars of blood. It would be funny if it were Halloween. If we were in October, then I would have the perfect prop for any sort of spooky themed party. It is March, and the jars with the deep red liquid and floating chunks of skin of oranges, don’t look very appealing and it is a little too soon be pulling out the Halloween decorations. I am still recovering from the St. Patrick's Day, Halloween can wait until we are past the threat of frost. 

Somewhere in the last few weeks, it seems that aspects of my world have evolved. If you were to ask me a year ago if I thought I would be on speaking terms with either one of my brothers, I probably would have chuckled and changed the subject. It is amazing what a funeral does, and I think it is true that when one door shuts, another one opens some where else.

You might be wondering how jars of blood and me being on speaking terms with my brother have anything to do with each other. Rest assured that the thick syrupy red substance carefully sealed inside the mason jars, may have some actually blood on in it, but certainly none of my brothers.  If there is any actual blood, it is probably mine, because I don’t own a zester. 

I have been trying to get through my cookbooks.  It has been a challenge, mostly because I am acquiring them at an alarming rate. I received a cookbook for Christmas called Food In Jars.  There was a charming recipe for Blood Orange Marmalade. I don’t really love marmalade, but I thought it would be something different to try, and Moro Oranges are in season.

It was the beginning of the recipe when my brother rang. Modern technology and speaker phone is a blessing. I was able to continue to try and zest Moro Oranges with a potato peeler and talk to him at the same time and then talk with my nieces.  There problem with the deep red juice and an potato peeler is that you can’t tell if you have cut your self until much later, because it all looks the same. I have no idea how many times I cut myself. 

The entire time of prepping the marmalade I was on the phone trying to wrangle my mind around the pink sheep that my niece was telling me about, and how if I ever found a pink sheep it is supposed to be lucky. The conversation bounced from topic to topic in a way that only an eight year old logic can understand, and I marveled at this new dimension of my life.  I am not a cuddly person,I am not always an easy person to get along with, and I build walls and some of my flaws are my best features. Sometimes I don’t even think I am a completely good person,  but I know for a fact that I not have  traded that moment on the phone for all the blue in the sky. I was completely out of my comfort zone, and not just with the cauldron oranges and syrup. It was wonderful.

After it was all over I looked at the jars of blood on the counter, and wondered what I did wrong and if the stain of Moro Oranges would ever come out of my hand, or if I was fated to look like Lady Macbeth for the rest of my life. It didn’t really matter what I did wrong with the recipe, because I know I did something right on the phone. 

Iron West

I think that my Doug TenNapel collection is growing. I didn’t even know that I had a Doug TenNapel collection, until I started writing this and realized that I have composed several reviews on variety of his works. (Such as Cardboard, Flink & Ghostopolis to name a few of the graphic novels that I have previously sampled.) It seems that the more I read of Doug TenNapel the more I come to adore the way his brain works. 

I have noticed that in his stories that there is a belief in person that somewhere inside them is a good person, and that sometimes good people just make bad decisions. I like that.  Mostly because I want to believe that I am an innately good person that sometimes makes bad decisions. I also want to believe that people can change if they want really want to change. This latest Doug TenNapel find did not disappoint.

Iron West is a graphic novel by Doug TenNapel that highlights that sometimes life will take you on a weird path, but ultimately the path you choose is up to you. This tale of the old west may roam with Indians, Sasquatches, killer robots and the occasional wingless dragon, but overall it drives home that change comes from within.  The art and the characters are so much fun to follow, that by the time you are done with the book you can’t help but smile and marvel at what a good trip it was. 

Seven Items

A friend of mine recently queried on social media, that if you were stranded on a deserted island, what seven items would you want with you? This is how I know that I over think things, because I needed to have a few thing clarified before I answered.  After all, I would want completely different things, if I were stranded on an island in the Arctic Circle than if I were stranded in the South Pacific. Also, I needed to know if I was allowed to include people in my list, or if it was just me and a bunch of inanimate objects, kind of like movie Cast Away or if I was going to be part of the crew on Gilligan’s Island and the seven item I had, was what I brought for my three hour tour.  Deciding it was probably a little of both, and that I couldn’t wish for people or animals to be with me, here is my list of Seven Items and some of my reasoning.  

1.        First Aid Kit (If I can’t have the whole kit, I would like the Ibuprofen.)

a.       I am delicate and burn in direct sun light. Being on a deserted island is not ideal for someone that has been cross breed with vampires.

b.       I am a klutz. More accurately I don’t always think before I do things, which leads me to injuring myself.

2.       Encyclopedia Britannica (If I can’t have the whole set, then possibly a dictionary.)

a.       I want the whole set of encyclopedias. Not just one or two. If I am going to be on an island, then I will have plenty of time to read. While it won’t be the most exciting read of all time, I will at least learn something.

b.       It will help me identify bugs that I would want to avoid, because there are pictures in an encyclopedia.  I don’t think there will ever be a time that bugs won’t creep me out. 

c.       Fuel. If I were absolutely desperate and could wrap my head around burning a book, then I would have fuel for a fire that is easy to stack, easy to move and easy to keep dry.

3.       Sewing Kit

a.       It doesn’t even have to be a big one, but having a needle and thread will help me make banana leaf skirts in need be, and keep all the fiddly bits from getting burnt.

b.       Embroidered banana leaf skirts could become a real island fashion statement.

c.       What if I needed to give myself stitches?

4.       Rope

a.       I think that this want self-explanatory. I might need to tie stuff up.

b.       Or use it to make a tent out of banana leaves.

c.       I am really banking on banana leaves being on this island, along with bananas.

5.       Knife

a.       Preferably a big knife that is sharp and not a butter knife.

b.       How else am I going to cut down the banana leaves without a knife?

c.       Or gut fish that I am obviously going to catch and live off of?

6.       Tea Set

a.       I am talking cups, saucers and pot.  I may be on an island, but I can at least pretend to be civilized.

b.       What if there was a tea plant on the island? I would be heartbroken if I couldn’t enjoy a nice refreshing cup of fresh brewed all natural tea.

c.  Also, if I am going to give a personality to an object to keep my sanity, I can pretend they are Disney Characters. Beats talking to a volleyball.

7.        Backpack

a.       I need something with pockets for storage.

b.       If I were harvesting banana’s I would like to carry them in a backpack.

c.       The swallows could carry the coconuts.

It was rather tempting to at liquor to the list, but it would be just my luck that I would drink all the rum, and then fall asleep in the sun. Then my allergy to direct sunlight would kick in and I would die from direct sunlight.  I have also determined that if I were any character on Gilligan’s Island, I would probably be The Professor.   

Cam… I hope you are happy, and I finally got around to answering your question in less than six months’ time, and spent way too much time thinking on this.  

Remember the Mini Sausage Roll

I was going through my cookbooks and realized that I had accomplished two cookbooks that I had not blogged about.  I thought that I would take this lazy Sunday morning, where the snow is coming down in delicate manner and try to remember what these recipes, while sipping a hot cup of Earl Grey.

A couple of weeks ago, we had Kung Fu movie day at the house. From early in the morning till the blurry hours of the night, we and several friends over to watch a large succession of Kung Fu movies, ate the foods and drank all the drinks.  I think that having the friends over is a perfect reason to experiment with finger food.  Cracking open the Best Ever Appetizers, Starters & First Courses cookbook (another book from Hermes House)  was a good start to finding something good to eat.

The recipe that I found was a Mini Sausage Rolls, and it was ridiculously easy to make, or at least I from what I remember it was easy to make. It was sausage, onion, spices and pie crust all rolled together and baked.  (I had store bought pie crust, because I still can't make a descent pie crust.)

The Mini Sausage Rolls all got consumed, which I think is a good sign that they were passable. I have been told that they turned out well, and that the ones that I rolled thin, were better than the thick rolls, but over all I don't remember.  I just know that Jackie Chan punched a lot of things that day, and everyone fell asleep in Battlefield Baseball and that I still love Kung Fu Hustle will all my heart. I might have to make this recipe again, just so that I can remember more about it and not just the movies that I watched that day.

The other cookbook that I had used was a Thai cookbook, that also is apart of the Hermes House publishing line. I am sure that my addictions to these cookbooks had a lot to do with the fact that I worked in a book store that constantly had me fixing the display and that everything looks so good and simple to make.  Pork Belly and Five Spices was a testament to something that was rather easy to make and tasted awesome.

It has been several weeks since I made this, but from what I do remember is that I had to buy fish sauce for this recipe, and that is the one thing that has never been in my pantry until this moment, and it was not the easiest thing to find at my local grocery store.  I ended up finding it in the International Section of the grocery store. I think that next time I make this recipe, I am going to go to an specialty Asian grocer to pick up the ingredients.

The one thing that I can say about this recipe is that the finished product did look like the picture. Very few things that I make ever actually look like the picture. The fact that this one did, just proves how easy it is to make this recipe. I am looking forward to trying other recipes in this book, and if you ever see a copy in the bargain bin, I would pick it up.

Mine

How it is supposed to look