February 20, 2012
comments 7

Rossi Update

Some readers will recall that Rossi suffered a stroke a couple weeks back. He has recovered to a degree. He can get around the house, handle stairs, eat on his own, use the litter and so on. He’s still messed up though. We think his vision has been affected, because sometimes he just bumps into us or steps into a kibble bowl, as if his peripheral vision is perhaps better than his straight ahead vision. On the good side, he’s back to his usual state of crankiness. In ways Rossi is a very social cat. He likes us and likes to be around us. He even likes an occasional pat. That’s it. a pat. Not two pats, not three pats, but a single pat. He’s cranky again, but he’s also tired and rests even more than usual.

His diagnosis is presumptive. Short of doing the kinds of sophisticated imaging we do with people, it’s not possible to really determine what happened and what caused it. Based on his symptoms and her experience, the vet thinks the stroke was caused by something pressuring his brain, like a tumor. This may well be a progressive condition, but again we don’t know. We’re giving him a drug to reduce inflammation in the hopes that it will prevent another stroke from occurring at least for as long as possible.

February 17, 2012
comment 1

Go Night

I’ve been playing Go with Vox once a week more or less since some time in the 80s. I bet Vox could tell you precisely when we started. Initially it was chess, then a couple games of chess and a game of Go. Eventually, we dropped chess and started concentrating more seriously on Go. We’ve played thousands of games.

One of the beautiful things about the game is that the more you learn, the more possibilities and approaches seem to open up. It just gets more interesting.

For those who have never played, Go is a board game played on a 19X19 line grid with black and white stones. One player is black and the other white, and the players take turns placing stones on intersections of the grid, based on a simple set of rules. The grid is the world and the idea is to surround territory, more territory than your opponent does. Of course, your opponent has other ideas, and so along the way the players engage in battles to settle disputes over areas of the board.

Sometimes there are a few different battles going on at once and they’re related to one another in all kinds of complicated ways. The whole business can become mind-bending. Like most games and sports, it’s very important to work on the fundamentals. It’s also hugely important to make moves that seize the initiative and dictate the direction of the game. Again, your opponent is trying to do the same thing.

The board in the picture is a home-made leather job featuring stones I gathered on a beach many years ago.

If you’re considering learning the game, consider that it is something you will get better at over time. At first it will seem very challenging, but as you learn the concepts and begin to read different shapes and situations, you will start to gain confidence.

Filed under: Go
February 16, 2012
comment 0

Whiskey Before Breakfast

I love this tune. You will too. Enjoy your Daily Dose…


Peter Knupfer along with Joel Mabus on Mandolin

And now Hillar Bergman and James Carr

That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
Finally, here’s a version that has accordion and didgeridoo…and by God there’s a slide trombone in there too. Careful Now!

February 15, 2012
comments 3

Melt

I mentioned a few days ago that we had some new businesses opening in Long Branch. Melt, located on the south side of Lakeshore, between 27th and 28th Streets, had their unofficial opening today.

Tuffy P was up in Richmond Hill this evening, visiting her dad, so I stopped in on the way home from work for a sandwich.

The place looks good. The atmosphere is friendly. The menu is simple with a good variety of choices. I ordered the Hog Heaven sandwich: braised chipotle pork, Mac ‘n Cheese (really!), crispy purple slaw, cheddar and jalapeno havarti. I had it on rye with a side of fries. Fries were on the house today.

My sandwich was excellent. I really enjoyed the contrast in textures. The crispy purple slaw was a nice touch, and so was the mac ‘n cheese. It came served up in a cardboard basket with the fries, and the sandwich came very hot and melty. The fries were good, although I confess I have a personal preference for thicker cut fries.

For me and Tuffy P, Melt will come in handy for those days when we want something quick and tasty and not too expensive – and we don’t want to cook. There’s parking right in front and it will be a nice place to stop in on the way home from work. For those not from Long Branch, be sure to put something in the parking meter. Parking guys are fierce in this neighbourhood.

I hope Melt is able to attract plenty of customers and thrive in Long Branch. I really welcome new businesses to our area. The Lakeshore strip is in need of revitalization. There have been a number of food places open in the area since Tuffy P and I moved in. There is Woody’s Burgers and the Empanada Company and Pacos Kitchen and the fish place (yikes I don’t know it’s name….time to pay them a visit!) – all at the west end of Long Branch near Brown’s Line. Further east, Baba Ali closed it’s doors. A new bakery has just opened (haven’t visited yet) in that space, and now Melt has opened up a little further east.

Next time I visit Melt, I might have the Tattooed Chicken, the Spinach Pie or the Smashed Meatball, and just for scientific purposes, I may sample the Poutine.
February 14, 2012
comment 1

Sheila Gregory on Craft in Painting

This video was directed by Richard Mongiat. It’s from the exhibition The “C” Word – A Look at the Role of Craft in Contemporary Art, on now at the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. You can check out videos featuring all the artists in the exhibition on the website.

Filed under: Art
February 12, 2012
comment 0

Wrong Season

Entoloma abortivum and its work

Entoloma abortivum and its work (Photo credit: Cornell Fungi)

Somebody entered “Aborted Entoloma Spring” into a search engine and came up with my little slice of paradise. Around these parts, though, you won’t see aborted entoloma, or Entoloma abortivum, in the spring. You’ll see lots of them in the fall, though.

The naming of this mushroom is confusing, because once these strange blog-like fungi were thought to be the result of Armillaria, or honey mushrooms, attacking Entoloma. Now it’s thought that in fact these are Armillaria that have been attacked by Entoloma. In other words, they are honey mushrooms that have a parasite, the Entoloma, that has caused the host to become disfigured and somewhat strange.The confusion is understandable because honey mushrooms are really nasty. In fact they are tree killers. They send a lacy growth known as shoe-string root-rot, up the tree, under the bark. They kill the tree and then live on the nutrients in the tree until the nutrients are all gone.

Aborted entoloma are always found in companionship with honey mushrooms. Sometimes you see honey mushrooms on a tree limb or stump and the aborted entoloma around the base.

Here’s what Mushroom-collecting.com says about their edibility:
These have a spotty reputation as an edible that I feel is undeserved. That said, they must be collected and cooked correctly. Look for fruits that are quite white, have few or no cracks in the top, and feel relatively dense (not spongy). Being a bit pithy on the inside is actually normal. Brown spots are a bad sign and waterlogged specimens are hard to cook. They are occasionally wormy so check closely for small white maggots. Once you get the idea of what the inside looks like you will not worry about these but you do not want to mistake them for early stage amanitas which can be deadly. Amanitas will have lines indicating a developing fruit and are much denser inside and smoother on the outside. Be very careful. Don’t take a chance!

I’ve collected these for the table and found them to be tasty. On the web, there are mixed reports about how good they are. They hold a lot of water and they will reduce by half when you cook them. The best way to cook these is pan-fried on their own, rather than mixed into something else like a stir-fry. This said, I don’t usually collect these because they’re really weird. They taste fine; they just look really strange and I’m not quite over that.

February 12, 2012
comments 9

Melt opens this week

I mentioned a few days ago that there’s going to be a grilled cheese joint opening up in Long Branch. They open on the 15th and they have their website up now. The menu looks good, and I’m looking forward to stopping in for a bite.

I hope they do really well!