Wednesday, June 13, 2012 7:59:28 AM
Book cover, water, fire
Okay, a new cover for my upcoming book Fire and Water
Friday, June 8, 2012 9:47:25 AM
The cover for my latest book appears to be ready. I'll double check it tomorrow, though
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 8:19:50 PM
yummy, taco, cheese, Mexico
...
Tacos in the US are completely different from the US. There is no lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc on them. And yet, they are far superior. So with that in mind, this will be another cheap food post on how to make tacos.
1) Very thin meat (2.80 for half a kilo. You need about a third of that for 3 filling tacos)
2) A slice or two of Queso Machego (a bit on the expense side 25.04 for about 1/4 a kilo, but you only need a little)
3) A dash of Tajin Salsa en Polvo. This is a salt and red pepper mixture with a dash of lime (10 pesos for a bottle that will last bloody forever)
4) Corn Torillas
Slice you meat into thin strips and put them in the pan with hot oil. Add you dash of Tajin. When cooked, set aside. Put the torillas in the pan and cheese on and allow the cheese to melt. When cheese is melted put the meat on the torilla and fold and eat. Do not add sour cream, etc. You can serve with salsa verde or any real Mexico salsa. The flavor comes from the nice warm tortilla and cheese and meat and boosted by the Tajin. Maybe a dash of lime and clilantro would be good added to the meat, but I haven´t tried that myself.
Thursday, February 21, 2008 3:35:38 PM
Lunar Eclipse, eclipse, sky, wonder
...
Last there was a fantastic Lunar Eclipse. From the vantage point on the roof of the hostel, I watched the the moon darken and go completely reddish orange.
Being the only one that rememberd about the eclipse, I let the other residents know what was happening. Us guys climbed a ladder to the roof, the very top while the two German girls only ventured as far as the lower roof. I didn´t care too much for the ladder. It was made of steel and wasn´t in danger of breaking, but had the steps like 3 feet apart. The effect of this was the everytime I took a step, my foot couldn´t step. The ladder only went as far 4 feet or so below the roof, so everyone had to grab the ledge and hope not to fall (the fall would about 15 feet, probably not lethal unless you land directly on your head or something, but breaking something would be no fun either.)Of course, the roof proved to be a perfect vantage point and there wasn´t a cloud in the sky.
Little by little the moon darkened. The problem with some smart people is that they don´t know when to shut up and this was the case. Pointing out the constellations and such is fine a cool at first, but the full eclipse starts to take effect, sometimes it´s better just to be quiet and watch the marvel. But at about the last second, everybody shut up for a bit.
So it was fanastic night. The weather was perfect, not cold nor hot. But I would have gone up even if was cold. It´s important in life to catch the wonders that come your way and gaze at the sky and lose yourself in the splendor of it all.
(
Source of images, can´t take credit for them, I´m afraid. The top one is from Mexico City, however. )
Sunday, February 17, 2008 6:42:56 PM
Irish, pub, Mexico, bar
...
Last night a group of us went to Ireland Pub. At first it was the hostel manager, a Spanish guy staying at the hostle and girlfriend. We also had guy from Liverpool who´se also studying to be a teacher.
There was a bit of a queue to get in and we stood outside for like fifteen or twenty minutes maybe. Once inside, they had the stereotypical tacky "Irish" stuff plastered over the wall like Guiness signs and the like and sign proporting to the directions to various places in Ireland, but why is Dublin to the left and other places to the right? Or maybe we´re meant think that´s a authentic Irish signpost? Like most shit bars, it was overcrowded with no proper dance floor or room to stand. The music ranged from total shit to decent with everything from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to some weird dance remix of The Happiest Days of our Lives (Pink Floyd´s "We Don´t Need No Education" song)
Of course, everybody was dancing and drinking in the Irish Pub in Mexico City full of Americans.
But then I traded with the enemy.
It´s true!
Treason!
We ordered a bottle of Havana Club, Cuban rum. Made in Cuba
The stuff is brutal in the mornings, let me tell you.
And the night was finished off with some dodgy street hotdog and me thinking "Am I seriously eating this dodgy street hotdog at four O´Clock in the morning after going to an "Irish" bar in Mexico City?
Sunday, February 17, 2008 2:26:10 AM
Mexico, sorry
Sorry for not posting since Monday. I been so damn busy! I´d usually get back to the hostel at about 6:30, have to read 2 or 3 chapters of homework, do homework excerises and than plan classes to teach
Monday, February 11, 2008 9:19:39 PM
Ever have one of those days when every single thing you do goes wrong. I am quite literally. From sleeping onwards.
I told you in the last post about not getting to sleep because of the noise and about my food being eaten. It went downhill from there. I washed my clothes and unfortunately it seems I left a piece of paper in pocket an dit shredded and got all over my nice slacks. No biggies. I hung them on the line (which is on the roof) and start walking to school. It starts raining
So I get to school and wait for the teacher. And wait some more. After that I decided to some serious waiting. But the teacher didn´t come. Finally the teacher calls and says he won´t make it.
It reminds of an old song from the 1980´s, it goes something like this:
Uhhh-eee diddly bop, I'm about to blow my top
Hahaha don´t give a damn
Hahaha now thank you ma'am
Got no phone!
got no heat too!
Late last night the electricity blew!
Seems like things are goin´wrong
stay in bed all day long!
Uhhh-eee diddly bop, I'm about to blow my top
Hahaha don´t give a damn
Hahaha now thank you ma'am
Monday, February 11, 2008 2:48:40 PM
angry, socialist, loud, food thieves
...
I woke up to find that my hosts had eaten my can of beans that I just bought yesterday and half my new bag of guten. It's real easy when you're eating other people´s food without permission, isn't it. It's real easy to save socialist slogans on the wall when 90% of the food is somebody else´s.
This after keeping me up all fucking* night with loud as hell music when I had to come downstairs twice to ask them to turn it down (which lasted about 10 minutes)
* French word meaning I´m very angry
Sunday, February 10, 2008 1:45:30 AM
student food, glutten, Mexico, food
...
These are some very cheap meals that I came up with. You can eat cheaply with ramon type food, but with that you`re eating little more than salty water and noodles.
Pasta and Frijoles
Half a small package of pasta (4 pesos for the packages)
A third a can of black beans (10 pesos for the whole can)
1 tomato (5 pesos for a kilo)
1 onion (10 pesos for a kilo)
Optional: A chipotle pepper (5 peso for a can)
These directions are very complex, so pay attention
Boil the pasta using purified water. Maybe tap water will work, since the water is boiled but I don't want to chance it. While that's boiling cut up the tomato and onion. When pasta is done drain 90% of the water, add the beans, cut up tomatoes and onion and the pepper. Continue cooking untill the tomatoes are soft. Total cost: 2 peso for the pasta, 3 peso for the beans and a peso or so for the rest is about 6 peso or 60 cents. I got complaints on how this smelled.
Pasta and guten. The same only replace beans with a third a pack of flavored guten. Total price is horribly expensive now...about a dollar.
Guten and tortillas. This is sorta like fajitas only cheaper.
a third a bag of fajita flavoured wheat gluten (22 pesos for the whole bag)
1 tomato and an onion.
Optional a chipotle
a few corn tortillas (5 pesos of 1/2 kilo)
chop the tomato and onion. cook tomato and onion in a pan with the guten untill the guten looks like cooked meat and the oninion is soft. Heat the tortillas in the same pan until hot. Put the guten mixture in the tortillas and eat. Cost about 8 pesos.
Friday, February 8, 2008 2:21:11 AM
pronunciation, TEF, learning, spanish
...
Everyone can pronounce words in their own language properly right? You can say "Hill" without it coming out as "Heel", can't you? You can say "river" without it coming out as "Riber." But how do you teach others the correct pronunciation? Well, it´s not that easy. If you have a student that continues to say "riber", usually just make him repeat after you will not do the trick. So now what? Well, for one, you would need to pay close attention to you own pronunciation. What exactly is happening when you say "river" In the case of river (and other "v" words, when you annunciate clearly, the V sound actually vibrates. In contrast, the "b" sounds cuts off quickly and leaves the mouth almost in a pop.
Strange as it may sound, really have to know what your lips, tongue and mouth and throat are doing when you speak your native language. But someimes it´s not possible show the students how to pronounce the sound, ie it´s not really visible on the lips and face. This is where you might say the word naturally in a sentence or context. Annunciate and isolate the problem sound, letting the student be aware of changes in pitch, etc. After that going back to naturally using the word.
1 2 Next »
My Opera
