"zoma:essence of abyssinia" written by Heidi on estrip.org

07/16/10 09:02 - 76.ºF - ID#52183

zoma:essence of abyssinia

honey wine, fellow patrons, food, members of the lesbian foodie meetup that lisa's gf miriam runs....

Permalink: zoma_essence_of_abyssinia.html
Words: 21
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 07/16/10 09:02

07/15/10 04:37 - 86.ºF - ID#52174

only took me two hrs...

to figure out how to take a picture. i got the estrip app with no problem.

Permalink: only_took_me_two_hrs_.html
Words: 17
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 07/15/10 09:06

Category: stuff

07/15/10 09:32 - 74.ºF - ID#52171

Phone advice requested!

I'm on the waiting list for the Droid Incredible, which won't ship until 7/27 :-p

The Droid X is out today. Should I go to the store and get the X and kill the Incredible order?

These are very important questions.

heidi writes at 12:03:51 07/17/10 - Comment #57366: (e:enknot) - I'm going thru battery like mad. I took the bus to NYC yesterday and the ads/website promised outlets & wifi, neither of which was true. Nine-hr bus ride, new phone, couldn't play with it all I wanted :-p I figured out pandora and google listen and wanted to enjoy them but noooooo. At least I conserved enough to meet Lisa's gf at the Port Authority terminal and didn't get lost.

heidi writes at 07:08:41 07/15/10 - Comment #57326: What music/podcast manager should i use?

(I use itunes on my windows laptop & desktop.)

heidi writes at 06:30:19 07/15/10 - Comment #57325: I don't think I want to talk about whether I've touched (e:KeithT)'s big one.

The new phone is humongous compared to my Centro. It feels like I need a big protective pillow for it.

heidi writes at 02:49:44 07/15/10 - Comment #57317: Got it!!!!! And a cute purple case. Yippee!

Apologies to (e:fellyconnelly) for being too impatient.

enknot writes at 11:09:59 07/15/10 - Comment #57313: I'm glad I have a droid for now and can wait till the perfect storm hits before buying a new one. None of these are going to do it for me (since I'm on sprint to begin with), but if I had to pick one it'd be the one with a longer battery life. Everything else on these devices is so much better than what you have if you have no smart phone I don't think it'll matter, and if you do have one it's such a huge speed improvement you'll be giddy with techy wonder too, but battery life is the little death destroys every good time. Still you can go paul style and get a 2nd battery and charge stand, which you should regardless since it's an ability your phone will have over those eye devices no matter which one you pick.

paul writes at 10:05:34 07/15/10 - Comment #57310: This dude feels the droidX wins and he is a super dork :::link:::

paul writes at 10:00:16 07/15/10 - Comment #57309: I would definitely go for the droidX. Alone, the better battery life sounds good. If you have handled (e:ekeithT)'s big one, you would know how awesome the large size is. Compared to his mine is so average size.

jim writes at 09:38:14 07/15/10 - Comment #57308: The Droid X is bigger, personally I prefer phones that fit nicely in my pocket, but the bigger screen may be appealing. Droid X and Droid Incredible have very similar screen resolutions, though.

Droid X is supposed to have a better battery.

Droid Incredible also ships with a slightly non-standard version of Android (with HTC's Sense theming), so I *believe* but may be wrong, that the Droid X will tend to get Android OS updates quicker since it's easier to release an update without HTC's issue of needing to update all the custom stuff.

Permalink: Phone_advice_requested_.html
Words: 40
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 07/15/10 09:32

Category: holiday

07/09/10 03:47 - 71.ºF - ID#52131

Infringement Festival!

Infringement Festival is quickly approaching! I'm really excited because I'm having my first art show! Please come to the opening reception/party:

Friday, July 23
6:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

464 & Blink Galleries
464 & 466 Amherst St. Buffalo, NY
between Elmwood & Grant on Amherst. Street parking.
Food, drinks, live music, (Michael Sheffield and Three Degrees of Separation), DJ, performances, including a 3-D Pop Art piece (glasses provided!).

Our favorite robot music t-shirt guy will also have an installation!

Bring friends!

infringebuffalo.org/

heidi writes at 02:24:12 07/10/10 - Comment #57247: (e:Joshua) - Infringement is a great way to check out random art, and get to know emerging artists and musicians in the city who you may want to follow later. Almost all the venues/parties/performances/installations/interactions are free/donations welcome. That also means the quality varies from great, interesting, or discussion-worthy to cringingly bad or embarrassing. But there's no commitment - you hate it, walk out until the next performer starts.

Here are some shots I took of last years' festival. :::link::: I saw three different belly dancing groups - one was pretty blah, one was a pro from Lebanon, one was a very neat combo of belly dancing and ballet.
I loved loved loved the firedancers.

I went to a performance art piece (I think by (e:angelal)?) in a 3'-wide alley here on Allen with a full video backdrop, music, costume & make up, and some toplessness, about the fate of asian elephants. It was very well thought through and professionally produced and performed. I don't know if I actually know more about the elephants' problems, but I'm definitely more aware of them. This year I think she's doing something about the fate of the ocean inhabitants.

The schedule is definitely confusing, but the online version is more manageable - you can sort by day and venue and type of thing. The geographic center of the festival is Allen West/Days Park, so just wandering there can drop you into the middle of something interesting. Last year there was a storytelling car ride and a building-it-now interactive photo exhibit.

I'm really impressed with the organizers - I haven't been to any meetings yet but the emails have been pretty organized and professional, and the website database is clean and simple to manage my info in (had to help the db developer debug a couple times :-) They're nonhierarchical, noncommercial, have no corporate sponsorships, they sell some ads and take donations.

DIVE IN! :-) (Hopefully I'll see your dive at 464 on 7/23!)

joshua writes at 12:50:03 07/10/10 - Comment #57246: Hmm, as long as I've been here I've never checked this out. I have to admit that I've not been exposed to a lot of this stuff and know very little about it, although I've always liked art and have only been exposed to limited forms of artistic expression. The lineup seems interesting but it is totally confusing to me. Maybe I should just dive in and check stuff out that seems appealing.

metalpeter writes at 09:37:59 07/10/10 - Comment #57243: July 23rd I will have to remember that. That is like 2 weeks away I would like to go. I wish you luck. In terms of if you sell anything you might. I can't really say cause I the type of art I buy isn't photogrophy really, so I don't know what gets someone to buy that. But maybe people who buy that type of art will like your stuff, who knows maybe I even will. I'm more of a drawings or photos of someplace that is somewhere else type of person. I wish you luck.......

lauren writes at 09:35:05 07/10/10 - Comment #57242: well that's very exciting! hopefully we can stop by and see it!

heidi writes at 08:09:55 07/09/10 - Comment #57236: Photography. I think you've seen everything that will be in the show because I've posted most of my best stuff here over the past two years (since I bought my camera summer '08). It'll be nicely printed and framed, and on display/for sale at an actual art gallery. (Not that I'm expecting to sell anything, but it's part of the deal with the gallery - 20 percent commission.)

lauren writes at 06:54:41 07/09/10 - Comment #57235: what kind of art heidi???!!!

Permalink: Infringement_Festival_.html
Words: 80
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 07/09/10 03:50

Category: food

07/02/10 05:52 - 74.ºF - ID#52085

Recipes

for (e:enknot)... I made these for the camping trip. Yum!

Black bean dip/refried beans

2 14 oz cans black or pinto beans
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2-3 large garlic cloves
1 large onion
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1/4 c. fresh cilantro
1+ t. oregano
1+ t. cumin
1+ t. black pepper
1+ t. sea salt
olive oil

Chop the garlic, onions, jalapeno and cilantro (use the stems, too!). Heat the oil, saute the garlic, onions and jalapeno until the onions are translucent to lightly tanned. Add the cilantro & stir. Add the cumin, oregano, salt & pepper. Add the beans (use the juice - very important or it'll dry out).

For refried beans, mash them up as you cook them. Add the tomatoes and let it all simmer down and dry out. Make sure to keep stirring so you don't scorch them. They should be pretty dry.

For the wetter bean dip, you don't have to mash as much. Add the tomatoes and simmer down until it's a consistency that works with tortilla chips.

Lentil-Chickpea Salad
(from Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East & North Africa by Habeeb Salloum, p. 117. I highly recommend this cookbook.)

Serves 8-10

1 c. lentils, washed
water (3 c. min) (broth or bullion is nice - i used a mushroom base)
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. lemon juice - that's about 2 fresh lemons worth
1 bunch green onions
3 large tomatoes
1 14 oz. can chickpeas
1/2 c. fresh parsley or cilantro
1 large sweet red pepper
salt & pepper

Cook lentils in water until tender but still intact and slightly firm; allow to cool. (Instructions for cooking lentils.) Drain.

While lentils are cooking, chop the onions, tomatoes, parsley/cilantro, pepper, and juice the lemons. Since it's a salad, you want the veggies pretty small. Put them all in a big bowl, add the chickpeas, salt & pepper and mix. Mix in the lentils before serving.

_______
I think I'm going to make this for a picnic tomorrow. I'll probably add garlic. It has a very clean, mild taste to it.

Permalink: Recipes.html
Words: 324
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 07/02/10 05:52

Category: home

06/30/10 03:39 - 67.ºF - ID#52066

we're working hard!

Permalink: we_re_working_hard_.html
Words: 2
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/30/10 03:39

06/24/10 04:55 - 78.ºF - ID#52024

Furthur in Rochester?

I've got an extra ticket for Furthur at the Highland Bowl in Rochester tomorrow night. Furthur is a Grateful Dead related band featuring Phil Lesh (bass) and Bob Weir (guitar). Doors open at 5, show is at 6:30. The tickets are general admission. I'd be leaving here around 2:30ish.

Let me know right now!

Permalink: Furthur_in_Rochester_.html
Words: 52
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/24/10 04:55

Category: home

06/18/10 12:09 - 75.ºF - ID#51943

Bear trap

Later that day...

I was on the Island taking pix, chatting with folks, and eating fresh pierogies and came across a bear trap. Mark Bowne, a former state police officer, had been having trouble with a mama bear and her three cubs getting into his and his neighbors' trash. He contacted the game warden, who brought a trap to his house. The morning of the parade, the trap caught the mama bear and the game warden brought it to the Island to demonstrate the tagging, weighing, and sexing process.

Trap

Mark Bowne

Warden Minnich prepared the tranquilizer.

Warden's truck & the trap.

Crowd gathers

Like shooting fish in a barrel?

The warden explained that he would take the bear to Taylor Run, just a little outside of town, hoping she'll collect the three cubs and scoot farther out now that she knows what happens if she stays in town. If he knew the cubs were second year, he'd take her farther away, but he didn't want to risk it. She weighed about 160 lbs, small for a female black bear (PDF).

Tagged!

For more pictures of Island Park and the Coal Festival car show, go here

Permalink: Bear_trap.html
Words: 232
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/18/10 12:09

Category: home

06/16/10 12:01 - 65.ºF - ID#51901

Blossburg State Coal Festival

As usual on Memorial Day weekend, I was camping at a big bluegrass party and came down the mountain to do stuff at the Coal Festival. Here are some parade & festival pictures. I hope you're amused. (See (e:heidi,48848) for last year.)

My cousin's ex-wife

Big flag

Pennsylvania Bucktails Civil War re-enactors

A's nephew Tyler... keep an eye out for him below.

My hairdresser's son Jason.

First Citizens National Bank began as Miners National Bank

Red Hat Society, driven by town historian Keith Lindie on his precious John Deere.

The tall redheaded boy is another of A's nephews. His niece Harley is 4th from left.

Gratuitous fire engine shot. Blossburg, Morris, Liberty, Wellsboro and Mansfield fire and/or ambulance companies were represented.

Uncle Dudley's bf Bernie hauled their float.

Uncle Dudley & the float

Tioga County does have a bus system although it's mostly impractical. The system does have some good specialized services, such as the one that picks up A's mom at their house and takes her to dialysis .

Here's A's nephew Tyler again - the parade/town is so small that participants are recycled. Ty was prom king. Great hat.

Girls softball... somehow they got to ride four-wheelers.

My client Lucia's husband Jim.

One of the Nickerson relations showing off the eggs that Gordie the Chicken Whisperer was selling (e:heidi,51745)

I bought a raffle ticket for this antique tractor cuz ya know I really need one.

The car show is a very popular event.

Harley was in the parade with her recorder-playing troupe and then she got her face painted at the festival. I love how her teeth were blue.

Just a cute picture of A's niece Tori Rose. She begged me to take her camping.

The Island is one of the most beautiful and special places I know. It's so hard to capture the beauty of it.

Wow, that was boring.

Permalink: Blossburg_State_Coal_Festival.html
Words: 380
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 06/16/10 12:18

Category: pets

06/15/10 11:01 - 65.ºF - ID#51900

Dog park

On Kristen Becker's suggestion, I took Nisha to the Barkyard before I had to take her home last week. If you need some cute in your life, that's the place to go.