About Fried Chicken

For some time i've wanted to become an expert in cooking a good fried chicken. It strikes me as a good calling card for general expertise in the kitchen but my interest also may have come from watching Alton Brown many nights when I was too high to fall asleep (or hungry?). Here's me trying to start understanding the ways of frying some fowl. I'm coming for you Flav.

-There are two ways to marinate the chicken. Either soak them in buttermilk or rub in spices. Both require at least 24 hours of marination in a closed container. A different strategy is after using the spice process dip the chicken in flour-buttermilk-flour.
-The Lodge Cast Fryer is the way to go says Alton. 12 inch dish is preferred but this is a nice 10 in 3/4.
-The two liquids to fry the chicken seem to be a simple oil of vegetable shortening.
-The two blogs I keep referring to for my fowl info are Serious Eats and Sweet Surrender.
-Chicken wings: my mistress from the proceedings called average life. This recipe has old spice, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese as the sauce ingredients. Nothing indicating anything specially done for the chicken besides frying it undressed.
-My style in prep work is tenderize, s&p & paprika, flour, egg yolk, breadcrumbs. I have not seen another recipe that uses breadcrumbs but my chicken turned out very tasty. Guess it could be original.

Think I'll Go Have A Walkaround

This weekend was successful. Daniel and I drank ourselves under the table two times too many. Friday night we went to the Old Synagogue to Shabbat with the Conservative Jews of Prague. Daniel knew the rabbi back from Chicago so we had a way in although the bouncer of temple put a fire under our ass with all of his questioning. The service was quick (later found out bcuz there was less than 10 males there), the chanting was quick and real awkward for my amateur Hebrew tongue. We went to the rabbi's house afterwards for dinner and had delightful thai chicken wings, green bean casserole, and gefilte fish! wish i apparently LOVE. Now finally know why Chris Tucker orders it on Rush hour. There were some locals but mostly American students; some jewish girls infatuated with Dan the Man's jew charisma. Went to Beer Factory, the bar with taps at the table. Bemis' parents were in town, they bought us all of our drinks. Wooh! Came home with Ivey and Dan. We listened to music most of the night-nothing astounding on Ivey's behalf, very unimpressed with her musical choices. And then we watched motha fucking Hook. That move is astounding. There are so many great moments of foreshadowing and dialogue that only a grown up would understand. Robin Williams is "Peter Banning!" His wife says to Wendy, "He's working so hard i had to practically hook him here," Toodles losing his marbles, his stance, Wendys in love with peter, they're all orphans, its amazing!

Have to fly, have to fight, have to grow, have to save maggie, have to save Jack, Hook is back!

And the cameos!!!

Graham Nash and Glenn Close anyone, hah!

The Days are Tumbling

They're all running into each other lately. There is a groove, I'm becoming very familiar with the certain people i know in Prague. Starting to love them all very much.
James Franco was brilliant in 127 hours. The moment that thing pops off is both comedic and awe-inspiring. The next morning I awoke to the worst stomach ache ever experienced; had clams for lunch the day before and they were not suitable. An angel came down from the heavens and blessed me with her hippie and southern remedies. Dried fruits and nuts, yogurt, rosemary tea, and a homeade baked chicken. I could squeeze you just thinking about it. Played Go Fish before going to Shambalala, our weed pit stop. This place is an over the counter pot dealer and it is a fairyland. There are puppies everywhere. And you buy your weed, drink your delicious gambrinus, and talk to the regulars about texas hold em or how much they hate the czech people. It's a wierd trait but Czechs seem to love confessing their problems with me. Get to Radost after tram confusion. Reminds me of one of those places Bill Murray hangs out. Zebra printed fabric on the couches, the seat cushion is so long you're not sure if you're supposed to sit indian style or lay down. Night came to an end. No. 6 & 9*

I've Been Defying Gravity Lately

I am testing the limits of my balance lately. One moment I'm on a ledge, the next i could be off the precipice. Lately days have been spent on windowsills, porches, and very high ledges. But last night was just too dangerous. John and I somehow boosted each other up on top of the Jewish Cementary wall. Like scaling a fucking tight rope, i barely remember walking this fifty foot plank no wider than my shoe. So drunk, so dangerous.

Highlight of the day: Blind people taking a tour with individuals clutching their arms describing everything around them.

Had lunch with Dan and stupid pizza place. Discussed girls and the hot zone. We ledged it and begun writing our first single, "Some Girls Aren't Smart."
Put your accent back in your toilettries
I hope you don't keep comin' around me
Taco Tuesday was bumming. Brad invited this cheeseball over. Said that tequila was 30 american so he brought nothing. So beer it was. During up and down the river, John gave every single drink to Dan. Kid was sauced. Leave the place and destroy this nerd for not bringing liquor. To me that's worse than the dude who cummed on our couch. John kicks a guy right in the head swinging in the subway-"I'm not mad. Glad i make train." Czech patois. Get shushed by a policemen- first time the police presence has ever been acknowledged this whole trip. Bar was the Drunken Monkey. Wooh! Mardi gras party, bring on the beer pong tables, wah wahh. Everyone's everywhere and I'm with Katelynd most the night. Talking about dr. dog, wilco, first 1/4 blonde i've had, special olympics, and the neighbor that has hopelessly fallen in love with her. Dan fails with a DFM (Dance Floor Make-out). Night trams take us to the scene of the crime. Lost we become, meanwhile Dan can't shutup about us disrespecting the Jews. Hahaha. Oh and then this happened:

Read Stephen's blog for the first time when I got home. Man, i wish i had that kids passion. Listened to "My Mind is Ramblin" by black keys over & over. Sleep at 630 awake at 1050 for class. Karina, my beautiful 27 year old art teacher, the cutest person in world. Looked exceptionally cute today. Red dot earrings never fail me. Strolled with her after class today, maybe lunch date???! Helplessly hoping over here. Life's good.

This weekend should be loads of fun. Just me and Cousin Fleetwood for the first time. Plan on forcing him to do cocaine for the first time. Maybe he'll believe me that lines are supposed to be two feet long. Either way we'll be hanging like monkey men.

Dan & I's Tuesday Night

Tapping boot & the stare

this is bruce's band

jumping up and down

Some of the best guys i know

This is Coral Castle. That guy is Edward Leedskalnin. In the 1930s he constructed a park consisting of hundreds of expertly carved structures all made of coral. Some of the pieces weighed over 10 tons. This man, weighing only 180, claims to have done it all by himself. HE CLAIMS HE USES ANTI-GRAVITATIONAL FORCES. USING MAGNETIC CURRENTS, TOTAL JAR JAR BINKS MOVE. He wrote one silly book and died. None of his "tools" were ever found. Modern myth, ladies and gents.

More Berlin

The next day the three of us venture on the free walking tour the hostel provides. The Australian tour guide showed us so many great spots with expert, informative, and as you'd expect an Aussie, charming fashion. We started at the main Nazi headquarters, an enormous group of office buildings constructed with very prison-like architecture you'd shit yourself to see any soldier smoking inside one of the courtyards. The British decided bomb the shit out of it because it was such a valuable building and could operate under the new government which they do use today. I'm sure those pilots were so dissapointed when they got the news- "We have to bomb around it?!" Building was completely untouched during the Siege of Berlin; British precision for ya. Went to Checkpoint Charlie, the main gate to smuggle your loved ones through. Between the U.S. section and Soviet there was one checkpoint where an Eastern Berliner could go to the other side for 24 hours to visit their loved ones. Seeing it as a great opportunity to sneak your wife home, people went to measures like unstuffing the cotton of car seats and sewing up a person in it, secret compartments in trunks of cars, stowing away in any way possible. The great Holocaust Memorial was my favorite. The place really swallows you whole.

Night ensued, met up with Shannon and fought off her squishy muffin. Fun crew though, the subway ride was hysterical, involved a youtube crew filming themselves wearing costumes (shrek, assassin, big chicken) on the subway. Went to Festival Krauzzberg for the Soul Explosion, a soul train revival party, and boogyed the night away. Try to swing a milf but it just wasn't the right time. Noah went home but i managed. There was a French girl, there was a German girl. The night was late and the morning was bright. The afternoon was rude. Berlin was exceptional.

Berlin > Praha

It's simple math, dingus. I didn't say it was all relative, that was my boy Al. It's been 4 days since I got back and my morale is through the roof thanks to the time I had in Berlin. Home to the most beautiful people I've ever seen. A dream to a subway voyeur; you really can't help gazing at all the Betty's. The group is Noah, Oona, me, and one extra ticket for a girl that bailed. Walking up to the terminal, there was this punk guy, older, blonde mohawk and had all your typical clothing. He was pestering the bus driver to let him on the bus so we just gave him our ticket- the man's name was Cole and he's been working odd jobs ever since he left Canada in 1992. Upon our arrival he told us a great hostel to stay in, and a squat party called Kopi. The hostel was great, called the Heart of Gold. It had a great bar, complimentary kiwis, and a good crowd of young people along with your creepy older men. Noah ate bad Chinese food the day before and on first walking through are part of town (Ornienburgere Shwaze, lol) he decided to take the night off; so me & Oona were to take this party head on, or whatever it was. Bought some cheap wodka to get a lil warmer, walked aimlessly into the underbelly of Berlin until coming across some German tweens destroying a piano left on the side of the street. "You're going to Kopi? You are very overdressed." Had some sips of their malt liquor and they took us to this place. And oh my fucking lord, i have never seen such a large number of neo nazi revivalists in my life. I like to go to punk shows occasionally, throw my weight around and maybe push some people, but there's a fine line between frequenting and living like these people did. It was huge dormitory complex where hundreds of these gypsys lived, anywhere from 12 to 70 all wearing their leather studded uniforms with pride. Disheveled and drunk, whatever type of nationalist creed they follow it was amazing to see the culture preserved and so plentiful. Found out later that these co-ops are sanctioned by the Berlin parliament and only require 1 Euro a month to pay the rent for the space. There is some division internally, the sub groups of the punks (graphic artists, musicians, radical warriors) aren't agreeing and there has been some petty crimes lately which is threatening the existence of it all. But man, hopefully it works out. They are all in it together, i'd hate to see it go down because of some egotistical bickering. I don't have any pictures of the place, the 15th anniversary party i attended. I thought i'd be massacred if i dared to take a picture. But it was the grungiest thing i'd ever done in my life. Band was called Molotov Cocktail and their big hit was "Guantanamo Bay Vacation." No harm done to me and i happy i got to see the place, a whole lot of pride in Berlin; it was only 20 years ago that they were actually freed from the borders of a wall. People are incredibly generous, they can leave the country, live where they'd like. The presence of communism is slowly being pushed away, there's only a few sections of the wall that still remain and the other checkpoints and Nazi bunkers are now attractions. The cordiality of the people was very apparent, we got free tea twice, a free box of tissues for Noah's runny nose, and were always pointed in the right direction by strangers who never failed to smile. Although the city is no longer held captive by the Wall or patroled by Soviet soldiers the pain the Berliners suffered is very apparent. Over 400 people died trying to run through no man's land; their carcasses decomposed for years between the borders of East and West Berlin. ---- don't feel like resuming this unfinished thought whatevs more updates bout the trip soon

Lounge Away the Day

"Moonage Daydream" - Bowie
"Ain't good enough for you" bruce springsteen
"canadian girl" the walkmen
"the rat" the walkmen
"method" tv on the radio
"i want you" dylan
"the boxer" simon
"got my mind set on you" georgie
"you got the silver"stones
"doo doo doo doo doo" stones
"the spider and the fly" from stripped.. stones
"honky tonk women"
"Spend the night together"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pt2YuvrWYE

"how bout a groom stylist for the stars, sounds good huh?"
"Your imperfection benefits no one"

"My heart thudded audibly against my ribs" Been using pages from fucking twilight to make filters hah.