Rue Bourre? More like roux Bourre.

I finally made good on my desire to check out the brick & mortar version of Rue Bourre, the purveyors of Cajun delicacies. In fact, I've been there twice. It's beginning to look like a fortnightly treat.

On my first visit, I took pictures of the restaurant but not of my food. For my latest lunch, I attempted to rectify the omission but only partially succeeded.

The restaurant is bright and New Orleans-y with Mardi Gras colors everywhere. Tables have rolls of paper towels and are armed with Louisiana Hot Sauce.

So far I've been a creature of habit and have ordered gumbo with a side of boudin balls on both occasions. My first order of gumbo was disappointing. It was lighter in color than the stuff I bought from them at the North Side Farmers Market last year and it was thicker too. And less flavorful. Needed more thyme and bay. Today's batch was much better.

Darker roux = more Maillard goodness! Plus more herbs. Very tasty.

Boudin balls are out of focus. Oops.

Well done bread crumbs on the outside (Maillard!), hot and moist sausage in the middle. I first encountered boudin balls last month in New Orleans but had boudin many years back in sausage-in-casing form at a paper shack gas station somewhere near Lafayette.

Delicious! Rue Bourre makes a mean gumbo and boudin ball. I should really explore their menu further.

Epistolary most foul

I saw Wicked Little Letters the other day and it was quite a good time.

Olivia Colman plays pious spinster Edith Swan who has been receiving poison pen letters from an anonymous villain. Edith lives at home with her parents and the missives are upsetting her mother and making her nasty, controlling father angrier by the day.

The letters are written very strangely, as if their composer was still a novice at the whole vulgarity thing. And so you get stilted turns of phrase such as "foxy ass piss country whore", "You dirty old bitch, you belong in hell, probably", and "Edith sucks ten cocks a week, minimum!".

One person who is not an amateur when it comes to wielding profanity is the Swan's next door neighbor, Rose Gooding, a single Irish mum who frequents the tavern, amongst other unladylike activities. Rose is accused of sending the dirty dispatches.

She is played by Jessie Buckley who is foul-mouthed, spirited, and a lot of fun to watch. Buckley was great in Men and Women Talking too. Colman does a wonderful job with her facial expressions, sometimes showing her adherence to propriety (and abhorrence at those who would deny it) while at others letting us see the damage done by the repressive patriarchy of her day.

The police investigate the letters and finger Rose as does the rest of the small town. However, PC (Police Constable?) Gladys Moss believes Rose to be innocent and she assembles a Bloodhound Gang of local ladies to prove it. Moss has her own issues/run-ins with the patriarchy in the form of the hierarchy of the police department which bolsters the theme.

We aren't bashed over the head with this theme; rather it is sprinkled here and there so that we never forget it but the patriarchy of 1920s Britain is not allowed to get in the way of the mystery and the comedy.

Wicked Little Letters is a lot of fun and hearing Colman blurt out the amateurish obscenities is hilarious.

Spring has sprung

Last weekend I took a walk through my favorite conservation park. It was a beautiful morning.

 

 

The trees were in full bloom and bird song filled the air. I saw a blue jay but it eluded my camera.

 

 

Mallards and Canada geese were plentiful. This may not be the best photo but I do like the goose with its mouth hanging open as it takes off.

The refulgent orb was right at the peak of the arch which made for some nice lens flares.

Dreaming of Suits

It's been 30 years since Fish released Suits, his 4th album. With his music career a tour away from being only a memory, there's something poignant about seeing him live fairly early on his solo journey. It's a bit sad for me knowing there's no more Fishy music to be had. Waiting for new albums of his and delving into them when they finally arrived had been a part of my life for so long and I miss it.

So here's "Mr. 1470" from 30 October 1993, meaning Suits was still months away from store shelves.

I've got good news

My first ride of 2024

I had intended to go on my first bike ride of the season in the morning but found that I had a flat tire. Later in the day, with chores done, the fine folks at Slow Roll Cycles remedied that and I was able to hit the road come the afternoon.

The neighborhood garden and environs were looking nice.

One of the Leopold benches was adorned with seasonally appropriate art.

Down in the reservoir were a couple of swingin' bachelor mallards.

Starkweather Park was also looking mighty fine. A bit early to see any deer, methinks.

It's a great place for watching the plentiful red-winged black birds.

I hadn't been down the Marsh Path in a while and found that the tent city underneath the overpass was gone.

I wandered along the creek.

There were some very nice views of the Voit Farm property from atop a little hill.

On the way home, I encountered a couple more birds.

22 years on the vapor trail

Rush's "comeback" album, Vapor Trails, was released on this day in 2002. After Neil Peart lost his daughter and wife in quick succession in 1997-98, we fans were left to wonder if the band was over. But they roared back with a vengeance on this album.

This is "Earthshine" from their summer '02 tour stop in Milwaukee, a show I was at.

Fauna, 2 May 2024

A (short) soundtrack for reading John Muir

What music they make

IQ went heavy on their 10th album, The Road of Bones, which came out this day in 2014. It also saw the returns of bassist Tim Esau and drummer Paul Cook.

Even several years and another similarly styled album, Resistance, later, I am still getting used to the heavier sound with those slashing guitar riffs. I really do like this album and think Cook is just full on great throughout plus Neil Durant does not use a light touch on the Mellotron sounds which gets my proggy juices flowing. But I do miss Mike Holmes' more melodic guitar touches, those airy sustained notes.

Well, it just means I need to do more listening.

Here's "From the Outside In" in all its chugging glory.

So Fellini for 23 years

Fellini Days by Fish came out today in 2001. It was a return to form, so to speak, in that it was a divorce/end of relationship album. Going to back to his early Marillion roots.

This is usually my favorite song from it, "Tiki 4". A smoky, easy-going vibe.

Happy 17th Snakes & Arrows

Rush's penultimate album, Snakes & Arrows, turns 17 today. I love this album. Two instrumentals! A fair amount of acoustic guitar, great riffs, some very moving lyrics. It has a wonderful energy to it.

To celebrate, here's "The Larger Bowl" live from Milwaukee on 6 September 2007.

A couple scenes from a spring

Piper likes free jazz

Thanks to Mad City Music for the new tunes. And thanks to Chicago's Tomeka Reid for making the great tunes. I hope you can visit our fair burg again soon and play "Old New" and "17 West".

Happy Beltane!

We are here:

Happy Beltane! Looks to be a nice day here.

Bill Bruford meet Alan White

Union by Yes turns 33 today. To be sure, the album is a mediocre mix of the Squire/Rabin version of Yes and Anderson Wakeman Bruford Howe but it had a few very fine songs on it. Both camps united for a tour.

This is "Shock to the System" recorded at their tour stop at Alpine Valley here in Wisconsin on 26 July 1991.

"Feast of the Green Corn" live

I found a live version of "Feast of the Green Corn" by Sacred Harp, a.k.a. - Daniel Bachman. I simply adore this song. Love his vocalizing here. It adds a very ethereal touch.

Sacred Harp - Feast of the Green Corn - Salem, Oregon from Paul Murray on Vimeo.

Homeowner tip of the day

If your hardwood floors discolor due to Goo Gone, hit the spots with a hair dryer. 

Our Canadian friends celebrate Wisconsin polka

The polka became the official dance of Wisconsin 30 years ago this month. This article notes that the push to make it the state dance "started as a class project by local educator Violet Bergum and her second-grade class at Lindbergh Elementary School in Madison. The class approached a state senator, who drafted the bill."

That was news to me. I was under the impression that Wisconsin folklorist Prof. Jim Leary was the impetus for it. Still, he did testify before the state Legislature in favor of it. You learn something new everyday.

It is nice to see Bruce Triggs celebrating the anniversary on his radio show, Accordion Noir, this week. Check it out here.

Caught on camera during my repast

Nick's Restaurant on State Street is closing next month so I went in for perhaps my final meal earlier this week. A local news crew paid a visit as I was eating and I ended up on TV, albeit in a supporting role way in the back.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 112 - Prelude: Hairy. Ruella. Hairy Ruella.

Harmonious

I picked up my latest CD today:

I attended this performance by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, "Harmony in Black", last October. Neat to have this recording of some wonderful music by Patrice Rushen and Dr. Bill Banfield.

Roof deicer: OFF

Winter is officially over.

Earworm - 24 April 2024

I've been slowly expanding my Pearl Jam horizons lately, which is a bit odd since they're a quintessential 90's band and you'd think a Gen Xer like me would have been into them since 1992 or so.

However, I've loved this song for years. Maybe since 1996. Simply beautiful. I absolutely adore the part after "Just a little time before we leave"! That bass line, the harmony vocals - just sublime.

Scenes from Madison - 23 April 2024

I hoofed it around town a bit yesterday.

Madison is by no means a big city but it has gotten bigger. Lots of human-scale buildings have been replaced downtown with ones that dwarf pedestrians. Not quite concrete canyons, perhaps, but downtown has a very different feel than it did when I moved here.

Parking ramps and lots have also been replaced.

Goodbye, Silver Dollar. I will always remember that guy who, when the Packers played the Chiefs, would yell "Kansas City cheats!" when things did not go our way.

I was glad to see that something is going to open in the former BarleyPop Live/The Frequency space.

The Madison Municipal Building was giving off some end of Twin Peaks season 3 vibes last night. I was going to scream but ran into someone I knew and talked movies instead.

Uff da!

Our property tax assessment went up $38,000+ from last year. Ooof!

Feeling awful as in full of awe

I saw Deep Sky over the weekend.

The prophetic words of Douglas Adams came to mind: "Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is."

It was wonderful to see a documentary on the IMAX again - one made for the format.

Deep Sky has a running time of about 40 minutes so it quickly ran through the story of getting the James Webb Space Telescope up into space and into its viewing position nearly 1 million miles from Earth. While the telescope's mirrors aren't as big as space, the mirror array was pretty large, as mirrors go.

But it was the photographs of space that were the main attraction. This was perhaps as close to a Total Perspective Vortex as we'll get. It was one amazing view after another. First we saw what to our eyes is a teeny tiny speck of black space become under the JWST's probing mirrors a menagerie full of galaxies. Hundreds of them. Thousands! Then came a series of photos of colossal clouds of interstellar dust and gases that churn out stars like our sun. The Pillars of Creation!

Contemplating the vast distances between our blue ball and those star factories as well as the sheer size of those clouds was absolutely mind boggling, truly awe-inspiring.

I came out of the theater a bit exhilarated yet feeling quite insignificant. Also hoping that we get more IMAX documentaries here in Madison.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 111 - Addendum: A Haunting in Venice

(Read entry #111.)

Today's earworm - 20 April

I started watching season 4 of Babylon Berlin yesterday and the first thing we get is Charlotte looking for a record of this tune. Just blatantly catchy.

Lame, Lake Louie, Lame

I was contemplating heading out to Wisconsin Brewing Company and enjoying a brew or two with some comrades - outside, if it was warm enough. So I head to the Lake Louie website and click on the big button that says "WHAT'S ON TAP" in friendly letters.

 

 

Expecting a list of what I could choose from on my visit, including limited test beers, I was disappointed to find that I had been unceremoniously dumped on the front steps of Untappd.

I am not on Untappd. Is there a way to get a list of what is on tap at the brewery if you're simply a visitor? I just see a list of what other people have supped and a short one at that. Presumably I could see more if I logged in.

If they've got Smoke Show on tap again, I am there.

This is lame. Why should I have to register with Untappd to try to scroll though a bunch of posts in the hope of being able to piece together a list of what's on tap?

This is lame.

Lame, Gencon, very lame

Every year Gencon has an official beer brewed by Indy's Sun King Brewery. Last year I voted for the Kölsch but the English mild with honey proved victorious.

This year we're stuck with garbage. All entries are based on junk food breakfast cereals.

Why can't we have grown-up beer instead of flavors aimed at the palates of 12 year-olds?

Abigail

I went out last night to see the new horror flick Abigail.

Not really my cup of tea but there were some funny parts. I know it was totally puerile but I still laughed at one character waking up after another one had drawn a cock and balls on his cheek in permanent marker.

Beyond that, the sets for the spooky mansion were just perfect. Victorian looking with stuffed animals, tons of bookshelves, dark wood, and the like. The characters, however, were one dimensional cliches but the 14 year-old actress who played Abigail, one Alisha Weir, did a very fine job. Frank sported some classic 70s cop glasses. I also enjoyed Melissa Barrera's generous cleavage which was shown in some well-crafted high angle shots.

I simply got tired of the jump scares and the hissy screams.

Today's earworm - 19 April 2024

Our new mallard neighbors

A mallard couple has been hanging out in our backyard recently. They enjoy spending time underneath the bird feeder and gobbling up all of the seed that the messy birds leave for them.

A couple days ago they decided to lounge on the terrace by our house after their meal.

After some preening, they did some serious relaxing.

Piper April '24

 

Blaze it!

My new dice tower

A friend of mine printed a new dice tower for me shaped like the head of The Great God Cthulhu.

Tentacles!

I am sure to fail my sanity checks with it.