Feeling blue...

... but looking forward.

Folk are dancing

I saw these folks dancing at the shelter at Hoyt Park last month during the Sunset Hills tour and wondered what was going on.

And today I learned that these were members of Madison Folk Dance Unlimited who move their feet and shake their booties to their "favorites from Eastern Europe, Turkey, France, Japan, India, and other parts of the world." Looks like a hoot.

Ruh ro, Raggy!

My soon to be ex-wife recently saw this play. Zoinks!

Then & Now: Eat Steak

A Salt & Vinegar Miscellany XVII - Minnesota's Finest

 

When I saw these at the supermarket, my first thought was, "Oh these again. Haven't seen them in a while. They're tasty." Then I recalled that only a couple weeks ago or so in that very junk food aisle, I looked that the Bugles section and lamented the lack of a salt & vinegar Bugle.

I have searched this blog and cannot find a salt & vinegar Bugle review and so I am rectifying that.

Ever since I was a boy I have enjoyed a good Bugle. They're like savory Corn Pops with a big maize flavor and the perfect level of salt. I was further endeared to them when my high school chemistry teacher revealed that he was a co-inventor of the snack back in his days at General Mills.

Like your regular Bugles, these were a moderately deep yellow in color and have the trademark flattened cone shape. I stuck my nose into the bag and got a deep whiff of mainly corn aroma, but some oil too. If there was any vinegar to be had, it was surely very mild.

As expected they were nice'n'crunchy and were bursting with corn flavor. Salt level was just like plain Bugles while the vinegar was very mild. I had to put 2 or 3 in my maw at the same time to really taste the tang. To General Mills' credit, they did use dried vinegar here instead of a mix of other acids to simulate it.

Overall a good taste but these lack a sour acetic punch.

More for the divorce playlist

 

Sometimes it's the little things

Little things can really cheer you up at times like these.

 

Vinegar & Oil: Kettle Brand Apple Cider Vinegar chips bathed in avocado oil

A recent trip to a supermarket that I've never been to yielded a variety of salt & vinegar crisps that was new to me. Well, kinda sorta.

Back in 2022 I sampled Kettle's Apple Cider Vinegar chips, an autumnal specialty and enjoyed them, though I felt they could have used more tanginess. This time around the spuds have been friend in avocado oil instead of what I presume was a mix of canola and/or corn and/or cottonseed and/or whatever.

The bag didn't indicate that they were a limited edition seasonal flavor but I still sighed at the thought that potato chips might be going the way of craft beer with autumnal flavors hitting shelves not even a week after the summer solstice. So, if apple cider vinegar isn't considered a taste of fall here, I can only wonder at what is in store come September. Pear vinegar?

The crisps were, uh, a mildy darkened yellow with occasional brown spots and similarly colored edges. Do brown edges always mean the skin was left on? Or do they brown more quickly because of the small surface area or some such thing? Speaking of edges, these looked thicker than your average crisp. I stuck my snout in the bag and found that the slightly sweet tang of the vinegar was quite prominent. Behind it was the oil.

I popped one in my maw, bit down, and was greeted by a nice, firm crunch. It was a bit light on the salt while the tanginess seemed to be of the same level as the non-avocado oil variety. Very middle of the road. However, I really liked the apple taste with its hints of pomaceous sweetness. Poms and tubers seem to be natural complements. Once the vinegar mellowed on my tongue, I tasted a luscious, creamy potato flavor. More sweet than earthy.

These are some fine chips. Like their brethren, they could use twice (or more) as much tang. Still, the apple cider vinegar is delicious and makes for a fine crisp diversion.

Get on the Thai Boat

Some people are addicted to alcohol while others have an unshakable craving for nicotine. For me it is tom yum soup that has its hooks in me. A Thai restaurant could have the freshest handmade noodles on offer or laab made with meat from a chicken slaughtered to order yet I'd be seen ordering tom yum. Well, at least on my first visit. But it'd be a close call on subsequent ones.

I recently had my first dinner at Thai Boat Noodle in Sun Prairie and went with my go-to soup. Not being a fan of white cap 'shrooms, I asked that they be left out. Much to my surprise and delight, someone came out asking if I wanted other vegetables instead of the fungus. So I went with Chinese broccoli and snow peas.

It was very tasty. The broth had an earthy flavor to it that I've never encountered at other restaurants and enjoyed it very much. Next time I would go with bok choy, though. Also for next time, get the spicy tray or whatever they call it. There's no hot sauce nor chili in oil at tables and you have to ask for the spice. Also, dishes do not have a variable hotness scale. Oh well.

Oh! Almost forgot. The soup did not have noodles in it. 

Still, it was good and I'd order it again.

Then & Now: Victuals

Walk, 25 July: Ducks!

The morning trek began with a bunny.

I moseyed down to the reservoir and, again, no blue heron to be found. But there were ducks and lots of them. I am not sure if the raft I saw was a hen with her teenage brood or just the teenagers hanging out.

I am bummed this photo was out of focus but I love that you can see the muskrat behind the ducks.

I managed to get some video of them too. Cute portage!

Also seen:

Another one for the playlist

Another one for the divorce playlist.

This beautiful piece is soothing on rides through the country. Or anytime, really. There's a section about 19 minutes in that feels like it was used in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life as I envision Mrs. O'Brien floating above the grass as the crescendo builds. It's as if Nature and Grace come together.

The final 5 minutes or so features a pakhavaj (drum) and I love the gentle urgency that the rhythm provides.

Walk, 24 July '25

  

Apfeln!

The concrete creek was high and flowing swiftly. I saw lots of minnows which, I presume, attract blue herons.

The Eastmorland gardens were fecund as all get-out.

A neighbor's lawn had an Arecibo mushroom.

Yellow.

Orton Park Festival '25

 

All (in the Cabaret Tent) Will Hear the Gospel

The magic mushrooms were in full bloom at La Fete de Marquette this year.

I went down early on Saturday to (finally) see The Campbell Brothers, masters of Sacred Steel, sacred music played with steel guitars. They're one of those bands that I've meant to go witness live for many years but somehow never got around to it when they were in town. I first encountered their music back in 1999 or 2000 when I heard a track from the Sacred Steel Live! compilation on WORT. If memory serves, it was "God Is a Good God" and the fact that I bought the album based on hearing that song alone is testament to just how great it is.

Opening for The Campbell Brothers was the Fountain of Life Church Choir. 

Overall, they were good. Some of the songs were a bit too modern in feel for me, still, there were some real bangers. The solo spots were incredible. Simply beautiful.

(Sorry about the poor quality here - cheap phone cam zoom.)

Either during their set break or after they were finished, I went outside and ran into a marching band led by someone in colors from The Big Easy.

Not soon enough, The Campbell Brothers took the stage. They played an instrumental or 2 before introducing the lovely Denise Brown who would sing for us. 

At this point, it was off to the races.

They were absolutely fantastic! I believe that's Philip Campbell there on guitar and he noted that what they were playing is what they play in church back home in Rochester(?), New York. Their worship services must be quite something.

During one song, I stood there boppin' like a white guy and then bowed my head and closed my eyes as the music washed over me. Tears welled and it took no small effort to hold them back. Their music is so beautiful, so upbeat and positive that it's nigh impossible to feel the joy wiggle its way into you.

For the finale, some of the ladies from the Fountain of Life Church Choir returned. It was sublime. 

 

 

Note to self: always go see The Campbell Brothers when they are in town. Or just near town.

 

EDIT: I put some video that I shot up on Youtube. Any help with the title would be appreciated.

 

 

Because zydeco kicks butt, I returned on Sunday for a healthy serving of it courtesy of Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers. I was completely unfamiliar with them but they delivered the goods with some great Creole party music.

 

For the finish, Dopsie brought onstage two comely ladies in appropriate attire for some sing along.

 

I found myself craving gumbo after the show but settled for jerk pork.

 

You just can't go wrong with zydeco.

 

Until next year, La Fete. Let there be less rain.

Coming soon, 19 July 2025

Seen before Eddington.

I am still thinking about Eddington. It is drenched in that Ari Aster feeling of a situation that is uncannily uncomfortable. The scenes with the sheriff, Joe Cross, arguing/pleading with his wife Louise really hit me. A bit too close to home, a bit too soon. And, honestly, the same goes for the nearly ubiquitous commentary on technology - the addictive qualities of smartphones and the power they give to quickly and unthinkingly vent one's spleen.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie - it was shot by the great Darius Khondji - but there were many an uncomfortable moment that Aster could not have foreseen. The final act took a really dark turn that I did not expect and it made me uncomfortable in a whole new way. Our hero falls and becomes what he despises. Whom should I feel sorry for? My head was a mess of conflicting feelings.

Onto the trailers. I should note that Marcus shows many fewer commercials than AMC and not as many trailers. Thank you, Marcus.

I didn't know that there was a new Yorgos Lanthimos film to be had.

I am intrigued by the latest from Spike Lee.

I did not recognize The Rock until the voiceover said his name or it appeared onscreen. Did he just add hair or has his face been given prosthetics? 

Building that divorce playlist

"I get the cat" - so true!

Then & Now: Broom

This will require a couple updates.

Nuts and chiaroscuro

These may fall on my head.

Baby acorns! 

I really like how the sun looks all squiggly.

Heron of blue

That lovely heron returned on Monday and I admired it from afar before heading to the bus stop. Cheap phone camera zoom. Sorry.

R.I.P. Ozzy

Farewell, Ozzy.

 

 

 

Places: Castle, Prospect, and Washburn

While the neighborhood tour of Sunset Hills was mostly terra incognita for me, the tour I did a couple weeks later, Prospect and Castle, would tread familiar territory.

It was sprinkling as I walked from the bus stop to the meeting place but, when I arrived, there was a lovely double rainbow decorating the sky.

The meeting place? 

Built in the mid-1920s, it was renovated about 10 years later by the Civil Works Administration. You can see the contrasting architectural styles quite easily.

The newer bits are on the left.

I had no idea that Breese Stevens hosted the first night baseball game in the state. So I learned something almost immediately.

The first stop of the tour proper was Norris Court.

There was a cat on guard in the doorway of one of the businesses along E. Johnson to ensure that no one dared enter.

I think I was in one of the Norris Court Apartments apartments back in the 90s sometime. But I've walked through the courtyard many a time. A lovely place.

We proceeded to cross Gorham and begin an uphill trek on Castle Place. As we walked by the fourplex where a friend had lived, I recalled nights spent drinking beer there. Our guide directed us to Christ Presbyterian Church and told the tale of how the spot was once home to a castle.

I am struggling to recall the whole story. It was built around 1863 by an English(?) immigrant. But, as happens in life, things went pear-shaped for the guy and his extravagant residence was abandoned. The delapidated castle was eventually torn down in 1893, if memory servers.

At the top of Castle Place, we came to this house. 

It was once home to William T. Evjue, founder of The Capital Times newspaper here in Madison. We were told the story of how JFK and Jackie too visited Evjue in an attempt to convince the printman to have The Cap Times endorse Kennedy over Adlai Stevenson. This bid for approval failed but has left us with the legend that Jackie powdered her nose as the men haggled over politics. This story made the house a nice bookend to the Kennedy Pee Chronicles as JFK is reputed to have taken a leak at the Buckhorn Inn up in Spooner.

We came back down Castle Place and headed over to Prospect Place. This took us by this apartment building the name of which I cannot recall. But the guide said that Evjue lived there before he had his house built and that some stones were salvaged from the castle that now edge the building's gravel lawn.

Even more of the castle's stones were used in building another house down on Gorham, this charming abode with the hoopy turret.

There were a lot of homes on the tour built by Madison's dynamic architecture duo, Claude and Starck. I honestly cannot recall which ones, exactly, but I think if you choose a house in that area, you've got a better than 50% chance of it having been designed by Claude and Starck.

This little pocket neighborhood really reminded me of the neighborhood I grew up in down in Chicago. Mainly, I think, because of the Craftsman style homes. Well, that and the variety of architectural styles. Nothing cookie cutter here.

We traipsed down Russell Walk and learned that the homes were designed by a woman whose name I cannot recall. She was the lone female architect in Madison at the time - the 1930s, I believe.

Back in the mid-90s I knew a couple guys who lived in the brown house on the left. We played D&D and a friend and I attended a party there that has gone down in legend amongst him, his wife, and I. We drank ourselves sober at some point in the antelucan hours and kept going until well after dawn when we finally stumbled home.

It was not far for me as I lived just behind the party house on Washburn Place. I really loved the area, especially the Tudor Revival houses across the street. 

I lived in the top storey of a house with my girlfriend and I felt a bit blue when I saw the place that we had shared. That girlfriend was the first woman I ever fell in love with and the first with whom I lived in sin. A lot of memories flooded back and I replayed scenes of our relationship dissolving in my head. They were sadly resonant as I was in a marriage that was failing and it was brutally ironic that the relationships had a reason in common for their failures.

Note to self.

The final house we saw was designed and lived in by Louis W. Claude himself. Despite being a big dog architect, he made his home rather modest. A beautiful home but not ostentatious.

 

 

It was great to see all the lovely homes that I used to walk past every day and to learn about the history of the area which I was completely oblivious to 30 years ago when I lived there. We even got to go inside one of the homes that overlooked Lake Mendota. A lovely place full of wood trim and crown molding, it had a gorgeous view of the lake.

 

Now, which neighborhood tour to do next?