JamesSavik

At least you are still young enough that birthdays are a cause for celebration rather than commiseration. Have a great year!

It's erm, magic....

No payment necessary... unless you feel motivated to write a sequel: New Brother.. the College Years.

Graeme is an asset to any forum and his writing is top shelf. I've been a fan since I stumbled upon New Brother. New Brother in addition to Falls Creek Lessons and Heart of the Tree are some of the best writing that the web has to offer. Graeme's novels are powerful, written with great skill and a gentle, good-natured innocence that is as unexpected as it is welcome. His short stories are pure gold too. If you haven't read any of his stories, then what's keeping you!? Off you go! Just remember to pack a lunch because you won't want to stop until you are done.

Oprah Alert!

Super-Bowl Chili If you come to one of my super bowl parties, you will find plenty of chili, hot dogs, nachos and whatever the other guests might bring. The chili is critical. The nachos and hot dogs depend on it! This is my best chili recipe: Start with: Bear Creek Darn Good Chili 1 med. red onion. 1 can light kidney beans 1 can dark kidney beans 1 can Rotel (plain or chili fixings is OK) 1 8 oz can of Hunts tomato Sauce (Hunts tomato sauce for chili is OK too) 1 can tomato paste 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1 tsp red pepper 1 tsp black pepper 1 tblsp salt Instructions Cut into fine pieces red onion Set up crock pot Put 6 cups water in crock pot. Set crock pot to slow simmer. Open package of Bear Creek Darn Good Chili mix, put in crock pot Put beans, spices and tomato sauce into crock pot Take a sauce pan, put in 1.5 pounds lean ground beef + onion Brown meat and onions, drain any fat. Add to crock pot. Cook in crock pot over night on lowest setting. Serves a small crowd. Goes particulary well on hot dogs and nachos. Serve with crackers and cheese. Suicide Dogs all the way: regular hot dog + chili + cheese + saurkraut + spicy brown mustard + chopped onions + jalepinos

Like gumbo, red beans & rice is an improvised dish traditionally made on Mondays with red beans, vegetables, spices, and pork bones left over from Sunday dinner. Like gumbo there are as many variations on red beans & rice as there are cooks. Here are a few things to look out for: RB&R is often sold in a box at grocery stores: just add water simmer and... I say BAH! Real RB&R- the beans & sauce and rice are cooked seperately and not mixed until served. Red beans or kidney beans can be found canned or dried. If dried, they must soak overnigh before you used them. I've looked around the net for some suitable recipes. Here are a few that look promising. Bayou Beans & Rice [more to come, gotta run]

Spicy Cajun gumbo is just the thing for cold winter days. Gumbo is a soup or stew that is served all along the Gulf and as far up the Atlantic coast as Charleston, SC. There are hundreds of recipes for gumbo: some that take all day to cook, others an hour and a half. Some are based on shrimp and crab meat. Others chicken and sausage. The big reason for this is that gumbo was created by poor Cajuns who had to cook with what they had. Gumbo in its traditional form is almost always an improvisation with its variations based on whatever the cook has lying about the kitchen. So giving you a recipe for gumbo is like sheet music for jazz: it just ain't cool that way. Here is a good beginners recipe for Gumbo. It is fairly authentic- note that for meat, it calls for: chicken breast, duck, wild game or sausage or shrimp. The meats can all be used in combination, one with the other or individually So you can see that gumbo is made from whatever you've got in the kitchen. One of Gumbos more devine aspects is how it good smells when it is cooking. Make a big pot and neighbors and relatives you haven't seen for years will suddenly appear. Here is another recipe for gumbo that only takes a 1 1/2 hours to prepare. This one is one of my favorites and only takes an hour and fifteen minutes. This recipe is loaded with seafood and is ready in an hour and 10 minutes. Note: For those of you that can't get some of the more authentic ingredients, for andouie substitute spicy beef or pork sausage. Red onions are the soul of Cajun- when in doubt use a red onion. Cayenne pepper is widely available but it is often packaged and sold as "red pepper". Check the label. Tabasco is authentic Cajun made hot sauce available nationally. Louisiana or Crystal hot sauces are somewhat local to the south and have a more understated flavor. Even if you are not a big fan of okra, use it anyway. The seeds add a special flavor to the gumbo. You can always cut back on how much you use. Let me know if you want to hear about Red Beans & Rice.

Key Lime Pie is a classic of the Old South. Although it is called a lime, the Key Lime is a slightly different species from most limes- its natural color when ripe is a golden-brown color which some people don't associate with lime. Some cooks use a touch of green food coloring can make it appear more "lime-like" but true aficionados consider this heresy. ________________________________________________________________________________ Key Lime Pie This makes a 9" pie. Ingredients: 9-inch graham cracker piecrust 2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk 6 egg yolks (Saved the egg whites to make the meringue!) 1/2-cup Key Lime Juice Preparation: Blend milk and egg yolks at slow speed until smooth. Add Key Lime juice and finish blending. Pour into piecrust. Bake in preheated 300-degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool pie 20 minutes before refrigerating. Serve chilled Key Lime pie with whipped cream topping or meringue. Serving suggestions: Traditionally, Key Lime pie is enjoyed plain, with a whipped cream topping, or with a meringue topping. For an interesting variation, drizzle chocolate sauce, mango sauce, and/or raspberry sauce over a slice of Key Lime pie. The complimentary flavors are sure to please. ________________________________________________________________________________ Optional: [cool-whip works just as well] Meringue Ingredients: 6 egg whites 6 Tablespoons sugar Pinch Cream of Tartar 1-teaspoon vanilla extract Preparation: Beat egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract, and Cream of Tartar at high speed. Continue beating mixture until egg whites are stiff. Top baked pie with the meringue. Bake until Meringue is golden brown. Careful! It burns easily. Cool pie. ________________________________________________________________________________ Strawberry Key Lime Pie a popular variation This makes a 9" pie. Ingredients: 9-inch graham cracker piecrust 2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk 6 egg yolks (The egg whites can be saved to make a meringue topping, if desired. See recipe.) 1/2-cup Key Lime Juice 1/2-cup strawberries blended with 1/8-cup sugar 4 drops red food coloring Preparation: Blend milk and egg yolks at slow speed until smooth. Add Key Lime juice and finish blending. Add strawberries and food coloring and mix until just blended. Pour into piecrust. Bake in preheated 300-degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool pie 20 minutes before refrigerating. Serving suggestion: Serve chilled strawberry Key Lime pie with a slice of fresh strawberry, strawberry sauce and whipped cream. Enjoy.

Shrimp Creole ala Hebert Y'all try this one: 2 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium sweet white onions, small dice 2 medium red onions, small dice 1 green bell pepper, small dice 1 red bell pepper, small dice 1 yellow bell pepper, small dice 2 jalepino peppers, small dice 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 quarts shrimp stock 6 cups crushed tomatoes (if using fresh tomatoes, run them through a food mill) 2 8-ounce tomato sauce 3 6-ounce cans tomato paste 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (I suggest Tony Chachere's seasoning) 3 tablespoons Tiger Sauce (if you can find it) 3 cloves of roasted garlic 1 teaspoon Crystal hot sauce 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme) 2 bay leaves 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 3 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined About 15 cups cooked long-grain or converted rice (about 5 cups raw) To make a simple, quickie shrimp stock, reserve the shells and heads from the peeled shrimp, add to 2 quarts cold water, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain thoroughly. Sweat the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic in oil and/or butter in a large covered pot until tender, about 15 minutes. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the shrimp. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. Add the shrimp. Simmer an additional 15 minutes. To serve, heap about 1 cup of rice in the center of the plate, and ladle a generous amount of the sauce around it. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serves 15 regular people, or about 2 Cajuns.

A lot depends on genre. Some authors simply start a new section and start a new heading: Nine months later... Clancy, the guy that writes big time techno-thrillers like Hunt for Red October and Clear & Present Danger, likes to do something like this when he changes or transitions between scenes: Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast Soviet Central Asia 21 October 1984 1402 zulu It took Col. Kasperov's recovery team six hours of hard riding in difficult terrain to reach the wreakage of the prototype MIG. It only took Kasperov 20 seconds to see that the flight data recorder, experimental radar jammer pod and avionics computer were missing... In situations like Clancy's where scenes can take place anywhere from Langly, Virginia to Kiev in the Ukraine, the author clearly has to give the reader some help in following what is going on. Without the time & place, how would you know that Col. Kasperov was trekking around in the back country of Uzbeckistan?

When it comes to writing, I don't write "gay" stories. I write stories in which some characters may or may not be gay. I would hope that anyone, regardless of gender or orientation could read one of my stories. Sex in a story for the sake of sex doesn't make a good story. The traditional elements make a good story: characterization, scene, plot, setting, craft and so on. NO- I'm not anti-sex. Sex occassionally does belong in a story but there's a big difference in doing a play-by-play and a more subtle approach which leaves the messy details up to the readers imagination. Too many writers of "gay-fiction" have sex driving the plot rather than being a logical part of it. Nifty is full of that sort of writing but how much of it do you really remember two weeks after reading it? Just my 2 cents, JS

Dear Authors: I have been writing a story that I've been stalled on for over a year. Broken is at a stage where it is very, very difficult... to write. To let other people read... argh. It's hard to explain. I wrote Broken as therapy for some old wounds that never healed right. It's different from most stories here in that its autobiographical. There is some difficult stuff to face in it. In the chapters to come, it only gets worse. I've got to make myself very, very vulnerable to release it. I go from being a nice kid in a bad situation to being worse than the thugs that I had to deal with. Anyway- I wanted to step back and get some perspective. How do you guys deal when the story/writing gets too personal? Is it a catharsis that you simply must go through? Your thoughts are welcome. JS

Take it from a more senior geezer: we ARE NOT getting older. We are just getting more experienced. Have a great year LB!

Oven Fried Lemon Chicken Chicken breasts- with or without bones. Clean and wash. Place chicken in a bowl and sprinkle both sides with an excessive amount of lemon pepper (LOTS). Barely cover with skimmed or whole milk, then cover liberally with flour. Pam the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Place floured chicken in pan. Place 3 or 4 slices of margarine on each piece of chicken. (For good measure- you can put thin slices of lemon) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn heat up to 425 degrees until brown and crisp.

I'd be thrown out of the South if I couldn't cook. My pizzia is legendary, if not a tad odd to some people. I cook a thick crust with layers of sausage, onions, pepper, pepperoni all covered with motzerella cheese. Usually it is between 3/4 to an inch thick and is served in squares. I feel a craving coming on. Our day to day food is pretty good: if you can find it, try some Jalepino corn bread. There some secrets that we don't let out- like key lime pie, Red Velvet cake and a whole flock of things that you only see during the holidays. Vegatarians are not allowed in the South. Sure- we've got vegatables but with all the good things that we can do to cow, pig, fish, shrimp, turkey and so on, they don't last very long.

Naw- hell just had some sleet. If the Saints win the title game saturday and go to the Super Bowl, that's when it will get down to some serious sign of the apocalypse type stuff. Razor, being a fellow Mississippian, only living here do you really understand how crazy, volitile, and even dangerous our weather can be. Last week it was in the 70s- people were wearing shorts. Sunday, it was almost eighty. Sunday night it all feel apart and now we're in danger of an ice storm. Who knows- warm moist Gulf air can blow in from the Gulf and hit this cold air then it gets really exciting with big funnel clouds and flying cows. I think for my next house I'll go for the Cold War retro look and build an underground bomb shelter.

Shadows, Hope things are looking up for you and the year ahead is the best yet. Best wishes, James

You'll enjoy your twenties: you are old enough to do whatever you want but still young enough to enjoy it. Have a good birthday and a great year!

29? Bah. I've got cats older than that. Have a good birthday and a better 2007! I'm looking forward to more stories.

Dom- there's nothing selfish about it. Katrina taught a whole lot of people in my neck of the woods that bad luck doesn't just happen to other people.

Ooops, wrong hobbits. New 'Hobbit' Galaxies Discovered Around Milky Way By Ker Than, Staff Writer for Space.com January 15, 2007 Source Link Researchers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II) announced the discovery of eight new dwarf galaxies, seven of them satellites orbiting the Milky Way. They resemble systems cannibalized by the Milky Way billions of years ago and help close the gap between the observed number of dwarf satellites and theoretical predictions. Credit: Vasily Belokurov, SDSS-II, Astronomy magazine, Kalmbach Publishing Co. A recent sky survey has turned up eight new members in our Local Group of galaxies, including a new class of ultra-faint "hobbit" galaxies and what might be the smallest galaxy ever discovered. The Local Group is a collection of about 40 galaxies, of which the Milky Way and Andromeda are the dominant members. The rest of the galaxies are mostly small satellites known as

From Todays headlines: Saints Advance to NFC Title Game Hell Braces for its Worst Ice Storm of the Millennium

It depends on what sort of story I'm working on. One that I have in mind doing someday is about a Mississippi Military Academy during the Civil War. The cadets there 12-16, formed an infantry company that fought brilliantly during the Vicksburg campaign. In fact, during Grant's probes around Port Gibson trying to Flank Vicksburg, they stopped the Union troops cold for weeks by using ambushes, terrain and improvides fortifications. Sounds exciting, prehaps the setting for a good story? Yes- but if and only if the proper research is done. Sure you could hack out a story out but to do a good job with the material there's a thousand details to work out: language- how do they talk? What is the REAL story behind the legend? Who are the players and what was it that made a bunch of rowdy kids sent to a military school capable of fighting against adult units effetively? If there are gay relationships in the ranks, what are the attitudes toward gay people? Where did they fight? How did they set such effective ambushes? How did they feel about fighting? How did they feel about losing friends? How did they feel about killing? To do a proper job with a story like this might take years of research. It might take going to battle sites, reading Civil War diaries and journals, reading about the civil war period, its sociology and politics. Other types of stories don't require thaat kind of in depth research. If something comes up, usually the wikipedia can usually deal with it. Maps of almost anyplace can be found can be found thanks to google.

If you listen carefully to talking ads, you'll hear them saying: I suck, I suck, I suck