Dance After Dark Photography

I experimented a bit in the kitchen tonight. I started with the intention of doing my usual pan-seared chicken with various vegetables. Then I thought I’d make some kind of chicken wrap, initially to be made with tortillas. Then I decided to use the butter lettuce in the fridge instead of tortillas, but alas the lettuce is past its prime.After much deliberation over a period of hours, I settled on pan-seared chicken with various vegetables. I know, I know. I really went out on a limb.The chicken was covered with smoked paprika, lots of cumin, kosher salt, and a bit of Chinese five spice powder. The veggies wound up being sweet caramelized onions and organic baby carrots. (Does the fact that they’re organic ameliorate some of the evil inherent in plucking them from the ground before they’ve really had a chance to live?) I also chopped up some fresh (also organic but this time adult) spinach. Mix in some leftover basmati rice, and we’re good.When I picked up the chicken at the grocery store, I also picked up some Woodchuck cider. I used a bit of the cider to deglaze the chicken pan and then squeezed in the juice of an organic tangerine. Add a little chicken broth and corn starch, and voila! Tangerine & cider glaze for the chicken. Pretty groovy, if I do say so myself. Then Kimberly, mom, grandma, and I were disturbed by the first half hour of Last Tango in Paris. It’s one of those movies I always thought I should see but apparently knew nothing about. I was expecting an old B&W movie. Way off base. We gave up on the movie and switched to The Whole Nine Yards with Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Amanda Peet. The horrible accents by Rosanna Arquette and Kevin Pollack were quite painful to hear, but it was still a very funny movie.

Today Patty and I set off to kayak the 5-mile route from the Ocklawaha to Silver Springs. This is the same trip I tried to make a month or two ago, when the geography creatively realigned itself and I wound up kayaking the Lower Wekiva instead (because I know where that one is.)Guess what! Same thing!We were on track for almost half of our trip. We had directions this time. Unfortunately, we forgot a turn and wound up driving 30 minutes out of the way. In our defense, we were supposed to make two turns onto Highway 44 because it jogs along with several other roads. Because it was the same road name, we forgot that we hadn’t made the second turn. We wound up on 441 in exactly the same spot that I hit on my first attempt. After half an hour of trying to get back on track without actually backtracking, we gave up and headed back.We put in at Katie’s Landing on the Wekiva and headed upriver toward the springs. We didn’t really have an objective, so we kept going until we were tired. As we progressed, I hoped we’d hit a landmark that would help me judge the distance we covered. Eventually we hit the two big fields of water lilies that are a mile north of the Wekiva Marina. At that point, we had to turn around both because we were nearly exhausted and because we were pushing our luck to get back by sunset.The trip was fun. It may also have been the longest trip I’ve made yet. We didn’t really have any of the hair-raising experiences I seem to engender when I hit the water. All of that happened en route, apparently. I’ve already mentioned the geographic instability, but my car died 3 times before we even left Sanford. It didn’t reoccur, so I think everything should be fine. Figures that something would happen, though. It’s just out of warranty. Distance: approx 15 miles, round tripCalories burned: approx 4400

It’s been quite a while since my last update. In theory, I’ve been sorting and editing pictures from my two weeks in Arizona. In practice, I’ve been sitting here staring at the screen and not accomplishing much.

I think I took too many pictures. It’s overwhelming. I’ve gotten rid of most of the outtakes. I edited all of Stacey’s pictures. (She’s a Phoenix-based model who met up with me for a TFP shoot. Time For Prints - an even trade between photographer & model.) I’ve already printed several of my favorite shots from the South Maricopa Mountain Wilderness, Camelback Mountain, and the Tonto Natural Bridge. The problem is the remaining mass of photos from Camelback, Besh Ba Gowa, the Superstition Mountains, Globe, etc.

Tonight I’ll begin with the photos of Empty and the Pimplet. I should’ve had those done by now, so they make a good starting point. At least cute kid photos are easy to edit.

In other news, I’ve watched several movies lately. Some of them were even worthwhile. The one that stands out in my memory is Rise: Blood Hunter, starring Lucy Liu. Be afraid. This movie is a horrible waste of time. Sure, she’s half-naked in several scenes. Go for it if semi-anorexic spine protrusion is your thing.

Best line was between Michael Chiklis and Lucy Liu. She’s already become a vampire at this point, but she’s been drained of blood. She wakes up and asks, “Am I dead?” He says, “I’m not sure how to answer that.” This sucked pretty hard (no pun intended) for a movie with Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis, and Mako. I’ll blame it on very poor direction and a horrible script - both of which can be laid at the feet of Sebastian Gutierrez. Remember this name. Never watch his movies.

In an effort to revive Family Movie Night, we watched Surf’s Up and Ratatouille. I was disappointed with Surf’s Up. The kid penguins were cute, and there were some good lines. Overall, the movie wasn’t worth it. It was cliché, of course, and the dialogue wasn’t clever enough to make up for the formulaic approach. Ratatouille was better, but it’s still not on par with Flushed Away or Toy Story.

I asked my co-worker today why she had Penny Lane written on the back of whatever it is that sticks up past the edge of my desk. She explained that it’s a photo of her niece, and her name is Penny Lane. Then she pulled out a photo of her nephew.

“What’s his name? Sergeant Pepper?”

Can you imagine that family reunion? “This is my niece Penny Lane and my nephew Sgt. Pepper. I am the Walrus. Have you met my son the Carpenter?”

I hate to admit it, but Knocked Up is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. Seth Rogan cracks me up. I just stayed up entirely too late because I had to watch all the deleted scenes, and I get the feeling I’m going to watch them again before I return the DVD.

All this because it was the least unappealing thing on the shelf at Blockbuster. I got Surf’s Up because I know the family will want to see it, and I still had another movie to trade in. I’m curious, but I can’t make myself rent Black Snake Moan. It sounds too much like porn.

This is yet another example of why it can be bad to know music & lyrics as well as I do. Sometimes all it takes is a word or two to get me started. The co-worker across from me has a note tacked up. I don’t know what the front says, but the back side shows just a little above my desk. It says “Penny Lane 3/2005.” Now I have the Beatles running through my head every time I happen to glance at the paper.

So, what DO you do with a drunken sailor?

And it’s official: Not as bad as I imagine it could be, but I’m still experiencing my first real hangover.

I say “real” hangover because when I worked in the Keys for a month I played drinking games with some co-workers after going snorkeling the same day. I thought I had a hangover then, except the nausea & ringing ears stuck with me for 3 days. The doc I was working with at the time told me I’d put a pinhole in my right eardrum. Oops! Aside from that, my worst drinking experiences involve tequila and a sour stomach afterward.

More than you all wanted to know, I’m sure, but I’m the King of Over-Sharing.

What amuses me most about this photo is the fact that Jenn and I came upon a group in the parking lot of Homme as we were leaving for the night. I don’t know how the conversation started, but Michael and I were talking about the versatility and freedom of kilts. Jenn snapped this photo of Adam, myself, and Michael. As we were leaving, I swept off my hat and bowed to the ladies, to a chorus of “Oh my god he’s bald!” *chuckles*