Tonight for dinner

I’ve always been fascinated by the ‘innovations’ of cooking.  One of the most recent hot ways to put nuance into a dish is to create a ‘deconstructed’ version of something, essentially creating a mean from the sum of its parts.

Now, I’ll admit right out, that I have never had a professionally deconstructed meaning, so I may sound a little crass in my description of the process.  I did, however, take matters into my own hands and create my own spin on a popular favorite: Deconstructed ramen noodles.

In this dish, the core of the soup has been stripped down to the uncooked noodles to preserve the crunch. The chili powder on the side provides a kick that goes down well with the boiling hot water.

Kill me, please

I was going to go see the Mathematicians last night but instead, made my way over to Mickey’s to stage some death scenes out on their patio.  About 10 of us showed up in total to systematically kill each other in a variety of ways.  A few drinks later and several hundred camera clicks later, we had put together a hefty portfolio of death.

Here are the best of the shots that I took.  I still think the topiary was the best death (fyi, the star burst on the topiary spike in the last shot was a camera effect, not done in post).

An Horse at the High Noon

With no hesitation, An Horse took the stage at the High Noon Saloon last night, putting on a show with more energy and vivacity than some “full” bands I’ve seen recently.  If you didn’t look, you’d think there was more than just tiny Kate on the guitar and indie surfer looking Damon on drums.  They didn’t let up either through their entire set except to do a check-in on each other to see each was doing and Kate’s zone out in the first song coming to the self-realization that her new shirt was not only too big, but also rather art smock-like.

This was a pretty great show with a fairly low attendance.  I can only assume that An Horse is still relatively unknown by the masses and Pitchfork Media ilk.  Watch for them to come back around (Kate did mention this was their second time in Madison), but until then, check out these pictures from the show.

Appleseed Cast at the High Noon

I only heard about them last week, but quickly knew I had to make it to The Appleseed Cast show last night at the High Noon Saloon.  This group, which emerged amongst greats like Hum and Sunny Day Real Estate in their waning days, ranges in style from emo at it’s best to a mellower, post-rock styling.  Any description of their music would only be a waste of cyberspace, so I’d suggest just checking out some of their stuff yourself.

I came into the show surprised that El Valiente was already playing at 9:45, and to top it off, playing their second to last song.  Those two songs were enough to make me an instant fan.  After a short break, Appleseed Cast came out for a 1 1/2 hour set.  They said they’d be back after a short break, but then came back out to play a few more songs before suddenly being done and off stage.

Overall, it was an amazing show.  Here’s a few picks I got.

Flowers of winter

The past two days have really been wonderful with regards to the weather. Whereas my last post had a bleak outlook for the groundhog’s prediction, this weekend has changed all of that. Vinnie and I made our way out to Prairie Moraine Park out in Verona for his first day of much need, on-leash dog park etiquette training. He did a great job.

While we were doing the outer loop, I noticed these plant pods that look like flowers of winter. Deep in winter, there aren’t many colors to be seen, so it’s extremely refreshing to see natural, warm orange colors amongst the white of the snow and the browns of winter dormancy.

No signs of Spring yet

These low temperatures seem to be the norm lately, and it’s evident clearly in today’s picture of dormant buds on a tree at Cherokee Marsh.  If prognostication, coming to national spotlight again this coming Monday, isn’t “fact” enough for you, take it from these “sleepy” buds on this tree.  Phil and Jimmy locally (arguably the original prognosticator) have their reputation on the line with predicting the start of Spring.  There’s a bad record thus far this winter for warm days, or at least, the bitter temperatures have negated what nicer days we’ve had.

The bitter cold of winter

This year has seen less snow than years past, but it is definitely up there as one of the coldest….maybe.  Maybe it’s just that I go to the dog park nearly every day, spending an hour at least braving the elements.  I ventured out to Cherokee Marsh, having heard there is a decent amount of coastline to walk along.

It’s a pretty nice, larger park that does have some wooded area, a main path on fairly flat ground and access to the marsh that has some paths tread on the frozen water.  There were, however, only 3 dogs when I arrived, all of whom left right away.  There was also a hefty wind blowing on the main path that made walking into it arduous.

After one lap, we headed to Warner for some quality playtime with some other dogs.

This picture was taken along the path on the frozen marsh.  The colors from the waning sun really give credence to the brisk weather we dog owners brave in order to get our dogs a good workout.

At Play

Vinnie met a couple of dogs at the park today that he really got along and played well with, one of which was a near spitting image of him, minus one leg and a spaniel/lab mix.  They all worked each other out pretty well for about a half hour.

After they left, Vinnie wasn’t quite ready to go and ran off, so I grabbed what I knew would lure him, a stick.  Not just any stick, though, I grabbed a small log so I was sure he’d see it from where he was.  He did and ran right over and was instantly obsessed with it.

This is apparent in today’s picture.

When did it get so cold?

Those days of 70 degrees that were just around the corner only a week ago seem long gone now as the weather took a turn to the colder side.  It’s now 10:15am and the temperature is just teetering at the freezing point.  With evenings going almost down to the teens,  its’ no surpise that stagnant areas of water are already starting to ice over, like this birdbath outside of our apartment.

Proud Vinnie

What can I say, I really do spend a lot of time with my dog, Vinnie.  One of his favorite places to go is to the dog park at Warner.  He loves it so much not only because there are a lot of dogs that regularly go there that he likes to play with, but because there is a nice woods area for him to run around in.  He loves it.  He’ll run back and forth in front and behind me.

There is one area in the woods where it opens up to the water, cattails and wildlife, which is generally ducks and geese.  Their chatter sometimes piques Vinnie’s interest and he stops and stares for a while.  This shows his general curiosity with what is going on around him.

In this picture, he is looking off into the distance at some ducks.

Vinnie Gazes across the pond at some ducks that are gathered.