dad's writing

silhouette, originally uploaded by pr9000.

Several of you -- you have no idea how nice it is to say "several" -- asked for links to my dad's creative writing. I don't know if his first essay (on the joys of being a truck driver) is online; I'll ask him and see what he says.

But the other two are available -- this one, a fictional piece about a son and his mother, and this one, debunking common myths about a topic most of us know too little about. I think the latter is the best he's written to date, partly because he speaks from the heart, and partly because it's solid storytelling with a minimum of fancy-pants, gee-look-I'm-a-writer tricks. ("Gee-look-I'm-a-writer tricks" -- I've already done it myself. See, it's not that easy to avoid.)

As I said before, I'm extremely proud of my father for what he's done, and continues to do.

***

Switching gears: Slev Dupre (not his real name ... I think) is a friend of mine who once wrote for a now-defunct website I used to "edit" long ago. He has his own very humorous blog where he waxes philosophic on sharks, East Wheeling, John Wayne playing an Irishman, Mike Huckabee vs. the squirrels ... and, lately, science vs. religion.

I won't bore you with the details; you can head to his site yourself. But you'll notice my reaction in this post to those "Darwin fish" things that people put on their bumpers. He engaged me offline and we started debating the issue ... he says I'm making too much of the Darwin fish thing: "to me," he writes, "the Darwin fish says 'I believe differently, and I have an equal right to express it.'"

If the Darwin fish creator hadn't taken an already-existing Christian symbol and used it to get his point across, I wouldn't take offense. I'm not at all offended by the Flying Spaghetti Monster; the whole thing makes me laugh, actually. But the Darwin fish seems to be rubbing it in my face expressly by co-opting a traditional Christian symbol and, in many Christians' eyes, making into a declaration of hostility.

But then I think: am I an odd Christian by believing both the Rapture and evolution? Because that's me. I don't necessarily accept that the Old Testament is exactly how it happened, down to the timeline that makes the Earth 6,000 years old. And yet I believe in the redemptive message of Jesus Christ, that He is the last, best hope of a dying world, and that He will return some day.

I don't think that Darwin was wrong. And I don't think that insulting Christians who happen to think differently is a very ... well, Christian thing to do.

I think the real message here: Avoid bumper stickers completely.

two thoughts about abraham lincoln

Twice in the past week, I've gotten into conversations about Abraham Lincoln. Now, I realize that Lincoln's no Bernadette Peters, but he's still a pretty important American who deserves a post somewhat dedicated to him on this august blog. Now that I've deigned to write about him ... well, Emancipation Proclamation, Shemancipation Proclimation -- Lincoln's hit the big time.

I had drinks and dinner last week with a client in Atlanta ... he taught me how to drink sake with sushi (or, more importantly, how not to drink sake with sushi), which I consider very important information. It's about as important as the client lunch I had at Nami, where I was introduced to the wonderful world of eating a deep-fried shrimp head. I probably could pair the right sake with the shrimp skull, if need be. 

The client -- I'm not sure he wants me to use his name, so I'll call him "the client" -- was telling me of his fascination with Abraham Lincoln. We spent some time over beers discussing The Great Emancipator, his role in American history, etc. It's almost trite to say anything in praise of Lincoln, so large is his shadow. One could trace Sen. Obama's race speech (not coincidentally, given earlier that day) back to Lincoln and his influence on American political philosophy, though the Lincoln that everyone "knows" is the happy, shiny, he-freed-the-slaves Lincoln. His views were far more complex and not completely what we'd expect to be "enlightened" today, but we all need heroes, and as Nietzsche pointed out in "The Use and Abuse of History," sometimes societies need to create heroes.

So that was Lincoln reference #1. Reference #2 came tonight, as I spoke with my dad about his burgeoning creative writing skills ... 

I probably haven't said it out loud enough, but I very much admire my father's ability to just decide that he's going to learn something -- and then follow through on it. The best example is guitar: I'm not sure when he made the decision that he was going to learn to play, but it started when I was in middle school, after his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I've always thought he poured his hurt and anger and frustration into the guitar. By the time I went to college, he was very proficient. He actually saved my mental health by getting me a guitar at the end of my junior year -- I don't think I could have made it through my senior year if I hadn't had that Yamaha around.

Fast forward 20 years, and Dad decides he's going to take up creative writing. And his first story ever submitted was published -- which is more than I've ever accomplished (outside of a small essay I wrote for my college literary journal). He also has some pieces up at a creative writing site. He and I were discussing them this evening and, while talking about word counts, I mentioned that Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was under 200 words.

So that was Lincoln reference #2. And it caused me to reread the Gettysburg Address. I'm always blown away by this sentence:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The way he parallels "devotion" ... it works well on the page, but even better when delivered out loud. And of course the "of the people, by the people, for the people," which echoes "We the people of the United States" from the Declaration of Independence Constitution, adds just the right note of elegance with which to end the speech. Just 278 words, but pound for pound the most powerful 278 words in American history.

And now, he's immortalized on my blog. Lincoln finally matters.

note to self: don't go to southern mississippi

Seriously ... that's one bizarre potpourri of news.

silly face

silly face, originally uploaded by beths96.

the old in-n-out

the old in-n-out, originally uploaded by pr9000.

So Amina and I were hungry yesterday -- not just "I need to eat" hungry, but "I need to eat something bad" hungry. We've been trying to be good with our food choices of late, which has placed a whole swath of restaurants into the "off limits" category, so one would assume that, once the gates were opened, we'd have no problem finding something nasty, greasy and insanely caloric to enjoy.

But one would be wrong.

In retrospect, it's amazing to me the number of restaurants that she and I have placed on the "never again" list:

Ruby Tuesday's

Culver's

Quizno's (Amina only)

Lee Ann Chin (Paul only)

McDonald's (not really, but it's a last-resort choice when we just can't agree)

TGIFriday's

that Mongolian BBQ place off 394 in Bloomington

several Mexican restaurants in the area

pretty much any sushi place -- it's easier to list the good ones than the banned ones, but Little Sushi on the Prairie is particularly bad

And this is just a partial list; I'm sure that, if I consulted her while writing this, we'd have a much longer list. The first one listed would probably be "Why the f*ck did you wake me up at 7 a.m. to talk about blogging restaurants?" -- as I said, if I consulted her right now, I'd need a divorce lawyer in the room with me. One does not wake one's wife for silly, internet-related crap.

After kicking around some ideas, we decided on Lions Tap, the venerable Eden Prairie burger-and-fries place. Burgers and fries are all they do, and they do them very, very well. In fact, the last time we were in San Fran we went to In-N-Out, and were very disappointed. The Tap has been consistently better, which is blasphemy for many people ... but for my money, I'd take Lions Tap over In-N-Out most days of the week. (The only downfall? No milkshakes at Lions Tap.)

briouats in black and white

briouats in black and white, originally uploaded by pr9000.

Amina and I made briouats this evening for a Moroccan meal that her mother made in honor of my father-in-law's birthday next week ... these cookies are incredibly labor-intensive, but worth the payoff.

If you've never had one before -- and I hadn't until Amina and I were on vacation in Paris a few years ago -- the briouat is a close cousin to baklava ... kind of like a baklava cookie, but not as sweet. They're filled with ground almonds, sugar and butter, and wrapped in phyllo dough, which is the hardest f*cking thing I've ever worked with in a kitchen. Seriously, I limited myself to (1) frying the briouats in oil while (2) marinating others in honey and (3) watching sesame seeds toast on the stovetop. Doing all that at the same time was easier than wrapping those cookies up. Amina deserves as medal for doing it.

We also made ghouribi, which are amazing little almond cookie balls that taste fantastic with coffee. It's an odd recipe for me, in that you replace eggs with vegetable oil. The oil binds the dough, but not as strongly as an egg would. The resulting cookies crumble more than you'd expect, but the oil lends a very different taste-- more dense and rich. It's good stuff and compared to the briouats they're like falling off a log.

ghouribi, originally uploaded by pr9000.

here comes trotter cottontail

here comes trotter cottontail, originally uploaded by pr9000.

he seems thrilled about easter.

The Strength is in Unity!

The Strength is in Unity!, originally uploaded by orl770.

"check traffic conditions?" I think I know enough already.

water on sky thru glass 1

water on sky thru glass 1, originally uploaded by simone strifele.

good advice

good advice, originally uploaded by pr9000.

I must say, I think Fortune magazine is on to something, or they're on something ... the logic is bulletproof.

found on flickr

Shedded Illusions of a Young Man by the Ganges, originally uploaded by designldg.