Starting From Zed

Monday, April 6, 2015

E is for Evangeline Walton

Evangeline Walton was a writer of fantasy fiction. Here's a link to her goodreads page Evangeline Walton.

I discovered her re-do of Welsh mythology as fantasy fiction in my early 20's. The Mabinogion Tetralogy I read was packaged as four distinct books, with great cover art. I devoured them, one after another. And why not? They were the books I was looking for at that time. The women were strong and respected. The "old tribes" honored women as equals and their society was matrilineal. The "new tribes" were patriarchal. One of the major story lines was that of a woman from the old tribe joining with/marrying a man from the new tribes and being treated horribly. When the men of her family learned of this, they retaliated by attacking and laying waste to her husband's people and lands, and bringing her home.

I had no idea that mythology could be so vibrant, so alive - that it could relate so very much to what I felt and saw and believed in my own life and for my own time.

Last summer, as my friend Carolyn Stearns read the real Mabinogion, I decided to read along with her, and re-read Evangeline Walton's version. What a treat! It was more complex than I had realized, and the stories lingered more than I had remembered over the landscapes and people and historical/mythological changes. It was much more than the feminist mythos I had internalized, but that was still there too. It was still timely, and vibrant and beautiful, and so very alive.

It was a great introduction to mythology, and is still a wonderful read. Check it out!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Dum de dum dum.....Presenting the letter "D" and DREAD

I was happily amidst a group of middle schoolers, all working hard on doing improvs or watching their friends do improvs when I had a comment on the work. As I began to speak my coaching piece, one of the girls interrupted with:

"Dum de dum dum.....!"

We all laughed. No, there was no terror to be gotten from my statements but the drama of the lead in was enough to change the mood and start us on a path of ghostly improvs.

Dread sends adrenaline coursing through our bodies. Dread imbues stories with urgency. Dread is the ingredient that addicts us to "The X Files", Rod Serling's shows, Hitchcock's movies, zombies, vampires, ghosts. What if it REALLY did happen? What would I do? How would I react? Would I survive?

Walk into a room and sing out the phrase, "Dum de dum dum...." and watch everyone get silent, or worried. What power dread has over our lives.

I have been following the blog, Storytelling Matters. There's lots of dread there! Watch out!

Dum de dum dum.....

Friday, April 3, 2015

C is for Cat

Meow meow meow meow.

Meow meow meow meow

Meow meow meow meow meow!

I am proud to be have been raised by cats!

First was Thomas E.S. Pussycat the First

Then TESP the Second and the Third

Then Cleo

And Patra

The list goes on and on, but as anyone who has a pet as a child knows, they take care of you more than you take care of them!

It has been a long long Passover day, so instead of writing about cats, I will show you our dear ones...Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth (known familiarly as Nonnie) and William Butler Yeats (aka Willie.)

Thursday, April 2, 2015

B is for Brisket

It is day 2 of the "Blogging From A-Z Challenge April 2015," and that means the letter is "B".

Passover is on Friday, which means my extended clan of Weiss relatives will gather together to read the haggadah - the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt plus prayers and commentary. I expect the usual - lots of complaining about the length of the service, arguing about rhetorical questions, singing everyone's favorite song "Dayenu" and eating a fabulous meal.

The role of host and hostess has been passed along the generations. First my parents, then my cousin Joyce and now me. Yup, I am in the elder seat, and husband Tom and I host the seder, which means I have a second responsibility - to provide the main meat of the meal - BRISKET!

My mother's brisket is a vague memory, though I suspect it was as wild and wacky as she was. Joyce's brisket I do remember - a light brown flavorless meat covered in a lighter salty brown sauce.

Therefore, when the mantle of brisket passed to my shoulders, I resolved to to find a tastier version. And I did - the Passover brisket from Molly Goldberg's Jewish Cookbook by Gertrude Berg and Myra Waldo. It is cooked in apricots and drenched in a sweet and sour sauce, and it was scrumptious. Everyone wanted leftovers.

Then, earlier this year I was at a friend's house and tasted her Texas style brisket. Tender meat infused with smokey garlic goodness. "Ah ha!" I said. "Time to open up our traditions and include such a brisket with our Passover goodies."

However, I did realize this would be an upsetting of our usual order, so I sent out an email to the family. When I got no replies, I figured no one cared enough to comment! Texas brisket it would be!

I googled Texas brisket and came up with a suitable recipe. It looked good enough, and I was ready to give it a go. But then luckily for me, a real live Texan offered me her family recipe. Elizabeth Ellis, the wonderful storyteller and cook, dictated her method for making Texas brisket overnight.

So, last night I whipped up a concoction of herbs, liquid smoke and Worschestershire sauce, rubbed it on 6 pounds of brisket, put it in a 200 degree oven and slow cooked it all night. I carefully followed her recipe faithfully except for one little yet important exception. Her recipe calls for trimming all the fat off the meat. But, being a Jew and making a Jewish meal, how could I?

So I will be serving an honest Texas brisket - Jewish style, with a little beef schmaltz!

Thank you Elizabeth! I can't wait to serve it!

But just in case, Tom is making a small traditional brisket, so any old timers who might be disgruntled will be satisfied too. After all, this is a celebration!

What is brisket?

According to About Food :
Brisket is a beef cut taken from the breast section beneath the first five ribs, behind the foreshank.
Fresh brisket is an inexpensive boneless cut that requires long, slow cooking to break down the collagen in the connective muscle tissues achieve tenderness. The long piece is cut in half for marketing. You'll find it sold as a flat cut or a point cut. The flat cut is leaner, but the point cut has more flavor due to a bit of extra fat (called the deckel.)
Brisket is one of the least tender cuts of beef, but it can be made tender and the flavor is tough to beat.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A my name is Alice and my husband's name is Al - the children's lament

Day 1 of the A-Z Challenge

“A my name is Alice and my husband’s name is Al.

We come from Arizona and we sell apples.”

When I was a kid, that song was a favorite of mine. I loved singing the alphabet, I loved filling in the banks, I loved skipping rope as I tried to remember what names began with what letters and what places I could come from and what I could sell.

Childhood brain teasers.

I always used my friends' names (A my name is Adrienne) and they loved it! But when your name starts with an “R”, no one ever gets a chance to say Robin. No one ever sings the song for that much time. No one can skip rope until the “R’s” come around. There is no “R my name is Robin…” Never happens.

Finally, as an an adult, I realized that if I was going to wait for my name to be called, it was a set-up for disappointment, an exercise in futility. Each time we set up a jump rope game, every time I pulled out my own rope, I could hope we would go long enough to make it through the alphabet – or at least to my own letter. But no, I never did. We never did. My patience was useless.

So, if your name is Alice, or Ann or Andy or Annette, you are the lucky ones. Or David or Elise or even Karen. Pity us poor end-of-the-alphabet named children. We are still waiting for our turn.

Which leaves us with the real truth of the truth, with the only way to go - why not play the game for the fun of it? Why not sing the song for the sheer enjoyment? And that of course is what I did, what we all did. What we do.

"R my name is Robin, and my husband's name is Roy, and we come from Richmond and we sell radishes."

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The A-Z April Challenge!

Yes, dear friends, I am getting off my writing duff and entering the 26 day blog challenge. For 26 days (all the days of April except for Sundays or Saturdays) I will be writing a short blog post. On the first day, my post topic will start with A, the second day it will start with B...and so on.

Starting From Zed is # 1563 on the blog roll.

Here's the calendar. Please tune in daily to see what I am writing about, and comment freely! Be sure to check out the other blogs - there are over 1,500 of them. Wow!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Reflecting Back on the Summer Reading Fun of 2014

Science – Fizz, Boom, Read!

Summer time, I head up to Central New York to visit some of my favorite libraries bringing programs of dinosaurs and dragons, the mythology of outer space, star tales and moon magic, guitar music and just plain fun.

This tradition began about 10 years ago, when Amanda Briggs – the wonderfully inventive children’s librarian in Waterville, NY – emailed me a request to come to five libraries in the Midyork Library System. I replied "yes, of course - that sounds fun," and ever since I have journeyed up to the beautiful towns and friendly people along the Erie Canal and the Fingerlakes.

What a different experience than my usual NYC patch! Instead of subways and crowded streets with taxis, busses and cars, there are long stretches of country roads, miles of farmlands and small towns dotting the landscape. Even the cities of Utica, Syracuse and Ithaca seem almost bucolic.

Great community is found in smaller town libraries. Children of all ages - babies to teens - are mixed with attentive adults listen together, and everyone is ready to participate. People stay afterwards to talk and to tell you what they liked best, or tell you a story of their own.

Plus… Have you ever tasted chicken riggies? Or Hofmann hot dogs? How about Stewart’s ice cream? Michael’s is my favorite restaurant, along with Dinosaur BBQ, Moosewood Café and some great homemade ice cream stands and pizza good enough to impress this Brooklyn girl. For the uninitiated into the glories of upstate NY food, there are some links below.

Thanks for a great summer! I will be seeing you in Utica and Homer this fall!

P.S.

Here are some of the wonderful libraries and fabulous librarians (plus associates) I have visited with this summer:

Peck Memorial Library, Marathon, NY – Mary Frank