Behind Mansion Walls

I'm obsessed with this show.
I just spent the last five hours watching it. It's pretty much Gossip Girl meets Unsolved Mysteries.

Saint Agnes of Rome

Yesterday marked exactly one year since the last time I had sex.

To observe this momentous occasion I ate an entire McCain's rising crust pizza and contemplated, Saint Agnes of Rome, patron saint of chastity.

  

In 304 AD, this particularly babelicious young woman was arranged to be married to some big shot's son (Prefect Sempronius if you want to get specific.) For whatever reason she refused to marry him and an enraged Prefect condemned her to death.

The thing is, at the time it was forbidden to execute a virgin, so Sempronius, apparently a quick thinker, had a naked Agnes dragged through the streets to a brothel. She prayed that her body would spontaneously sprout wiry hair all over it so nobody would ever want to rape her....and God made it happen!

 Decorum be damned, they beheaded her anyway.

More than 1,700 years later, this hairy young woman remains an inspiration to me.

Just as she fights the men off with super gross amounts of body hair, I fight them off with whole McCain's rising crust pizza.

RIP Agnes.

Almond Cornmeal Cake...with grapes?!

Okay....so this might sound a little weird, but trust me, it's delicious!
It's also dead simple. Everything can be made in the food processor.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1c. flour
• 1/2c. ground or almonds
• 1/4 c. medium ground cornmeal
• 1.5 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1.5 c. red seedless grapes

Directions:

1. Brush an 8" square pan with oil and dust with flour
2. Pulse together flour, hazelnuts, cornmeal, baking powder and salt
3. Add the oil, eggs, sugar, lemon juice and milk to the dry mixture and blend in the food processor for 30 seconds
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend again for another 15 seconds.
5. Gently fold in half of the grapes and pour batter into the pan
6. Distribute the remaining grapes over the top of the batter
7. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes clean

Hydroponics

My basil after 2.5 months

Knowing what hydroponics have done for the home marijuana grower I obviously thought to myself "oh, I wonder what less fun things I could do with this?!?"
Hydroponics is loosely defined as the plantings grown in a soiless medium, in my case, black gravel suspended in a nutrient mix.

So about two and a half months ago I decided to dedicate one shelf in my windowless storage room as a mini hydroponics basil garden, using only a rubbermaid container, two 13W compact florescent light bulbs and six styrofoam containers perforated with a skewer and filled with gravel. This kind of hydroponics system is called deep water culture.

Two weeks

4 weeks

Happy Birthday on the Piano

Hybrid Hit-list

I'm not necessarily an advocate of strange and unusual inter-species hybrids. However, I can't ignore my not-so-secret god-complex and give these somewhat mythical creatures their due attention.

The animals that follow are just a few of my favorite animal hybrids.

The Zonkey

In South Africa they occur where zebras and donkeys are found in proximity to each other. Like mules, however, they are genetically unable to breed, due to an odd number of chromosomes disrupting meiosis. However, in The Origin of Species,Charles Darwin reported a case of a zonkey that apparently bred with a bay mare to produce a "triple hybrid".

The Zorse

A zorse or zebrula is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare; the rarer reverse pairing is sometimes called a hebra.The zorse is shaped more like a horse than a zebra, but has boldly striped legs and, often, stripes on the body or neck. Like most other interspecies hybrids, it is infertile.

Zorses are preferred over purebred zebras for riding and drought for several reasons, although they are still not as easily handled as purebred horses and should not be ridden or purchased by novices. Their more horselike shape, particularly in the shoulder region, makes it easier to obtain harness.

The Leopon

A leopon is the result of breeding a male leopard with a female lion. The head of the animal is similar to that of a lion while the rest of the body carries similarities to leopards. They have been bred in zoos in Japan, Germany, and Italy. The leopon has the size and strength of a lion. But, unlike the lion, they have extraordinary climbing abilities like the leopard. The female leopons may be torn between the solitary nature of the leopard and the social nature of a lioness.

The Zho

Zho are a hybrid of a yak and domestic cattle. The word dzo technically refers to a male hybrid, while a female is known as a dzomo orzhom. Alternative Romanizations of the Tibetan names include zho and zo. InMongolian it is called khainag (хайнаг). There is also the English languageportmanteau term of yakow; a combination of the words yak and cow, though this is rarely used.

As they are a product of the hybrid genetic phenomenon of heterosis (hybrid vigor), they are larger and stronger than cattle or yak. In Mongolia and Tibet, khainags are thought to be more productive than cattle or yaks in terms of both milk and meat production.

The Savannah Cat

Okay, so technically this is a INTRA-specific hybrid and not an INTER-specific hybrid, and so is much less notable. However, it's such an interesting looking animal!

Bengal breeder Judee Frank crossbred a male Serval (an African wildcat), belonging to Suzi Woods, with a Siamese (cat) (domestic cat) to produce the first Savannah cat on April 7, 1986.

The Geep

Finally, although technically not a hybrid but a chimera, the Geep, or goat-sheep is of particular interest of me. It was also featured in a 2008 radiolab podcast.

Mad Men Myself

I'm trying to get Don drunk.