Queenkv’s Brainpickings

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Mark and I talked about doing a motorcycle roadtrip down Highway 1. I guess he would do most of the driving, since I don’t know much about motorcycles. Highway 1 is a beautiful drive along the Pacific, but long. Maybe when my contract finishes up next year, we can take another road trip.

Last night, during a fab private dinner party at one of my favorite Topeka cafes, a reporter and I mused about the landlocked nature of Kansas. It makes it difficult to indugle in fish out here simply because we don’t know where it comes from or how long it’s been here.

Now I realize I have a physical need to be near the ocean. When I lived in Evanston, I had a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. But it wasn’t the same. The Lake felt awesome during the summertime but I knew it was surrounded by states and Canada. When I zipped around lake on a Coast Guard ride along, I knew the limits of that body of water…small compared to the Pacific.

When I sat on the beach in Newport and stared at the Pacific - it felt endless, timeless. Despite the stress of wedding planning, being unemployed and life-rocking events, I could stare at the Pacific that always was and always will be. That felt comforting and no matter what was going in my life…I knew the Pacific will be there long after I was gone. When I waded into the waves, I was touching something that was beyond my puny existence and I felt calm.

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I am amazed and humbled by my friends. Betina and Hans have opened up their hearts to so many people and they keep giving. Someday, when we get around to having a family, I hope we could be like them - devoted to the kids and to having a good time with friends. I could see it’s hard work to find that balance, but they have shown me it’s possible. My latest tube addiction, Project Runway, kicked off its new season two weeks ago. One contestant is an architect-turned-designer. She has five kids. She said she always made an effort to look glam and good - because she knew it was too easy to slip into the role of the frumpy mom in sweats and a mini-van. From the clip I saw, when she tumbled around with her kids, she looks like a good mom. I’m always impressed with folks who keep their identities and are good parents. I’ve also season an episode of Super Nanny this week. It’s bloody birth control for anyone toying with the idea of being ready to be a parent. I can’t believe one woman allowed her child to punch her in the mouth! What the hell! That’s a good example of being a bad parent and losing your identity. I don’t want that to happen to me.

OK - back to the food. This is the seafood paella. Heaven! Fresh fish and shellfish…I love the smoky mussels. Savory rice to soap up the juices. It’s my first paella in, well, too long. We shared this dish and a couple of tapas. It was a hearty meal for four people. I haven’t been able to find a place in Kansas that serves paella. Damn shame. I’m grateful for the paella pan we got from our wedding gifts. I do have a poor woman’s version that involves salsa and canned mussels. It takes a while because I let the rice simmer in the broth to develop a thick texture. I know I should use brown rice, but I’m trying to be healthy about it. Still, paella from Cafe de la Paz - it’s great.

One last note on Berkeley. Good-bye to Sun Hong Kong. It became my favorite place for Chinese Food, after Taste of Taipei closed in the Durant Food Ghetto. Sigh. This place was open late and I loved going here after a movie…or to sober up after bar hopping down Shattuck. I remember the prawns and walnuts and the shrimp in black bean sauce. I’m always a sucker for dishes with black bean sauce. So sad about Sun Hong Kong.

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I had to work on July 4th. That bummed me out ’cause I wanted to watch the fireworks at Lake Shawnee with Mark. I couldn’t remember the last time I had to work on July 4th and miss fireworks. As I headed off to the station, I saw beautiful light exploding just outside our front porch balcony. I called Mark outside to watch. So, one way or another, we managed to spend the 4th with fireworks. We saw them lighting up the sky over the lake, the statehouse and other people’s neighborhoods…and despite the fact that it’s now illegal to do so, people are still setting off fireworks. Last night, on the scanner, I heard one call of kids aiming fireworks at another house…good times in the Capitol City.

I’m addicted to the food at La Parilla…it’s comfort cuisine for me.

Summertime treats: mojitos plus chips and salsa.

On my last trip to La Parilla, I had the daily special: jalapeno and mango rice bowl with blue marlin. The fish tasted fresh and the overall mix just popped all over my mouth - like fireworks.

My new favorite bar in Lawrence is the Bourgeois Pig. A few months ago, we ended up chilling at a quiet dive bar, the Sand Bar. But on our last trip to Lawrence, our dive bar turned into frat central - too many loud and drunk people. So, we ended up the Pig. It’s a classy joint submerged in candlelight and intellectual conversations. Pig patrons savored their cocktails and didn’t feel the need to race to get drunk for the sake of impressing friends. It had greyhound specials on the board….and I thought of Susan. There’s also wifi available. Neato. Maybe Mark could do some telecommuting from this bar.

Another Susan thought - bunny art on the walls! Susan loved bunnies. Doesn’t it look like Mark’s dreaming of his happy place? I miss Mark.

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I don’t want some doctor or nurse determining my body needs based on whether those needs contradict religious beliefs. However, for folks who need to be reassured they’re doing things the Christian way when it comes to health care, maybe a religious-based clinic is the answer. A place where medical folks can deny treatment based on their morals and patients know exactly what they’re getting into when they sign-up with such a place. As it is now, you can’t tell the difference between a health care professional who’s truly committed to your health and another who’s more interested in imposing his beliefs on patients.

“If your religious orientation is such that you can’t discharge your professional responsibilities, then you shouldn’t take on those responsibilities in the first place,” said Ken Kipnis, a philosophy professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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We went to Sushi Ko on Shattuck for lunch.

I love snapping up fresh fish in California. I ordered the Shiro Maguro (Albacore tuna) and the walu (butterfish). I enjoyed the walu - the clean taste and savory on my tounge. Tuna was quite good - and this little plate filled me up for lunch.

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We stayed at the Taylor Hotel in San Francisco. It’s just off of Union Square and in the middle of yummy food spots. On our first night in town, I had a craving for rice. I found Ar Roi on citysearch. Reasonable prices and great flavors.

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Mark found his favorite peanut curry dish…it was a bit watery but still tasty. I had this laarb duck salad. I remember when I brought home some laarb salad for my dad last year. He went out and replicated the dish in his kitchen. Well, I think laarb duck is a little more difficult to reproduce. I loved the rich flavor of the duck melded with the salad elements and Thai spices. I guess it’s suppose to be a starter dish…but it filled me up like a main entree.

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The next day, we took BART into Berkeley.

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I felt sad passing by the closed thearer, Act 1 and 2. So many things changed in my college town…it’s tough to keep up.

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I stopped by KALX Radio and said hi to folks…I also got a tour of all the cool new stuff - like a totally digital news studio! Wow! Back when I was a volunteer, we were still relying on cart tapes that were like 8-tracks.

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Here are some station pix from 2003….see the difference?

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I was also impressed with how clean the new mixing board was in comparison to this old school board.

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KALX still has the largest vinyl library of all the college stations on the West Coast. It was nice to see DJ’s are still using records for their shows. Rock on! I miss being a DJ.

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