Author Archives: Devon

Another Pretty Good Weekend

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I know that this is a late post, but I have to put it out there. Last weekend was equal parts estascy, equal parts misery. First, as I have always done, lets dispense with the misery. I had a nasty sinus headache that came on Sunday and stayed with me till Monday. I had been house-keeping for my dad and think that Jolie’s ample hair (my step-mother’s dog) affected me as I haven’t been around her this much since I moved out. The bad part of it was that I missed work. I really hate missing work as we are a bit short-handed now.

Now the good part. I was able to see the team that I perhaps hate the most get decimated, destroyed, annilated and every other similar adjective. It was glorious – LSU 41, UF 11. How can I describe my joy? You don’t understand. I spent a great deal of my youth seeing LSU getting their rears handed to them by Florida in the 80’s and 90’s. Payback, boys, payback. It stings, doesn’t it? Anyway, the two big playmakers had some great write-ups this week – the Honey Badger here and the Swaggering Aussie punter, Wing, here. Wing continues to impress me and he is only a Freshman. Mathieu – what can you say? He may get the Heisman if he keeps it up. While I don’t want to take my eyes off Tennessee, the game against Alabama will be epic. It may be that the National Championship comes a little early this year.

Now the Saints. Steady as she goes is how I like it. They played a tough game, with a lot of stupid penalties. Not on their side, but the refs. When Cam Newton was hit as he released the ball, how is that roughing the passer? Are we going to make QB’s wear red jerseys and enforce a no hitting policy like what goes on during practice? Idiots. The Saints played well enough to win, and winning is the only thing that matters. Problems will just have to be ironed out before next game, so Payton and Williams are going to have to jump on that. Saints are rockin’, though.

Also, it this week I had some great Indian food prepared by my sister-in-law. I have the dishes in the Review section. I will also put a great Korean dish that I made there. My friend Anna came back from her monumental tour of America on Sunday and I made this dish for us to enjoy on Monday before I drove her to the airport. It was extremely tasty.

That was pretty much my weekend. I did work on Saturday, but it was pretty quiet due to the game. Or, at least it was when the game came on.

My Kongnamulbap (????) – Walker, LA

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I have long been a fan of Korean food. Now, as I try to increase my culinary repertoire, it is only natural that I go to that cuisine style that I have so joyfully embraced. For my first dish, I picked a simple one that I learned about through my Youtube subscription here. Maangchi is a Korean cook who has excellent skills and does a great job of teaching it. Her website is here.

So, I used her recipe for Kongnamulbap. To put it simply, kongnamul is soybean sprouts and bap is rice. To make this, I used rice, soybean sprouts, ground beef, a pepper of choice, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, onions, cucumber, green onion, soy sauce and sesame oil. I then put a fried egg on top.

I just followed the recipe. Prepare the rice, add the sprouts, meat on top. Cook for 10 min. or so, stir the pot and then let cook for 10 min. or so more. Prepare the sauce separate. The only thing I did different was to saute the onions and cucumbers and then add them to the sauce.

This was a great dish. Simple enough for me and I made so much that my friend Anna and I ate it for lunch while having left-overs for two or three meals. The only problem I had was that rice burnt to the bottom of the pot. Will have to work on that.

Marianne’s Indian Recipes – Walker, LA

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My sister-in-law, Marianne, is one of my favorite people to talk to, especially about food. I like my other ones as well, but she is the one I have had the longest. More importantly, she lives the closest to me. This means that I can go and mooch off her when she allows. This past Friday she was without my brother as he was working a double at the Firehouse. I successfully ingrated myself to her when she said she wanted to cook a little Indian food. She has raved about it before and my ears perked up like Georgia (her German Shepard) when I heard Indian food. I even volunteered to help her collect the fixings. So off to the store leaving my two nephews to watch over the home front.

That night we had 3 dishes – Lamb Korma, Chicken Tikka, a Vegetarian Biryani and Naan bread. I ate till I burst. It was amazing. I could almost hear the Bollywood music in the background and feel Aishwarya Rai giving me a backrub. Awesome. I know, I know, Aishwarya Rai is from the south and these were all dishes from the north brought primarily in by the Mughals. Fine, but allow me to wallow in my own fantasy, ok. Yes, I know she is married. It is only a backrub.

Back to the food – paradise. The Lamb held only a hint of spiciness as neither my sister-in-law or I wanted the heat to overpower, but still delicious. The Tikka came out succulent. The Biryani was very good as well. The naan was simply divine – even though it was the only product that she didn’t make. Walmart. Who knew? Still, it came through perfectly and was a great way to eat the dishes. I don’t know how authentic it truly was, but damn it was good. I had a hard time deciding which was my favorite so I kept eating till I could make up my mind.

I hope to make many a long journey (ok, like 3 miles) to eat more of her great food. Wink, wink. Was that perhaps not so subtle? I did mention that I like to mooch. :-)

P.S. – The above picture is of Aishwarya Rai. A fine looking woman. It was only a backrub!

The Pastor, the Mormon, and the Interview

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Recently, a story broke in which a Dallas pastor, who after introducing Gov. Rick Perry at a fund raiser for his presidential campaign, slammed Mitt Romney for being in a “cult” – Mormonism. Admirably enough, the official response from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was that it would not respond to comments made at a political gathering, appropriately separating religion from politics. Later, Anderson Cooper interviewed Pastor Robert Jeffress. He defended Romney and later Barack Obama on the question of their religion. The video of the interview is here. Just for disclosure, I am not an admirer of either Romney, Obama, or even Anderson Cooper.

One of the interesting statements made by Jeffress is that Mormonism is a non-biblical theological cult, but not a sociological one. In this, I can only assume that he means that Mormonism was started by a man and not of the Jim Jones variety that practices mind control and communal kool-aid parties. In the past, however, members of the Association to which Jeffress belongs have accused of Mormons of said activities, perhaps unaware that green jello, not kool-aid, is the prefered [warning: insensitive joke ahead] poison of choice. Also, the last time I checked, the denomination that he preaches for were also started by a group of guys called the English Separatists, under John Smyth, stemming from the Anabaptists. Hmm.

As for the definition of un-biblical, Baptists were part of a movement to split from the dead traditions of the Catholic church, as they saw it, and rediscover “simple Christianity.” I have always found this interesting as early Christianity certainly was never simple. Even now, trying to find something in common between the many denominations that exist is difficult, up to and including the nature of Christ. Two thousand years of “historical Christianity,” as Jeffress describes it, have not allowed us to reach consensus on a great many topics. Perhaps the most amusing part of the interview was when Jeffress describes as Christian any person who has faith in Jesus Christ as their only Lord & Savior. Mormons certainly believe this, but are denied the title of Christian by these stout defenders of the “orthodox” faith.

Fine. I know and Christ knows that I joined the community of His Saints. On religion, I do not care what Jeffress thinks of my faith. Politically, it makes him look very narrow-minded by stating that he would prefer Perry to Romney based on faith, but would vote for Romney against Obama, even after accepting Obama’s Christian-ness. If he had answered otherwise, however, it would mean that he is not just narrow-minded, but an idiot. So good for him on that score.

Update: Jonah Goldberg articulates this argument much better than I in his Oct. 12th National Review Online piece here.

Foreign Service Officers Test

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Yesterday, I had the Foreign Service Officers Test for employment with the U.S. State Department. It was divided into 4 sections – Informational, Biographical, English, and an Essay section. I feel that I did really well on the first three sections. The essay, oh man, the essay. It was an almost complete disaster. I think that a monkey with its hair on fire could have written a better one than I did. It seemed when I finished a blathering unorganized mess. The topic was not that difficult and I knew quite a bit about it due to my studies. I just flopped. I am hoping that it turned out better than I remember it. Also, if it did, that the department may overlook it for some of my better qualities. I find out in four to five weeks. If I did fail it, I have to wait 11 months to take it again. Suck!

Pho Quynh – Baton Rouge, LA

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In the winter of 2006, I accompanied two friends on a journey through Southeast Asia for three weeks. We spent a week in Thailand, one in Cambodia, and a final one in Vietnam. During this time, I found paradise. When a man finds something close to heaven, it is difficult to replicate if it is not at the same place with the same people. Me and one of my friends – a beautiful, young lady – visited the Temple of Confucius in Hanoi. Outside of one of the gates, we sat down on a little curbside cafe operating out of a small stall. There, I had the best Ph? that man can taste. Heaven. Later that night, we attended a wonderful opera that capstoned the experience.

Upon arriving home, I tried to find something that could bring back that experience. To find paradise anew. I found Pho Quynh in Baton Rouge. I have eaten Vietnamese in California, Utah, and here. This place is as close to that little stall – and heaven – as I have found in the States so far. Today, I went with my eldest brother and a friend of ours. While they were no beautiful lady, enough stimulating conversation was provided to get me to the time when the food arrived. We had some delicious eggrolls and springrolls with peanut sauce. My course was a bowl of beef pho – with fatty brisket, round steak, and tripe. Add a little Thai basil, beansprouts, and chili sauce for magic. I considered licking the bowl, but I remembered sometime in the hazy past my mother warning me not to be uncouth at the table. Although I was able to restrained myself, the temptation was mighty. Go check it out for yourself.

Substituting II

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This Monday I substituted for the 6th time in the same school as before. This time I was “teaching” another special education class with students considered more functional. I have some doubts on the more functioning part of that statement on account of one specific class. While they were not wheelchair-bound or dumb of speech like my previous class, there was not a single brain cell in the entire group. In this class, I was a mere observer and felt like a member of a National Geographic Channel documentary – “The intrepid anthropologist” skillfully navigates the natural environment until reaching the target specimens. He observes the specimens in their native state, conversing only about their imaginary sexual exploits interrupted by occasional bouts of machismo to establish a very temporary and transitory dominance. Their main behavior seemed to bouncing a ball back and forth among themselves trying to hit each other in the genitalia. To be honest, I forgot about them being human for a moment as their behavior seemed more in line with baboons or rutting deer. I wondered to myself if I had ever been like them in my youth. God forbid! But I suspect it was so.

In my last post, I stated that I was filled with patience and understanding for those kids, as they were among those who most needed it most. My only thought this day was, “I hope that the Lord never allows these kids to actually run anything important, because in their current state they will kill us all.” Maybe one day they may grow up to fulfill some important task, but I have trouble imagining that I could entrust a mop and a bucket to them after the hour I spent with them.

Michael Milton (1794-1863) and Martha Elizabeth Clark (1807-?), Part III

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(Me-M-F-F-F-Them)

Military Pension Application

*Louisiana State Archives, War of 1812 Pension Applications, Cabinet 314, Drawer #7, Reel #4.

             

Page 1

The State of Louisiana >    6th Judicial Dist.
Parish of Livingston           Court Clerks Office

Personally appeared before me, clerk of the district and parish aforesaid Mrs. Martha E. Milton former wife of Michael Milton and now his widow, who lived and died in the Parish of Livingston and State of Louisiana. Who being duly sworn did depose and say on oath, that she is the widow of Michael Milton who was regularly in the military service of the United States – in the years 1814 and 1815 and in that capacity was at the siege of New Orleans in December 1814 and January 1815 – that the said Milton is now dead. That she knows the name of his Captain was Thompson – that she does not recollect the letter of his Company – nor does she recollect to what Regiment or Division he belonged. That he was honorably discharged from said service and that he obtained from the government of the United States a Bounty of Land Warrant No. 39213 for eighty acres of land.

her
Martha X E. Milton
mark

attest.
H. Davidson

Sworn to and subscribed before me
this 14th day of Augst 1869
Dan J. Settoon Clerk of Court

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The State of Louisiana >     6th Judicial Dist.
Parish of Livingston              Court Clerks Office

Personally appeared before me the undersigned Clerk of the aforesaid Court Mr. Ezra Hill and John Underwood. Who reside in the State and Parish aforesaid. Who being duly sworn did depose on oath that they were well acquainted with Michael Milton for more than twenty years. That he always had the reputation of having been at the siege of New Orleans and a veteran of 1814 and 1815 and that they are well acquainted for more than twenty years with the present applicant and know her to be the widow of the veteran Michael Milton – that the widow now and always has resided in the Parish of Livingston and State of Louisiana and since the death of Michael Milton she has always borne the reputation of being the widow of a man who had been regularly in the service of the United States and a veteran . Who had been present at the siege of New Orleans – in December 1814 and January 1815.

attest.                                                                                                     Ezra Hill
H. Davidson                                                                                     John J. Underwood

Sworn to and subscribed before me
this 14th day of Augst 1869
Dan J. Settoon Clerk of Court

I, Daniel J. Settoon Clerk of the aforesaid Court do hereby certify that I am well acquainted with the subscribing witnesses

Page 3

to the above affidavit and that I saw Mrs. Martha E. Milton, the applicant and the witnesses sign this application and affidavit and the warrants forwarded herewith and I […] then certify she is the person she represents herself to be and that she as well as the subscribing witnesses are persons of credibility. […] my hand and seal of office this 14th day of August AD 1869.

Dan J. Settoon Clerk

A Good Weekend – Football & Food

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What a good weekend! First, I worked on Saturday, allowing me to make a little money and further guaranteeing that I will be able to eat for the next two weeks. Also, I found out that I had lost 8-9 pounds, after 3 to 4 months being virtually the same weight. Being poor is the best diet I have ever been on. Later that night, I no doubt ruined it as I went to my dad’s to watch some football and eat grilled hamburgers. I think my dad finally has the hang of cooking burgers without burning them. Go old man!

But the game is more important. LSU 47 – WVU 21. Jarrett Lee was again rock solid. The two defense backs, Ware and Ford, were machines. Especially Ware, who was twisting and turning for extra yards the entire game. Everyone on offence played very well. The defense had some definite problems in that they were not able to put a whole lot of pressure on Gino Smith. Almost none at all. The defensive backs carried the defense with such exceptional players as Mathieu and Claiborne. The team was able to get 4 turnovers. The real MVP of the game should have been Wing, the Tiger’s Aussie punter. He put almost every punt within the 10 or 5 yard line. So what if Gino Smith had 463 yards passing, because WV had to start from their own end-zone on almost every series. I think I saw somewhere that the Mountaineers average starting spot was on their own 16 yard line while LSU’s was around the 48 or so. Field position wins games, baby, and this was how this one was won.

The next day I forgot to set my alarm so I missed church. While this stunk on my part, I was able to watch the Saints game while washing dishes. The Saints had a nail-biter against a rebuilt Texans team coming off a really crappy season last year. They really stunk but a lot has changed. It was back and forth until the very end. While the Texans maintained a lead for most of the game, Brees and Co. were able to put out their signature 4th quarter comeback to seize the win. The defense were the true heroes of this game. The Texans got to the red zone a great many times, but were held up to only a field goal. As one commentator stated, “Defeat, thy name is field goals.” So it was here, Saints 40 – Texans 33.

Finally, to finish the day off, I went to my brother John’s house for Pastalaya. I was hesitant, because I had never had it before. It turned out to be really delicious – as good as his Jambalaya. He is a pretty good cook. My dad and step-mother were there as well and after dinner we had a good conversation going. When I returned home, I was able to catch most of the new Jeff Dunham show on Comedy Central. All in all not a bad weekend – although I will try not to miss any more church.

Hate Crimes?

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This week in the US there were two executions of convicted murders. One was convicted of killing a police officer in Georgia and the other for a particularly brutal dragging murder in Texas. The man in Georgia was executed despite a lot of pressure from the public there to overturn the case. No one seemed to mourn the man in Texas. He and a few friends drug a black man to death behind his pickup. Putting the professions of innocence and the moral ramifications of the death penalty aside, I want to address something that has always bothered me – hate crime laws in the US. I don’t understand it.

Here is an imaginary example detailing my confusion. Say I am of a criminal persuasion and go into a 7-11. The cashier takes too long to give me the money and I, high on drugs, shoot him a couple of times. The cashier dies, I am on video and the cops come to arrest me a couple of days later after my mom rats me out so she can have my not-so-secret coke stash. I am found guilty and am sent to the electric chair.* Another tale – harboring a life-long hatred of Jews and other supposed sub-humans, I walk into my local Jewish deli and shoot the manager because I, like Mel Gibson, believe that Jews start all the wars. The local SWAT team raids my house hours later, finding me absentmindedly fondling my hoard of Nazi memorabilia. A ZOG controlled judge by the name of Goldstein sentences me to death by lethal injection. A decade later, after several appeals, I am executed by the state.±

The issue that I really have is over cause and effect. What difference does it make why a man was killed? I am not saying that intent should totally be eschewed, as that would totally throw out accidents, self-defense, and insanity. But a murder over racial or other equal motivations is no more heinous to me than one over money or anything else. A man (or woman) is still dead, leaving a hole in the victims family. All murders (by which I mean not of the three exceptions) should be processed to the harshest degree currently allowed. Allowing gradation in crime will in some sense create special social definitions where one person’s death is more horrific than another’s. Also, do we draw the same lines across all boundaries? Will a black man, if he is filled with hate towards “The Man,” then drive up and shoot me as I pick up the morning paper because of my skin color get the same treatment as an Aryan Brother pulling the same crime? I do not know. All of this current rush towards “fairness” leads me to believe not. I do not mean to just limit this to just murder either, but include rape, assault, etc. In any of these moments, no matter the reason, I am sure there is a lot of hate there.

*The first imaginary me could probably get a good lawyer and get it whittled down to just Manslaughter or Murder 2.

±The second imaginary me would probably try for an insanity plea. Pre-planned videos of me saluting “Heil Hitler” while watching Triumph of the Will, getting loaded on schnapps and repeated loops of Wagner on high volume would no doubt aid my cause.