radiopeter

There’s a pot of applesauce bubbling on my stove right now. The heady aroma of simmering apples and cinnamon is driving me up the wall, but it’ll be another 20 or 30 minutes before it’s ready.

It smells like fall. And like home.

Apples and cinnamon are definitely THE fall smell in my mind. When I was younger, we’d visit an apple orchard called Bell’s in Lake Zurich to pick-our-own. I remember the dusty smell of the leaves on the cool air that blew between the even rows of trees. Deep inside the orchard there was a fermented tang in the air, the scent of fallen apples on the ground. And occasionally, even thought I wasn’t supposed to, I indulged in a crispy apple, right from the tree, cold and sweet.

The main building of the orchard had a store full of every apple product imaginable. The best parts were the fresh sugared donuts, pressed cider, and bottled honey produced on the farm. I think I tried chewing honeycomb for the first time at Bell’s. I can still picture the sunlight shining through the jars of honey, spilling golden light all over the old wood floor.

The cider pressing machine was my favorite piece of machinery ever. Well, it wasn’t really the press that was the impressive part, it was the gizmo they used to wash the apples that fascinated me. Loaded in one end, they travelled around on a conveyor to get washed by water jets and eventually made it into the press. It wasn’t working every time we were there, but the few times I did see it in action, I was mesmerized. I wished I had that conveyor at home, so I could ride it and get washed, like the apples, instead of taking a bath.

Somehow we transported bushels of apples, gallons of cider, and dozens of donuts back home and stored them safely away in our basement ‘fridge. Mom would, at some later point, pull out her largest stock pot and we’d peel and chop the apples for what seemed like hours. Into the pot they went, and then the cooking began. Secretly, it was never the applesauce I wanted. I just liked the perfumed air in the house.

One of the first things I did when I moved out on my own was to cook applesauce. It wasn’t even fall, but I needed to fill my new place with that scent to make it home. I made way too much and didn’t eat most of it. My roommate at the time thought I was crazy, but for a couple days that comforting smell lingered in the air.

A number of years ago I read that Bell’s orchard closed and was converted into townhouses. I remember crying because I’d wanted my kids to experience that place. Obviously I don’t have children yet, but just the thought that I couldn’t pick apples, chew honeycomb, and watch the conveyor belt with them made me sad.

Often I’ll see one of my cats doing this move. I walk into the room, they’re licking their bits and pieces (yeah, I’m jealous) and they look at me in that funny-yet-evil way while clutching their foot.

Eebil kitteh yowgah ah finks…

This morning it was cold enough to debut a scarf that I finished knitting a few months ago. It’s made of variegated wool that travels through red-black-green-black-grey-black. The variegation is a long travel so it’s perfect for a pattern like Karen Baumer’s Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf.

The pattern is easier than it seems. You basically are always using the knit stitch (no purling!!) to short-row on the bias, stitching back and forth to build the triangles that make up the scarf. At each end of a row, you either increase (knit into the front and back of one stitch) or SSK (slip-slip-knit) the old triangle to the new one. Once you make it through the first section, you’ll automatically know what you have to do just by reading the stitches on your needles. There is an alternate ending at the bottom of the pattern that I recommend. The finished end looks more balanced that way.

I’ve actually just finished another scarf in this pattern with several scraps of yarn in many colors, one for each triangle, and I’ll post pics when I have them. But for now, scarf weather is here, and I’m happy.

David Sedaris recently wrote a piece in The New Yorker called “Undecided”. As usual, it’s brilliant, and my favorite passage, laced with his signature brevity and depth, is below.

While commenting on the talking heads in television that claim to be unable to decide which candidate they like, Sedaris muses:

….I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?

Exactly.

http://www.chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com/

Dr. Pepper said they’d give a free Dr. Pepper to everyone in the U.S. when Guns n’ Roses finally releases their 17-years-in-the-making-album Chinese Democracy arrives. I’ll remind you on Nov 23. Just giving you a head’s up now.

Today someone asked me if I had a post that showed all the randomly chosen headers here on radiopeter, and I didn’t! So, here are the four new ones featuring photos by Olivia Leigh of my sisters wedding. The rest are after the jump.

(more…)

If you haven’t already voted and need to do your homework on the judges in the November 4th election (I certainly do) you can preview your ballot on the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago website.

Do check our your ballot BEFORE entering the polling place, as the judge retention can be an extremely tricky situation. There are 68 on the sample ballot I have, and I need to do some serious homework between now and November 4th.

Also, http://www.voteforjudges.org/ can help you understand a bit about the judges on the ballot. Most important about this site for me is the review from the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago. Their opinions on the judges matter to me.

Not sure how many of you have heard Barbara Jordan’s 1976 DNC Keynote. I feel that everyone needs to listen to this speech and reflect. Enjoy.

This may just be my new favorite LOLcat. Thankfully my cats don’t have a paper fetish, but my sisters felines do…

Today marked the final day of my current boss at the bank. In my mind, the words of Blind Melon’s “Change” are ringing truer than ever before.

And as we all play parts of tomorrow,
Some ways will work and other ways we’ll play.
But I know we all can’t stay here forever,
So I want to write my words on the face of today.

I’ve worked in the corporate sector for a long time now. I’m 31 and have almost ten years under my belt at my current company, plus a few more from my time at Walgreens. I’ve had many bosses, and having had the ultimate boss, my self-employed, self-made father, I know a bit about what makes a good manager and what makes a bad one. The good and the bad are easy to spot from a mile away. You just have to know where to look.

Trust me. When you find a good one, you don’t want the relationship to end.

A good boss teaches; I’ve learned. A good boss lets go; I’ve done a ton on my own. A good boss supports, protects, and makes it possible for business to move, never forgetting that there are people behind the motions of the business oceans. I can honestly say I’ve never felt like there was anything I couldn’t get done with him around. No words, thoughts, actions, or subjects were ever taboo.

A far cry from the so called “leaders” of my past at the bank. I could write volumes about the past stooges I worked for, but I won’t. I’m actually happy to have hit the lows with them. At least now I know what I don’t like in a boss.

An amazing parallel is that he has become a good friend. Where I once introduced him as my boss when we were outside of work, now I only introduce him as my friend. It’s a double plus. Over time we’ve learned to weave our social lives into our work lives without batting an eye, something I rarely, if ever, engage in with other people at the bank.

Not only is my great boss moving on, a good friend is moving on too.

So here I am. Writing my words on the face of today because I know we all can’t stay here forever. (damn I like those lyrics) I’m gonna miss him somethin’ turrible.

To close, I’ll drop some words from another song that seems humorously apropos and represents some of the greatest producing Quincy Jones has ever done. Plus, I know he’ll get a kick out of them when he reads this post…

Cause there may be times,
when you think you lost your mind.
And the steps you’re taking,
leave you three, four steps behind.
But the road you’re walking,
might be long sometimes
You just keep on stepping
and you’ll be just fine!

Ease on down,
ease on down the road!
Ease on down,
ease on down the road !
Don’t you carry nothing
that might be a load.
Come on!
Ease on down,
ease on down, down the road!

By way of Eli Cooks, Very Good Taste thinks the 100 things below should be tried by every omnivore. In bold are the ones I’ve tried.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (Hmm. I’ve had Alligator, does that count?)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (*sigh* not yet.)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (I was curious. NEVAR AGAIN!)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (had to Google it. Sounds divine!)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (I prefer Mango)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (When you could still smoke at Harry Carry’s)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (My Dad’s restaurant had the BEST Oxtails on Tuesday’s)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (I ate a chocolate covered ant and a fried grub)
43. Phaal (Googled this too. Where can I get it!)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (No taste. Seriously. Mildly numb lips and citrusy sauce, but no taste)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone (Crunchier than you’d expect)
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV (Chimay anyone?)
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (With eggs. Mmm.)
63. Kaolin (this is the stuff in Kaopectate in the 80’s right?)
64. Currywurst (On my to-do list)
65. Durian (No thanks.)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (Chitlins. Say it chit-lynnes)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost (yay brown cheese!)
75. Roadkill (seriously? No thanks)
76. Baijiu (*hic*)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail (hated it!)
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (White Lolita is my fave)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (In ‘nugget’ form. Delish)

I’d add a few more.

101. Natto
102. Any fruit right off the tree, no washing
103. Freshly killed ‘n cooked chicken
104. Chicago Style Pizza
105. Tamarindo or Arroz Paletas, from a street cart with bells
106. Kokoretsi
107. Pierogi
108. Ouzo
109. Spanakotiropitakia
110. Octopus, beaten, air dried, then grilled

Good times and bum times,
I’ve seen them all and, my dear,
I’m still here.
Plush velvet sometimes,
Sometimes just pretzels and beer,
But I’m here.

For whatever reason, in 2003, this blog was born. My very first entry was posted on September 11th, an eerie day for many folks. I was still a DJ, still friends with people who are now part of my past, and my head was in a completely different place.

Happy Belated Fifth Birthday Radiopeter.com!

The last five years have seen me through many changes in life. I went from my 20’s to my 30’s. I stepped into and out of the queer media. There’s been hook-ups, break-ups, hangovers, parties, deaths, births, weddings, podcasts, videos, and every emotion possible, plus maybe some new ones. Through it all, my blog has been there to record most, if not all, of the details. In so many ways it’s become a trusted friend. But at the end of the day, it’s just a window into who I was, and how I got here.

I’ve been to paradise. And actually, I’ve been to me.

I still advise those close to me not to read my blog. There’s usually no filter when I post. Some people have interpreted what I’ve written to mean I’m dumping them. Others have demanded I delete certain things. One a$$hole went as far as calling a lawyer because of the “slanderous nature” of what I’d written, citing many entries that had absolutely nothing to do with him. The occasional gentleman caller has even read between invisible lines to find things that aren’t there.

Radiopeter.com is like Laura Palmer’s diary, sans violence. If you really want to know, then read it. Otherwise, caveat emptor. I haven’t changed past entries, and I won’t. ’nuff said.

I am blessed and thankful that people drop in and read my selfishly narcissistic little corner of the internets. As much as I write/say/preach everything on here for me, I hope that the occasional reader benefits from the things I’ve recounted. Even if it’s only a giggle now and then.

And in the most Ally McBeal of ways, as I’m apt to do, I’ll leave you with a fantastic Vonda Shephard song (the original Ally McBeal songstress), Searchin’ My Soul, that sums up the last five years here on Radiopeter.com. Here’s hopin’ for another five!

I’ve been down this road walkin’ the line
That’s painted by pride
And I have made mistakes in my life
That I just can’t hide

Oh I believe I am ready for what love has to bring
Got myself together, now I’m ready to sing

I’ve been searchin’ my soul tonight
I know there’s so much more to life
Now I know I can shine a light
To find my way back home

One by one, the chains around me unwind
Every day now I feel that I can leave those years behind

Oh I’ve been thinking of you for a long time
There’s a side of my life where I’ve been blind and so…

I’ve been searchin’ my soul tonight
I know there’s so much more to life
Now I know I can shine a light
Everything gonna be alright

I’ve been searchin’ my soul tonight
Don’t wanna be alone in life
Now I know I can shine a light
To find my way back home

Baby I been holding back now my whole life
I’ve decided to move on now
Gonna leave all my worries behind
Now I know I can shine a light
To find my way back home

You should watch this if you want to know what is going on.

1. Watched tons of television. I’ve decided Alex Guarnaschelli’s Cooking Loft is just okay. I don’t like her camera interactions (way too cheesy) but I’m going to try her pizza-in-a-cast-iron-skillet recipe this week. I think she should use the subtle humorous mode that we see whenever she judges Iron Chef. It feels like she’s aiming for a Nigella-esque liberal sprinkling of adjectives. I do like the way she talks technique, but I haven’t learned any new ones yet. It’s her recipes I’m after…

I HATE Ted Allen’s Food Detectives. Is he deaf? Why is he shouting at the camera all the time!

2. Got a great haircut, which we are officially dubbing ‘The Aviator’, formerly known as ‘The State Trooper’.

3. Went to a bar called Pony for my friend Teddy’s birthday. I’d never been. It’s an interesting scene. Met a fun group of folks, including…

4. …a fantastic guy who shares the name of a famous Concrete Blonde song. Looking forward to seeing him again. Get this; he went to culinary school for fun. *melt*

5. Did mountains of laundry. Have mountains more to store. Summer to Fall wardrobe conversion has officially begun.

6. Used my mattress warmer for the first time this season. The cats were happy.

7. Played a bit too much Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past on my Nintendo DS. It’s a GBA classic. I love that the DS plays them.

8. Have been battling with several arachnids the size of nickels that are attempting to play Kingdom of Spiders across my back door. Taking the trash out should not involve a face full of cobwebs and a jittery bug scurrying down my pant leg. Eww.

9. Discovered my absolute favorite new Maggie Smith movie. It’s called Keeping Mum and she is so intensely funny I’m certain I annoyed my neighbors with my belly-aching laughter. Picture Kristin Scott Thomas, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean!) and Patrick Swayze in the English countryside. Now add in Maggie Smith as a meddling yet happy housekeeper with a dark streak in her past and present. It’s one of those black comedies that I could watch again and again, and Smith’s performance is outrageously good.

10. Made bread pudding. And I eated it all. I no sharze wif nobody. *burp*