Archives: May 01, 2007

My name in print

Wednesday, 30 May 2007 11:55 PM

May is nearly over, which means Short Story Month is almost over. And so it's high time that I tell you that a short story of mine has been published in a brand new book.

The book is The Red Anthology of Hitherto Unknown Writers, published by No Record Press.

I am pleased and proud to have my work included in this collection. My story is "Love By the Numbers," and it starts like this:

"The reason we're not dating anyone is that we haven't properly segmented our market."

"I didn't know we had a market," I said.

"Of course we do. There's always a market. The question is: do we know who the market is? And the answer is we don't. So we can't appeal to it."

"We're not appealing?"

"Don't be so literal, Natalie. We're appealing in the general sense. But our message isn't aimed at our market."

I probably shouldn't quote the whole thing, so if you'd like to read my story you must buy a copy of the book. You can purchase it online from No Record for the surprisingly reasonable price of $9 plus tax and shipping.

For that price, in addition to my story you get an introduction plus 13 other stories, plus many reproductions of uncommonly interesting photographs. It is quite a bargain. Please enjoy.

Those who can't do, blog

Sunday, 27 May 2007 10:29 PM

Here's a thoughtful essay on criticism and the authority of the critic: "Just Who Is This Guy?" by Jerome Weeks.

Weeks looks primarily at the authority of literary blogs, which have been under attack of late from print media, primarily the book reviews of the mass media. But the same issues come into play for any critic, online or off.

(Thanks to Rob Walker's Murketing for highlighting the Weeks post.)

I face these questions all the time, mostly because ...

...I set myself up in positions of authority all the time, despite having no measurable background in related areas. Freelance web developer, writing coach (at Fat Plum), editor of a literary magazine (Inkburns ... still on hiatus although hopefully back in production this year)... the list goes on. In each case, my authority came from my own faith in my knowledge, skill, and opinion, and in whatever belief others choose to place in me.

In each case, over time I figured out what I was doing, until I had real authority in each subject. You might think that I'd gain confidence in these past successes. In many cases I have, but not in all.

Which brings us to my current dilemma: Since October, City Theatre has invited me to attend their productions and to blog about them. Now, I love live theater, and I feel that the theatrical community is a great asset of Pittsburgh. I want to see all the theater I can, and I love to promote it to everyone I meet.

From the start we agreed that I didn't need to write regular reviews. City Theatre, in keeping with their overall experimental, open-minded approach to everything, wanted simply to see what happens and to explore the blogging medium -- and besides, the mass media in Pittsburgh already supplies the critical reviews and exposure the theater needs.

For me, this was a safety net. I've not studied theater or theater criticism, I've worked behind the scenes and performed in only a few community theater productions, and generally I've felt insecure about the whole thing.

There's also the issue of disclosure: If City Theater gives me two free tickets to every play, shouldn't I say something nice about them? If I don't, would they invite me back?

I realized all along that that was exactly the wrong question. The other theater reviewers in Pittsburgh don't feel any obligation to the theater -- they know their duty is to the readers. The theater needs reviewers more than reviewers need free tickets. So it has been more my super-sense of my amateur status and some personal insecurities that have held me back.

The thing is this: I've been avoiding writing about the productions themselves. I've written about the ideas behind the plays, and things the plays made me think about, etc.... but I haven't written about the acting, the direction, the set design. Which is OK except that I have plenty (plenty) of opinions about these elements. And worse, my thoughts about the productions keep jumping up in my head when I try to write about other things. They've become a kind of hyper writer's block, with the result that I write no blog entries at all.

No more. I owe you, my dear reader, quite a bit more than this. And I owe City Theatre more as well. They are a terrific company -- with their share of faults like any theater, but also with amazing strength and warmth and flexibility. They can handle my criticisms, amateur though they will be.

Let the show go on.

Cheers to Mom

Friday, 11 May 2007 12:58 PM

In addition to being Mother's Day, Sunday is also World Cocktail Day.

My mom has a passion for raspberries, so I'm planning to mix up a Chambord-based cocktail for her. A little Chambord with prosecco and a ripe raspberry (as in this lovely photo) would be fabulous.

Or I may make this:

Les Trois Amoureux

2 strawberries
6 raspberries
6 blueberries
2 oz white cranberry juice
1.5 oz vodka
0.5 oz sugar syrup
several ounces Chambord

Places berries in air-tight container. Pour Chambord liqueur over berries until covered. Marinate from 15 minutes to overnight. Muddle marinated fruit in base of shaker. Add other ingredients and shake with ice. Fine strain into chilled martini glass.

(UPDATE: I forgot to thank Coudal Partners for the World Cocktail Day link.)

Spirited Cuisine: Rum

Wednesday, 09 May 2007 06:26 PM

This is the seventh installment in the Spirited Cuisine series from Sri Bala (Shaman) and me. Each round, I select a liquor or spirit, and Sri creates a dessert recipe incorporating it. Find Sri's posts at his blog and mine here within the Lush Life category.

Why don't people drink rum straight?

Dry Martinis made with gin and with vodka, bourbon on the rocks, whiskey shots, Scotch served straight, tequila shots: All are ordered every day in bars the world over. Meanwhile, rum is relegated to frozen daiqiris and pina coladas.

Rum is made the way other spirits are, fermented and distilled from sugarcane products -- that is, molasses or sugarcane juice. By the end of the process there's no sugar left in the beverage, although it still offers a sensation of sweetness.

And this suggests one reason why rum is served primarily in cocktails and not alone: It's not seen as a manly liquor. Bourbon, gin, and tequila are clearly manly. James Bond drinks vodka. And the only notable guy who drinks rum is a long-haired, eye-liner-wearing, prancing pirate. Sure, he wields a mean sword, but is that enough to restore rum's reputation?

But rum doesn't make a drink girlie. People make drinks girlie.

But to my point: There's nothing inherently girlie about rum. PeterB of Tea Leaves rightly says that "the real daiquiri will make a grown man fall over and forget where he left his brains." He also tells you how to make a perfect daiquiri, so there's no need for me to say more about it.

Instead, let me tell you how to make a Mai Tai. After rum, the next most important ingredient in a real Mai Tai is Orgeat syrup (pronounced "or-ZHOT"), a sugary syrup flavored with almond and rose water or orange flower water.

I'll hazard a guess that you don't have a bottle of Orgeat sitting around. (I didn't, and it took me days of searching to locate some.) Neither does the average bar. So if you order a Mai Tai at most bars, you'll get a cocktail made from rum, sugar syrup, and a bunch of fruit juices -- a girlie drink.

If you order a Mai Tai at a Trader Vic's however, you'll get something very different. The Mai Tai was invented by the original Trader Vic, so you'd expect his restaurants and bars to bemore precise about the drink's implementation.

Made with Orgeat syrup, a Mai Tai is sweet and tart, swirling with lime and almond and a hint of something flowery. It tastes summery and strong.

Mai Tai

1.5 oz rum (preferably Jamaican rum, particularly 17-year-old Jamaican rum)
.5 oz orange curaçao
.5 oz Orgeat syrup
1 oz fresh lime juice (about half a lime)

Shake all ingredients in a mixer with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the squeezed-out half lime shell and a sprig of mint, and serve.

If you don't have 17-year-old Jamaican rum, use another aged rum. Aged rum is golden in color, like a light whiskey or brandy. It's not the same as dark rum. Dark rum is generally gets its color not from barrel aging but from caramel coloring, and it's used more in cooking than in cocktails.

By the way: The International Bartenders Association says you can make a Mai Tai with half white rum and half dark, shaking the white rum with the other ingredients and floating the dark rum on top of the drink. Not only is this a fussier way to make a drink, it leaves the nasty-tasting dark rum unblended with the other ingredients. Avoid it.

Back to our original question: Why don't people drink rum straight? My guess is that it's because the rum that's most readily available is white rum, which has little flavor of its own. Gold rum, particularly rum that has been aged, is smoother and richer, quite appropriate for leisurely sipping. If you find yourself with a bottle, pour an ounce in a snifter and sip away. (Pirate hat and eye liner not required.)

And if you have some dark rum, Sri has created an excellent recipe for it: coconut rum tarts. They are very yummy and nicely rummy, and I suggest you check them out post haste.

Off to the races

Friday, 04 May 2007 11:28 AM

The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow, which means it's time to have a mint julep.

I am shocked to discover I haven't posted a julep recipe before. I suppose I'm intimidated: It's a Southern drink and I've never had one made in the South. I've barely spent time in the South.

So I'll just point you to a full dissertation on the subject, and a couple of easier recipes, plus a big pile of facts as well.

I recommend that you use a high quality bourbon, and the best and smallest mint leaves you can find. Cheers.

Pittsburgh BlogFest 10, on May 10

Wednesday, 02 May 2007 10:42 AM

Pittsburgh bloggers: It's time to socialize again. Please join us for Pittsburgh BlogFest 10.

WHAT: Pittsburgh Blogfest 10

WHEN: Thursday, February 22 May 10, 2007, 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM and beyond

WHERE: Finnegan's Wake (near PNC Park, 20 General Robinson St., North Shore, 412-325-2601), in the Pub Room

WHO: All local bloggers, blog readers, podcasters, friends, Romans, countrymen

AND: Pittsburgh Bloggers.

As always, if you plan to attend, please send an e-mail to blogfest AT closkey.com.

Promoting people who are not me

Tuesday, 01 May 2007 01:43 PM

Dear everyone, including visitors arriving here from the Burgh Blog:

I've little time to make fresh content for you today, but that gives me extra space to tell you to go see "The Missionary Position" at City Theatre on Pittsburgh's South Side. It's a funny play, ostensibly a satiric comedy about politics but really a comic tragedy about people and truth and integrity.

I'd say that's a fine definition of politics today: a comic tragedy.

The play runs through May 20, so hie yourself over to the City Theatre website, read a bit more about it, and buy your tickets.

Copyright © 2004 – 2007 Cynthia Closkey