Recipes Are For Eating.

March 18, 2007September 16, 2008 DmentD4 Comments

Been trying to really get into micro-managing my food intake the last week or so in an effort to change my eating habits for the better, and to be able to get to a point in the foreseeable future where I can do that without thinking too hard about it. As a result I’ve been developing/reworking (reworking = stealing from another source and adapting to my liking) some recipes that I can use to keep my weekly meal plan lively and not a bore. I’ve been adding the few that I have to the Recipe Library, and as a result anyone interested can benefit from my hard work. I list the number of servings and the big 4 macro nutrients (calories, fats, carbohydrates and proteins) in the body of the recipe for reference.

The first two to make it in are Teriyaki Chicken and Scallop Stir-Fry. If you want to easily find the specific recipes I’m adding for meal planning, just do a search for “calorie” and select “instructions”.

Enjoy.

Philosofossil.

March 15, 2007September 16, 2008 DmentD1 Comment

Learn from the past, look to the future, enjoy the present.

That’s what I’m trying to do, trying to teach myself… there are worse ways to go about living your life, and a little self-improvement isn’t a bad thing.

Another thing that I’ve known, but never really understood until recently is that happiness isn’t necessarily something handed to you on a silver platter, it’s something you have to work for. Which makes it that much sweeter when you can have it and can maintain it. The status quo isn’t specifically unhappiness, but it takes no effort to be miserable. That’s like the cheap plastic keyring you win at the carnival just for playing the game. You really have to knuckle down and work hard to win that stuffed 6′ tall pink teddy bear on the back wall — the pinnacle of the carny prize pool. As my favorite philosopher says:

“Easy to bitch, easy to whine, easy to moan, easy to cry, easy to feel like there ain’t nothing in your life. Harder to work, harder to strive, harder to be glad to be alive… but its really worth it if you give it a try.”

– Fred LeBlanc

I’m trying, dear Fred, I’m trying. I’ve been working my ass off to be happy and I think its been paying off. Not huge sums, but at least tiny dividends and that’s a good start. I’m not completely miserable all the time, I’m actually maintaining a pretty good demeanor with brief periods of backsliding (AngerMan bubbles to the surface and I try to keep him in check).

Also, it appears that these two guys were separated at birth:

Morissentences.

March 5, 2007September 16, 2008 DmentD6 Comments

I’m broke but I’m happy, I’m poor but I’m kind… I’m short but I’m healthy. Yeah. I’m high but I’m grounded. I’m sane (but I’m overwhelmed!), I’m lost — but I’m hopeful baby. What it all comes down to is that every thing’s gonna be fine, fine, fine… I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other one is giving a high five.

I feel drunk but I’m sober. I’m young and I’m underpaid: I’m tired but I’m working (yeah?). I care but I’m worthless, I’m here… but I’m really gone. I’m wrong, and I’m sorry baby. What it all comes down to is that every thing’s gonna be quite alright — I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other one is flicking a cigarette.

What it all comes down to is that I haven’t got it all figured out just yet. I’ve got one hand in my pocket, and the other one is giving the peace sign.

I’m free but I’m focused. I’m green, but I’m wise. I’m shy… but I’m friendly baby.

I’m sad but I’m laughing, I’m brave but I’m chicken shit. I’m sick but I’m pretty baby. And what it all boils down to is that no one’s really got it figured out just yet: I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other one is playing the piano.

What it all comes down to my friends is that every thing’s just fine. Fine. FINE! I’ve got one hand in my pocket (and the other one is hailing a taxicab).

Welcome To The Pity Party, I Hope You Brought The Chips.

February 16, 2007September 16, 2008 DmentD2 Comments

Prepare to be uncomfortable. Feel free to look at your shoes, I don’t expect eye contact.

I’m a little drunk, I’m a little amorous, and I’m very alone. I seem to quote a lot these days, so here’s to Meatloaf: “Two out of three ain’t bad”.

I got no one to snuggle, to keep me warm, to be there in the morning when I wake up. Hooray! Ain’t life grand. The house is quiet and I have an empty bed to rock me to sleep. You want the definition of misery, this is it. Look it up in the dictionary, there’s a lovely picture of me… showing my good side too!

And tomorrow is another day. Likely this will pass, and I’ll be fine for a few days. Resilient, that’s me. I always bounce back, except that I feel like a damned yo-yo these days. Stamp “Duncan” on my ass and make sure my string isn’t wound too tight or it might snap.

The Avenue.

February 14, 2007September 16, 2008 DmentD3 Comments

I stumbled across a site today that is the home of a photographer who captures the historic architecture of St. Louis. He made a pass through New Orleans late in 2006 and did a pictorial architecture tour called On The Road In New Orleans.

These photographs simultaneously made me more homesick than I have been in a year, and broke my heart. As I sat there scrolling through the images, I could tell you almost precisely where every one was taken, from which corner and what you would see if you turned your head left or right. I saw landmarks that I took for granted for over thirty years of my life. I saw pictures of a city that made my heart skip a beat for the longing to return and put down stakes again.

Within most of these pictures, I saw destruction and decay. I saw a city that had been abandoned by all but the hearts of those who have no other choice than to stay and pick up what pieces they can — a city that care forgot. There were images to remind me why I choose not to go back, a city ravaged by crime, corruption and filth — plagues that existed before I was born but have been magnified and brought into sharp relief by a catastrophe. I fear every day for the health and safety of the family and friends who remain there. I wait for that call, the one to tell me someone I know has been robbed and killed, or hit by a stray bullet. I read the local news every day and wonder why they haven’t burned most of the city down and bulldozed the ashes flat to make way for a brighter future.

New Orleans is where I was born and raised — it’s in my blood, heart and soul. I don’t know that I will ever return, though… certainly not for a very long while. But no matter where I live, no matter where I plant a flag and claim as my own, I’ll always be from New Orleans. Like Fred LeBlanc says “It’s so hard to take this hurt and hide it on a shelf, it’s just cause I never want to be from somewhere else.”

Wrasslin’.

February 11, 2007 DmentD2 Comments

You have to keep fighting, every damned minute of every damned day. That’s what life is, a fight till the death. You have to scratch, eye-gouge, throw elbows and knees and fight with every dirty trick you know. Some days its easy, you can do it without thinking, some days it takes every last drop of your spirit to keep from blacking out from the blows. You will win some brawls, and you’ll be spitting your teeth out like sunflower seeds other times… but you keep. On. Fighting.

Four new cakes!

January 25, 2007 DmentD3 Comments

I’m finally stating to catch up on my pictures a bit. I’ve added the last four cakes that I’ve created to the Cake Gallery. Have a look-see. Don’t forget to check out the video of the bleeding Dismembered cake.

Poor me.

January 14, 2007 DmentDLeave a comment

I just want to go and do something entertaining that doesn’t involve me staring at the walls of this quiet, empty apartment. I just want some company — some laughs, some drinks, maybe a meal — to forget that the only thing keeping the silence at bay is the squawk of the TV. I don’t want pity, I want camaraderie… preferably somewhere out there, in the wide world.

Sometimes it works out. Sometimes the world conspires against me to make it fail. There are even times when I’m in a room full of people and I feel like I’ve surrounded myself with cardboard cutouts of familiar faces… and when I’ve reached that point, nothing is going to help.

Long Time, No Post.

January 11, 2007 DmentD3 Comments

Lots happening these days, details not forthcoming. Not here, not now, maybe not ever. We shall see.

Regardless, suffice to say there are hard times upon me right now and it’s damned hard to get out of bed in the morning. Motivators are few and far between, with no rewards in sight. My only peace of mind comes from the friends that have surrounded me and are lavishing their love upon me. I appreciate it more than I can ever put into words, and I can only hope I can repay even a fraction of that kindness in my lifetime. Their displays of tenderness have left me wanting to be a better person. Of course, I’ll still be a well-rounded asshole, but I’ll be an asshole with a big heart.

So, wiser men than I have spake — spoke, spook, sploke… aw, hell. It’s been said that music can help heal that which wounds us. I’ve been listening to a lot of Cowboy Mouth lately. I’ve always said that Fred LeBlanc has some voodoo, black magic way of writing songs that look into your heart and strike at the very root of what ails you. He’s also a hell of a informal spokesperson for the Living Life And Loving It movement… there are some serious “life can suck, so make the most out of it while you can” type songs in the Cowboy Mouth library. I find that no matter how down and out I get, there are just some songs that can lift me up and make me get on with my life. Cowboy Mouth is the antibiotic helping to heal my soul right now. I present to you an example (likely the first of many) of what got my ass moving today:

Glad To Be Alive
(Uno, Dos, Tres)
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
La da da de da da da
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
La da da de da da da

Anybody can be sad
Can’t see the good when it goes bad
Then you end up blue and through
But that’s all right

Got my share of people who love me
Got my share of problems that bug me
Every now and then its hard
But that’s all right

How many times have we been here before?

When you’re walking down the street
Feel the rhythm in your feet
Of a life that’s rushing by
Are you glad to be alive?

Nothing ever goes as planned
Get your head out of your hand
Scream and shout like you were five
Are you glad to be alive?

Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
La da da de da da da

Some times you gotta’ sneak in the back door
You can’t always get what you ask for
But what you need you got inside
And that’s all right

How many times have you been here before?
So pick your sorry ass up off the floor!

When you’re walking down the street
Feel the rhythm in your feet
Of a life that’s rushing by
Are you glad to be alive?

Nothing ever goes as planned
Get your head out of your hand
Scream and shout like you were five
Are you glad to be alive?

Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
La da da de da da da

So that’s my story
Tis sad but true
For those who know me
What else are we to do?

When you’re walking down the street
Feel the rhythm in your feet
Of a life that’s crashing by
Are you glad to be alive?

Nothing ever goes as planned
Get your head out of your hand
Scream and shout like you were five
Are you glad to be alive?

Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
La da da de da da da
(Are you glad to be alive?)

Doo doo n’doo doo doo
(When you’re walking down the street)
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
Doo doo n’doo doo doo
(Feel the rhythm in your feet)
La da da de da da da
(Are you glad to be alive?)

La da da de da da da
Doo doo n’doo doo doo

It’s a bit of a pop-ish number, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t cut to the heart of things — shit’s gonna go wrong, you get to feel bad about it for a while but don’t let it ruin you… celebrate and enjoy life, make and cherish the good times — the power is inside of you. That’s what I’m talking about. That’s what I need right now. This is a philosophy I can get behind!

Fred kicks Tony Robbin’s ass up and down the block as a motivational figure.

Horse D’Ovaries.

September 11, 2006 DmentD2 Comments

This ought to hold you over until I can get a proper post up. Some linkage for your delight:

50 ways to make this Halloween an unusual departure from past ones.
"19.) Don’t hand out candy! Hand out bees!"
For all of you who like ’em a little big up top. *NSFW*
Motivational posters for Super-Villains.
The Ronald McHummer Sign-O-Matic. Ok, it’s supposed to be a passive-aggressive way to give McDonald’s the finger for selling it’s soul to an eco-destroying auto manufacturer, but damn if it isn’t just as good for me to make up some funny shit like this, this (or this) and this. In fact, I want to see some of the funny crap y’all come up with.

DmentiA

Author: DmentD