The New Thirteen40

Destiny

Destiny 2, originally uploaded by wolfgang_redspot.

I bought some art today. I should back up and explain that more. I went to the Yorkfest Arts Festival that is held each year on the last weekend in August. But, the art wasn't purchased there. There was some interesting stuff. There were only one or two things I would have considered purchasing. Unfortunately for them, both of the artists were way too busy talking to their friends to be bothered with customers. To be fair I think the one just could not escape. The other was totally oblivious to the fact that there were indeed customers. Guess she didn't need the business. In retrospect, I'm glad things went that way.

On the way back to the car I happen upon the City Art Gallery and popped in, encouraged by the artist who was out in front working on a painting. They have large collection of paintings, photographs, and other artwork, including some very nice furniture. I wandered around and found this photo of by Les Addicott. It is of a mural in York by Ramon Treviño. It looks good above my couch. 

There were only a few of Les' photos on display today, but on Fri. Sep. 4th there is an opening reception as part of First Friday. There are to be about 100 more photos there.  I'm looking forward to seeing them and meeting the artist.

Do not use as an elevation device

IMG_0856, originally uploaded by wolfgang_redspot.

Warning label from my kitchen shelf.
Do I need to get out my safety glasses when I put the toaster back on the shelf?

Splash Concert 8/8

The second concert of the Splash Concert Series was held in downtown York last night.  Again, the weather threatened to put a damper on things, but save a few brief sprinkles, it was a pretty pleasant summer evening.  Sadly, those brief showers seemed to keep people away. Or worse caused some of the wimpier attendees to leave mid-show.  The evening again featured three bands who play a good mix of originals and covers.

I arrived just in time (I've got to work on getting to one of these a bit early.) for the opening act, The Lonewolf Project.  It was duo of trumpet and guitar, a combo that I don't believe that I've ever seen before, but it really worked. 

Michael Burton - Trumpet, Phillip Freeman - Guitar

Up next was Harrisburg based jam band the Backroad.  They definitely should have been the headliner for the evening.  They had a great energy level and are a great band.  They need to make a cd. 

Matthew Gochenauer - bass, Louis Morgan - guitar, Will Markley -piano and Alex B. Smith - drums.

They invited Michael Burton back to the stage for a jam.  They all can improvise.

Michael Burton

Last up was Hellertown based Skyfall. They had a substitute drummer and seemed like they were having a bit of an off day.  I listened to some of their songs on MySpace and was much more impressed. I don't think they were helped by the order of the bands either.  Their much more mellow style didn't work well following the other bands.

Ryan Asher - Guitar, Darren McGuire - Bass, and the un-remembered Drummer

More photos of the evening are available in my Flickr set.  Some of these pictures are pretty grainy, I had to set the virtual ISO very high due to the overcast sky and the later darkness. 

As I said last week, my biggest criticism is they need some lights for these.  It's not fair to the bands or audience for this to take place essentially in the dark.   I'd also suggest that they setup the bands at the front edge of the stage.  People are already sitting way back.  It doesn't help that the bands are even further away.

Splash Concert 8/1

I went to the first of the Splash Concert Series in downtown York last night.  At first it looked sketchy whether this would happen or not.  There was a huge thunderstorm and downpour about an hour before the scheduled start.  Fortunately, the storm passed quickly and it turned out to be a very nice evening for an outdoor concert.

I got there late and expected to miss some of the show, but between the weather and minor electrical problems, they got a bit of a late start.  I'm glad I ended up not missing anything. All three bands are well worth a listen and I'll have to find some of their music.  And keep an eye out for future shows.

A few notes:  The venue is much better then I expected, expecially the acoustics. The bands sounded good every where in the park.  I would really only have one criticism, they need to set up some lights.  The ambient light in the park is barely enough to see whoever is on stage, this could be a real problem for the shows later in the series.  

Three bands were featured. First up was Doylestown based Indie/Folk Davis Howley:

Next up was York's Blues/Country act Dana Alexandra.

Last but not least were York rockers Kingsfoil:

Many more pictures I took are in a flickr set. Splash Concerts are being held every Saturday evening in August and September (except Aug. 29) at Foundry Park.  I plan to get to as many of these as possible. 

Update: You should also check out @susqphoto's pictures of this event.

Panda Stencil

Panda, originally uploaded by wolfgang_redspot.

I found another street art stencil today. This one is on a sidewalk near the new dorm on campus. The power washer will no doubt be out there soon.

Chocolate Gelato Picture

Chocolate Gelato, originally uploaded by wolfgang_redspot.

The recipe below came out great. Here's a picture. It tastes even better today.

Drink your water

Drink your water, originally uploaded by wolfgang_redspot.

Saw this random stencil on the sidewalk of the Walnut St, pedestrian bridge in Harrisburg. Since I didn't notice more, I think it was totally random and not part of some promotion.

Cherry Gelato

I'm in a recipe mood today. Last week I made cherry gelato. Also a modification of a recipe I found.

Cherry Gelato

1 lb. frozen cherries (pitted, of course)
8 oz. granulated sugar, about 1 cups*
1.5 cup cold whipping cream
1.5 cup cold water
.5 shot cherry vodka
dash of lemon juice

Directions

Put cherries, sugar, water, vodka, and lemon juice into a blender or food processor and blend until liquid and smooth.

Continue blending while adding the cream.

Optional: Chill mixture, probably not necessary if your cherries were frozen.

Freeze as indicated by the manufacturer of your ice cream maker.

*The original calls for 12oz.  This is sickeningly sweet.  I'd try it this way next time.

Chocolate Gelato

I've been obsessed with gelato since we went to Esaan Thai for lunch a couple weeks ago. My first try at chocolate, tasted great, but definitely was not gelato.  I'd call it frozen dairy dessert but that sounds like something that was over processed and full of junk.  It just wasn't as smooth as it should have been.

The current and really good chocolate recipe was based on one I found on Craftzine but modified mostly out of convenience (didn't want 1/2 the cream left over) and the reality of the grocery shrink ray.

Chocolate Gelato

2.5 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3.5 ounces Green and Black's Organic 85% dark*chopped/broken into small pieces.
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Combine dry ingredients in a sauce pan.  Whisk in 1/2 the milk.  Heat just to boil, continue whisking.

Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until melted.

Whisk in remaining milk and the cream.

Cool completely in refrigerator (several hours or overnight).

Process in counter top ice cream freezer. 

Makes a bit over a quart of mix and about 1.25 quarts of gelato. 

Notes: I might use light cream or 2% milk if I tried this again.  It's right on the edge of too much fat. It's a much trickier balance then one would think.

*Obviously, 3.5-4 oz of any good very dark chocolate should work.

12 of 12 for July 2009

Hey, so I'm a bit late to post this here.  It's been on flickr since the right time. :)

12of12 is an internet project to take 12 pictures of your day on the 12th of each month. 

Here is mine.