Here’s my entry for PhotoFriday’s challenge for this week: Burn

This was taken when we were sailing last Friday, 9/23, on the Elizabeth River between Portsmouth and Norfolk. It was a beautiful night, even though we apparently couldn’t figure out what the race course was supposed to be. Oh well, better luck tomorrow

Update 10/1: re: the race course last week, we were right and all the rest of the boats were wrong! So the race was scrubbed and not counted. Geez. That’s a lesson to go with your gut.

I just heard on our local NPR radio station that this is Banned Books Week. So read a banned book for the cause. Here are a few to choose from:

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Any Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling

As my mom says, if you can read, you can never be bored. You never run out of reading material.

I’m submitting to PhotoFriday, for the topic Divine, this photo I took at the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colorado last summer:

I picked all this from my garden the other day (except the bananas) - the huge cucumber that was hiding behind large leaves, several green peppers, lots of red jalapeno peppers, and some basil, for making pesto for pesto pasta.

I just think that’s a beautiful picture I think I’ll submit it to PhotoFriday for the weekly photo topic Divine.

Comments?

Last year, Congress mandated that all schools receiving federal money must teach something about the Constitution to students on the anniversary of Constitution Day (the date the Constitution was signed - September 17, 1787), which is today. According to our local paper, most local schools taught something yesterday.

I think this is actually a good idea, so here are some other related links:

• The Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the Constitution
• The Federalist Papers
• About the Federalist Papers

Okay, so my friends tell me I have to let all of you reading this (how many of you are there, anyway?) know that some of my photography is being shown at the Daily Grind coffeeshop (scroll down to “Lunch”) in downtown Portsmouth for the month of September. The owner, Shannon Woodland, shows artwork by a different artist every month.

Here’s a sample of the photography:

It’s a 12th-century high cross in Drumcliffe, County Sligo, Ireland. Dan and I visited there in August of 2003. It was a great trip - we rented a car and drove from one town to the next, staying in farmhouse B&Bs, and stopping at interesting ruins along the way. The last night, we stayed in a castle. Our travel agent set it up, so I didn’t realize until we got there that the castle is a 5-star resort - it’s where Bill Clinton stayed when he was negotiating with Northern Ireland. It’s an absolutely gorgeous place.

Anyway, the photographs are for sale, so if you’re interested, stop by the Daily Grind and have a look.

Slate, an online magazine, has a fascinating article called “An Imperfect Storm: How race shaped Bush’s response to Katrina,” which asserts that, while the government’s response was not overtly racist, the plight of black people in LA, MS, and AL was not taken seriously by Bush because those states are reliably Republican and black people in general don’t vote for him anyway.

A quote:

Because they don’t see blacks as a current or potential constituency, Bush and his fellow Republicans do not respond out of the instinct of self-interest when dealing with their concerns. Helping low-income blacks is a matter of charity to them, not necessity. The condescension in their attitude intensifies when it comes to New Orleans, which is 67 percent black and largely irrelevant to GOP political ambitions. Cities with large African-American population that happen to be in important swing states may command some of Karl Rove’s respect as election time approaches. But Louisiana is small (9 electoral votes) and not much of a swinger these days. In 2004, Bush carried it by a 57-42 margin. If Bush and Rove didn’t experience the spontaneous political reflex to help New Orleans, it may be because they don’t think of New Orleans as a place that helps them.

It’s an interesting idea that seems to have a lot of merit. Florida got a lot of attention last year after its hurricanes. Some say that’s because the governor of Florida is the president’s brother. It’s possible. It’s also possible, and very plausible, that it’s because Florida has 25 electoral votes and is essentially a toss-up. Comments?

Jeez, the weekend went by so fast… Saturday morning, I had a SHRUG meeting and picnic, Saturday afternoon I made pesto pasta for a Saturday afternoon/evening pool party, and Sunday, I read and read for my two classes - Writing in Electronic Environments and PHP 101.

Here’s the recipe for pesto pasta:

Pesto Pasta

1 recipe pesto (about 1 cup)
1 lb. gemelli pasta
6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 roma tomatoes, chopped (reserve 1/4 cup for garnish)
2 tbsp. pine nuts
olive oil

Make the pesto and add enough olive oil to make it easily spreadable. Cook the pasta to al dente and rinse well with cold water. Mix pesto and pasta; add feta and tomatoes and mix gently. Top with reserved tomatoes and pine nuts.

I’m occasionally buying something from the grocery store that I’ve never bought before, just to see what it’s like and try to expand my repertoire of recipes a bit. So last week, I bought a package of rice sticks. They’re like dried, white noodles and are extremely easy to cook - you just soak them in hot water while you cook the rest of the dinner.

I found a recipe online for Basil Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Rice Sticks that sounded good, and I have a lot of basil in the garden, so this seemed like a good opportunity to use some up for something other than pesto (which we’re eating a LOT of this summer).

Basil Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Rice Sticks

Adjust the hotness of this stir-fry by reducing or increasing the amount of chili oil used.

3 ounces rice sticks (also called rice noodles), broken
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. chili oil or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tbsp. peanut oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch strips
1 each medium red, yellow and green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup cashew halves or peanuts

Boil 4 cups of water and pour over rice sticks in a medium bowl. Set aside to soften. Keep warm. Cut chicken into thin, bite-sized strips; set aside.

Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, basil, cornstarch, chili oil or crushed red pepper, and turmeric in a small bowl; set aside.

Add peanut oil to wok or 12-inch skillet. Preheat over medium-high heat (add more oil if necessary during cooking). Stir-fry onions in hot oil for 2 minutes. Add peppers; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes more or until crisp-tender. Remove vegetables from wok. Add chicken to wok; stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Push chicken from center of wok.

Stir sauce; add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return vegetables to wok. Stir to coat. Cook and stir 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve immediately over hot rice sticks. Top with cashews or peanuts.

It was very good. Add it to the “good stuff” list.

Someone on a mailing list I’m on posted a link to this article at National Geographic about New Orleans and how vulnerable it is to catastrophic hurricane damage:

Gone with the Water

Experts are quoted (knock on wood) in our local paper as saying that it’s not likely that our area will be hit with a catastrophic hurricane, because the water is not warm enough to generate a Category 4 or 5 storm. I hope they’re right.