Nothing Exciting Happens in Nova Scotia

We East-Coasters are guilty of having, as a certain public figure would say, a culture of defeat. I think this comes, in part, from the inability to, forgive crass the expression, toot our own horns. Up until recently, Nova Scotia was once crazy place to live. Our history is chock full of riots, pirates, war, royalty, wealth, massacres, and of course, explosions (not one, but two).

In order to celebrate and promote our trailblazing and sometimes miscreant past, Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management have teamed up with the folks at CBC to bring to Bluenosers "A Moment in History". Every night at the end of the news at six pm, your friend and mine, Jim Nunn, doles out a delicious morsel of Nova Scotia's past.

April is full of new beginnings and terrible endings. Tune in to find out:

• Which premier's dead body rested in province house for days while thousands gathered in the streets to mourn his death?
• Why is there is a picture of coffins piled outside of NSCAD?
• What majestic beasts (in fact, twenty-three of them) were airlifted from Quebec to the Cape Breton Highlands?
• When was the first live radio coverage in Canada, and what does it have to do with Moose River, Nova Scotia?

If you like local trivia and enjoy a bit of history geekery, make the switch at six. Besides, Peter Coade is a heck of a lot more tolerable than Cindy Day.

Going Veggie

I often tell people that I'm a slacker vegetarian, as I basically only eat meat when I'm out to dinner and not cooking for myself. I eat meat, usually chicken or beef, about once or twice a week, and never enough to warrant cooking it at home unless I'm having someone over for dinner.

In the spirit of my new health regime (Nubody's and I have become dear friends) I've decided that I'm going to try going 100% vegetarian for the next 30 days. I'm not the kind of person who constantly craves a hamburger or bacon and whatnot, so I think that part of my goal will be fine (excluding Easter dinner with the family... that'll be a bit trying).

One thing that I'm relying on to help this transition is the Daily Plate, which is a real asset if you're trying to monitor your diet, lose weight, keep track of workouts, and so forth. The trick is to update it every day or else it's very easy to fall off track. Seeing all the food you've eaten in a week gives you a sometimes scary perspective, especially when it's been "one of those weeks" filled with eating out and snacking on junk.

Something new I'm going to try out is using cookbooks to spice up my meals. Currently, I basically cook through pure intuition, throwing in whatever I think would be tasty. Last week I tried something different and clipped a recipe out of the newspaper. I loved it, the boyfriend loved it, and I would have never thought of it on my own. So here I am, scrounging Amazon for veggie cookbooks with "minimalist" recipes.

Wish me luck... this is going to be a very interesting experiment.

"Ring the Bells..."

Cohen is coming to the Rebecca Cohn in Halifax on May 12 and 13... far before my Europe trip. There's not much more I can say, except that I'm a very happy girl. I was 100% convinced I'd never get to see one of my heroes in person, but it now looks like a definite possibility. Life is funny, sometimes.

"...that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There's a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - "Anthem"

"Looks like freedom but it feels like death..."

"...it's something in between, I guess."
- Closing Time

It's finally arrived... the tour that's been talked about for years, now. At 73 the visionary poet, songwriter, and singer Leonard Cohen is hitting the road, travelling Canada and Europe with his band. In terms of my writing there is no one who has influenced me, or humbled me more. Cohen, over the past several years, has become my "favourite everything", being the writer of my most cherished books of prose (The Favourite Game, Beautiful Losers) and poetry (Spicebox of Earth, Let Us Compare Mythologies, Book of Mercy, Book of Longing), and the composer and singer of my favourite albums (Songs of Leonard Cohen, New Skin for the Old Ceremony, Songs of Love and Hate, the Field Commander tour album).

A fitting time for a tour, as Cohen just received an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While Madonna had Justin Timberlake speaking for her, Leonard Cohen was introduced and highly praised by an artist of a higher caliber, Mr. Lou Reed, who is, frankly, the epitome of cool. You can watch the touching moment, complete with a recital of "Tower of Song", here. Clips were shown from Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen, and Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, including a rather cheesy one of Bono. Bono dominated that film, unfortunately, as his opinion isn't necessary to prove the validity of Cohen as an artist. He shrinks in the shadow of Cohen's genius.

As excited as I am at the prospect of a tour, I fear I won't be able to catch the "Field Commander" live. I'm in Europe for roughly the first two weeks of June, which is when he's touring Canada. More Canadian dates will be announced at the end of the week, but I have a feeling they'll also coincide with my overseas trip. My hope is that more European dates are announced and that I can catch a show while I'm abroad. If not, I guess I'll just count myself lucky that I was alive at the same time as Leonard Cohen.

Movies Seen in '08

• Cloverfield
• Charlie Bartlett
• Be Kind Rewind
• Fool's Gold
  
• I'm Not There
• 4 Months, 3 Weeks, & 2 Days
• Fur
• Fright Night
• Elizabeth
• Good Bye Lenin!
• Heaven
• Jacob's Ladder
• Little Children
• Kids
• The Abandoned
• There Will Be Blood
• Persepolis
• Sunshine
• Across the Universe
• Sweeney Todd
• Right at Your Door
• The Decline of Western Civilization
• The Darjeeling Limited
• La Vie En Rose
• Ils
• 21
• Pretty in Pink
• Shall We Dance
  
• Pet Sematary
• Run, Fatboy, Run
• Mother of Tears
• Simple Men
• Palindromes
• Forbidden Kingdom
• Harold and Kumar 2
• From Dusk Till Dawn
• [rec]
• Iron Man
• The Band's Visit
• Don't Look Now
• Chaplin
• Blood Simple
• Into the Wild
• Definitely, Maybe
• The Happening
• PS. I Love You
• Wristcutters: A Love Story
• Paris Je T'aime
• Fast Food Nation
• Roger and Me
• Rear Window
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape
• Empire Records
• Zodiac
• The Queen
• The Warriors
• The Fugitive
• Blow-Up
• Nadja
• Croupier
• Withnail and I
• Wonder Boys
• Less Than Zero
• Batman: The Dark Knight
• X-files: I Want to Believe
• What Is It?
• Midnight Express
• The Talented Mr. Ripley
• Pineapple Express
• Tropic Thunder
• The Tenant
• Thank You For Smoking
• Ocean's 12
• Maniac
• Tenebre
• But I'm a Cheerleader
• I'm Not Scared
• Treevenge
• There Are Monsters
• Gonzo: The Life and Times of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
• Midnight Meat Train
• The Scavengers
• Repo! The Genetic Opera
• Zach and Miri Make a Porno
• Surveillance
• Nonsense Revolution
• Private Parts
• Chasing Wild Horses
• The Book Lady
• Next Floor
• Lost + Found
• The Trap
• Manhattan Murder Mystery
• Radio Days
• Blindness
• Wayne's World 2
• Enter the Dragon
• Serenity
• The Terminator
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• 2 Days in Paris
• Psycho
• American Movie
• King Kong
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Burn After Reading
• City of Ember
• Encounters at the End of the World
• The 'Burbs
• The Eyes of Laura Mars
• Saw II
• Grizzly Man
• Halloween II
• Razor
• The Thing
• Ocean's 11
• Mission Impossible II
• Wordplay
• Escape from New York
• Taxi Driver
• RocknRolla
• Rushmore
• Man on Wire
• Babel
• Synecdoche, New York
  
• Australia
• Milk
• I Eat Your Skin
• 25th Hour
• American Psycho
• 9th Gate
• The Prophecy
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Valkyrie
• Lessons of Darkness
• Cat-Women of the Moon
• Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
• Grosse Point Blank
• Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
• Let the Right One In
  

Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

This Saturday I made a trip to the Farmer's Market for That Dutchman's annual cheesemaking workshop. A friend and I lugged with us eight litres of whole milk, some huge pots, and a few other supplies through the, thankfully, not-so-busy market to begin the process.

After the initial heating of the milk, we added yogurt and retten to the mixture. This turned the milk into a very Jello-like substance that we cut into small squares with a knife. These squares become the "curds" while the leftover watery substance is called "whey" (which I found a bit smelly).

The rest of the process is simply the addition and removal of water, watched over by the Dutchman and his trusty thermometer. Being adventurous, my friend and I added some garlic to the mix. Others tried rosemary and dill. After the addition of flavour and the removal of most of the liquid, the curds are pressed into a mold, thus becoming a tasty wheel of gouda!

When I arrived home I let the cheese sit out for the night. In the morning I rubbed salt onto the wheel and wrapped it in plastic wrap. This evening, the "Gouda a la Oostveen" was ready for eating. I can say from experience that it made a mean grilled cheese sandwich, and an excellent accompaniment for homemade chicken soup. I definitely prefer the Dutchman's yummy aged gouda (preferably smoked) or smerkaas, but fresh, mild cheese is very pleasant and fun to eat... especially when you've made it yourself.

My next cooking project will be for "Pie Day" on March 14th (3.14---oh, the nerdiness). Pie Day will also consist of watching the movie Pi, which has been a favourite of mine for a while. Scary math and good food go so well together.