April 2007 Archives

Two people, both very dear to me, went through hell together. From out of that torment, they formed a bond, and acquired this recipe. Today, I toast them and share it with you:

Jade Monkeys
makes 2

3 oz. Midori
1 ½ oz. Bacardi Limon
6 oz. Pinapple Juice

Fill shaker with ice, add ingredients, shake until well mixed and well chilled. strain into two martini glasses. Enjoy.

Unrelated tidbit: drinking in the middle of the day wearing nothing but a bathrobe can make one feel a bit like Hugh Hefner. This is better than the alternative.

Related tidbit: don't let the froofy girly drink exterior fool you. This will fuck your shit up if given the opportunity. Probably because they taste like candy.

Two thoughts on taxes. (That I meant to post two and a half weeks ago when I actually did them):

1. The first thing that TurboTax told me was that starting this year (so next years taxes) same-sex partners who are registered domestic partners in the state of California must file using one of the "Married . . ." options. This information elicited the following reactions (roughly in this order, as close as my random-access train of thought gets):

   1. Yay! Recognition! A step forward! That's great!
   2. So, wait. The general idea is "Pay as though you're married, without getting the benefit of actually being so." That kind of fiscal hypocrisy fits the conservative (if not the religious) agenda perfectly.
   3. And it also means that our tax code is more progressive than our civil code. What the fuck does that say?

   So, I guess it sucks in the short-term, but it gives me hope for the long term. Anything we can do to erode the "defense of marriage" bullshit is a good thing in my book. On the other hand, it's not something that affects me directly, so I'm sure there's a whopper of a consequence I'm not considering.

2. The alternative energy credits apply to HYBRIDS? What kind of half-baked crock of shit is that? A lip-service, incremental (at best), stop-gap, Band-Aid solution that ignores the environmental impact of the production and destruction of all those batteries?

   Where the hell is the tax credit for my alternative fuel vehicle?!? You know, food.

   No. Seriously. I'm not saying I should be able to write off a decadent evening at Millennium, but maybe on a pure caloric intake level vs. the distance commuting I spend on the bike. Ok, so it sounds like the paperwork would be a hassle, but I'm keeping track of it all for weight reasons anyway.

...and written by John Denver. How apropos.

First the answers to the riddle:

Barry Manilow

"Copacabana"

Astrud Gilberto

"The Girl from Ipanema"

a bit of Duran Duran

"Rio"

Geoff & Maria Muldaur

"Aquarela do Brasil"

Peter, Paul, & Mary

"Leaving on a Jet Plane"

(Ok, Barry was singing about the nightclub in New York, Duran Duran about a woman, and I really mean the English version, "Brazil.")

All of that was stuck in my head because, cfox74 and Kate teaching in Rio de Janeiro, while Bryan (Kate's husband) and I are just along for the ride. I've never been to South America, and I'm rather giddy.

See you in a week!

Ok, yesterday was an anniversary. And every year it's something different. Yesterday, I spent the day just a huge ball of misplaced emotion, some of which ended up in a rant in this space. Fortunately, I deleted the specifics of it.

In response, here are some good things about the baseball fans yesterday:

1. They were using public transit, really that's commendable
2. They don't generally take the train. They don't know the drill. Yes, that was part of what I was railing at, and they ignored the prompting of the conductor (a rare treat, a conductor conducting folks out of the bike car), but I shouldn't assume they understand the implications of them taking spaces in the bike car
3. They were a lot more orderly and pleasant than the drunk fucktards I used to have to deal with going home from the game (on the nights they didn't send my train early, running a special train with no bike car, stranding me until midnight)

The "sport" of baseball, however, can still suck my left one.

As of last night all, all the necessary items are in my possession.
Today, the jukebox in my head is skipping between songs sung by Barry
Manilow, Astrud Gilberto, even a bit of Duran Duran, but predominantly
Geoff & Maria Muldaur. Figure out the songs (or at least the connections) and it
wouldn't be too hard to figure out why I'm giddy.

Small hint for the clueless: You know that last song. Trust me. (It's also the main title
theme to one of my favorite movies of all time)

...Oh, and no help from those of you who know already!