So why did it hurt so much to find out we lost a man I didn’t even know?

I was trying to understand these emotions when I saw this post on Facebook:

If there were no Steve Jobs I wouldn’t have the wife I have, the companies I had, the house I have, or be involved in technology or technology oriented arts in any way, I’m sure of it. Building computers that appealed to creative people gave many of us a path that the green screens (DOS, etc) could never have provided in our formative years. Once I saw the first Macintosh user interface and computers, all I wanted to do was make images on them, and eventually make sounds with them. I didn’t care about the rest, and mostly, I still don’t. Think what you want, but most of technology is driven by engineering thinking, which is important, but has little appeal to creative people. Thank you, Steve Jobs.

He’s right.

In junior high I took a computer class where I learned to program BASIC. I kind of fell into that class because it was either programming or taking a typing class, and I wasn’t interested in typing all day for no reason. I wrote a little looping program to have the computer play Turkey in the Straw. MUSIC! On a computer!

My best friend and I ate lunch in the computer lab because the lunchroom was a minefield, and we were tired of having little bits of paper stuck in our hair. It wasn’t necessarily allowed, and there was some sneaking around involved, but I think the computer teacher understood and turned a blind eye. During one of these lunch times when we played with programs, rewrote them to see what happened, then started all over again, we came up with a brilliant idea. Knowing it’d be annoying, we turned on all of the computers in the lab, set random machines to play Turkey in the Straw at random intervals, turned the monitors off, then started running the programs all at once, and ran out of the room. Like they wouldn’t know who’d done it.

Later we got computers in the Art Room. The Art Room was the happiest place in the whole school for me, because while I was a brain back when it wasn’t cool, I took art electives every time I had a chance. My friend (singular) and I stayed up late at night during weekend sleepovers making giant table-covering paper mache dragons. I remember Mrs. Foster, the art teacher, giving me a special paint brush for watercolors that was a much better brush than the one included in the Prang set. I was so honored, and so touched, and so uplifted by her belief in my skills; I still have and use that brush to this day.

Then came the art computers. I didn’t know those computers DID anything else, those Macintosh computers. And they had sixteen colors in the paint program.

Amazing.

I shocked myself with the fact that I could make a “painting” on the computer, and then…print it out. I could erase. Without marks.

Forget BASIC. Me and my snickers bar and Dr. Pepper would spend the rest of the lunches in jr. high in the art room.

Then came the upgrade. Millions of colors. MILLIONS. To someone who’d been working with 16 colors, millions seemed like an impossible wealth. It took my breath away. Computers were a miracle.

But I’d been told many times not to do so much art, to study hard, to get a real job. That art isn’t a real job, and would I rather be a starving artist or have money?

I knew what it was like to not have money. Boy did I. So no, that was a stupid idea, being an artist.

For many years after I wanted to come back to computer-based art, but I didn’t have a computer at home. Eventually I worked my financial way up to a PC, bought Paint Shop Pro, and continued to make computer art on the side while pursuing “real jobs”. Now I have an iPhone that is like a limb to me that I use to make Daily Monsters and Instagram shots, and a mac book that I use only for art and not “work”.

At some point in the past Macs went from being the only computer in schools to being elite artist’s machines, and for years I envied people who had them. Because they were true artist tools, like the paintbrush. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I truly believed an artist could make money. And I attribute a lot of that potential to Apple computers. And Pixar, the forgotten investment, another revolutionary computer art company he had a big hand in developing.

These products, that represent the things I’ve always really wanted to do with my life, are all the children of Steve Jobs. He was one of the great American entrepreneurs, a visionary who looked beyond the gray box of wires and into real human-computer interaction, and there aren’t that many out there.

He didn’t do it alone, because nobody achieves greatness alone, but he really got it. His genius helped make the things that I love a reality, and who knows how long it would have taken engineering-minded IT people to getting around to making art programs.

He’ll be missed.

Nommed dumpling. You know you wanna make these. (click to embiggen)

If you’ve known me very long, you’ve heard me tweet about my OMG dumplings, say they’re better than anything JengChi can dish out, and that they generally Rock the Casbah. They’re only 28 calories each (steamed) according to the MyFitnessPal recipe calculator.

And they cook up in 15 minutes without supervision. Yup. Perfect for the “It’s 9pm and I haven’t eaten what food do we have” nights.

Now, I have to admit, it takes a good chunk of time to make them, but as a team effort it goes by pretty quick. We like to fold them while watching a movie, game, or backup shows on the TiVo.

This recipe makes about 150 dumplings depending on their size, and at 15/person per meal (an “average” adult portion), that’s 15 meals. We don’t make other stuff when we make the dumplings because it has most food groups in it and why spoil such a good thing?!?!?

You can also deep-fry or pan-fry these, but steamed is faster, less hassle, and healthier. You can also add ground pork instead of shrimp if you’re allergic, or add other veggies instead of peas. We use peas not just for the flavor but also for the color (red shrimp + green veg + white chicken = pretty food).

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts
  

  Bean Thread Noodles (click to embiggen)

• 2-2.5 lbs. 26-30 headless shrimp, peeled, deveined
• a 3-fingered pinch of dried shredded black fungus (wood ear mushroom)
• bean thread noodles, 2 “sections”
• 1c edamame peas or regular green peas (fresh or defrosted)
• 1-3 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1c chopped green onions
• 5-8 cloves chopped garlic (to taste)
• 2 XL eggs, 3 smaller/organic/farm eggs
• approx. 150 dumpling wrappers (defrosted if frozen)
• 

  Wrappers - I prefer Korean (click to embiggen)

  large non-porous (stainless steel/glass) bowl

• non-stick aluminum foil (like Reynold’s Release)
• cookie sheets that fit in your freezer
• 3-4 large freezer bags for frozen dumplings
• cooking spray
• steamer or large stock or soup pot w/domed lid and stainless steel splatter screen

Directions and Digressions

Chop the chicken and shrimp until they are a very roughly-”ground” consistency. To do it in a food processor, cut the meats into 1″ cubes or pieces, then put in the food processor in small batches. You want the pieces to be individually identifiable in the dumplings, and grinding them too finely makes them into a gritty paste. Think small small chunks. We put the meats into the food processor, just enough to cover the bottom of the processor, for 4-5 long bursts.

Don’t just turn it on for 4-5 seconds, or half the meat will be paste and the other half huge chunks. Use quick pulses until the meat reaches the right consistency then drop into a giant stainless bowl.

It’s not THAT much more work to chop it by hand and you have greater control over the consistency. I don’t like it when the meat turns out mealy, so sometimes I prefer to chop by hand.

Shredded Black Fungus (click to embiggen)

The black fungus comes in packages of whole mushrooms or “shredded”. Seek out the shredded version (see photo). When I say a “pinch” it’s because the dried mushroom is difficult to measure; it’s all dry and tangly and crispy and difficult to portion and impossible to fit in a measuring cup. Take a 3-fingered pinch, separate those from the rest of the tangled mass, and that’s about how much you’ll need. The picture has the correct portion. Soak the black fungus in hot water until soft.

Bean Thread Noodles Package (click to embiggen)

Bean thread noodles, or vermicelli, are packaged in 4 rows of 2 (the magic number 8). For these dumplings you can use two portions, or one row of noodles. Don’t pre-cook the noodles because they dissolve quickly if you overcook them, and since they’ll be steamed inside the dumplings you just want them pliable for now, not cooked. After they’re steamed inside the dumplings they have the dumpling flavors infused into them and they taste amazing. Soak the bean thread noodles in hot water until soft. 

Chop the black fungus into 1/4″-1/2″ bits. Drop into the bowl.

Chop the bean thread noodles/vermicelli into 1″ pieces. Drop into the mix.

Add edamame peas, salt, pepper, 1c green onions, garlic to the mix.

Separate one egg, reserving the whites in a soy sauce or other tiny dish. Add second egg to the mix. If the eggs are smaller, add 2 whole eggs and split the 3rd.

Gently stir the mix, trying not to crush any of the ingredients.

Now we’re ready to fold the dumplings!

Dumpling First Step (click to embiggen)

Folding teh Nomz

My “folding setup” is usually:

• a dumpling-wrapper-or-larger plate for folding
• wrappers, open but not exposed to the air
• cookie sheets covered in nonstick foil
• the egg white bowl
• dumpling mix bowl with teaspoon

Since I’m right-handed, I usually put the dumpling mix on the R, the plate and egg whites in front of me, and the cookie sheet to my left.

Below is a video of Tony folding the dumplings because it’s a lot more difficult to explain than to show. And honestly everybody does it differently – there have been some hot debates about whether my way or his way is better (and I think it’s obvious ). I do a little gentle press-against-the-plate when the dumpling is finished to get excess air out. He doesn’t. The dumplings are all edible, so live and let live.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some people get pretty competitive when folding dumplings, or or feel that there are a specific number of pleats “required”, but if you’re starting out, shoot for 3 pleats per side, 2 is good, 1 works just fine. The pleats help to fold the dumpling into its crescent shape, and if you choose to use them in a soup, the folding helps to keep them closed.

This amount in the picture above is the perfect amount of mix to add to the dumplings, just over a full “teaspoon” (utensil, not measurement). If you add too much you’ll find out fast – the excess will squirt out the side when you try to fold it. Try to have consistent amounts in the dumplings so they cook evenly.

The first few batches you’ll make are gonna be UG. LY. But ugly dumplings taste just as good as pretty ones, so you’ll have time to perfect your swing, and have lots of osm nomz to eat in the process.

As he said in the video, we place the dumplings on cookie sheets in rows so they freeze individually without using flour. This means we have to clear out space in the freezer for trays to slide in, but they don’t have to freeze thoroughly, just a bit so they won’t stick to each other, before you can put them in a freezer bag for later eating.

Cooking Teh Nomz

Hello, Cheater Steamer (click to embiggen)

Let me introduce you to my Cheater “Steamer”.

I don’t want to have to find a place store a 3-tiered stainless-steel steamer (despise single-use devices in the kitchen), and I don’t like bamboo steamers – they have an odd flavor to them as they get older. If we had kids, I’d think about a tiered stainless, because then I’d probably have to make more dumplings at once, but for now this is my favorite method.

I use a ruthlessly practical flat (!) stainless steel mesh splatter screen, cooking spray, and a large soup pot. This pot is 12″ wide, not too deep, and can hold about 15-18 dumplings per batch. Your mileage may vary.

Fill the pot halfway full of water, and bring to a boil. You don’t want the water touching the dumplings but you want it at a full boil the whole time for lots of steam.

Spray the spatter screen with cooking spray.

Place as many dumplings as will fit on the splatter screen AND be covered by the pot’s lid.

Laid out and ready to be covered! (click to embiggen)

I think that’s enough for one pot, don’t you?

Under the lid (click to embiggen)

ALL DONE! (click to embiggen)

Steam for 15 minutes, whether you’re making them fresh or frozen.  Put the lid on the pot, go watch TV, grab a beer, do something else for 15 minutes. You’ve worked hard making these little guys and you’ve earned it. You’ll know they’re just about done when the smell of dumplings fills the kitchen.

If you need a visual check, you’ll know they’re done when you take off the lid and after a moment the skins suck up against the dumplings (see that one on the bottom right side in the picture above, all sucked up against the edamame peas).

Slide them off of the screen onto a plate (or two) with a pair of chopsticks, but the skins are still very soft, so be careful.

If you need to make another batch, rinse the screen, spray again, reuse. After the final batch make sure you get alllll of the goo off of the screen or it’ll stick in the little holes and you’ll never get it off, at least not without a lot of elbow grease, toothbrushes, and toothpicks (gah).

Jeng Chi's got NOTHIN' on MY dumplings. (click to embiggen)

Eating Teh Nomz

Let them cool off a bit, maybe a minute or two, and bite carefully, because they’re REALLY HOT in the middle. And they might be a little drippy. But OMG they’re awesome.

I bought these little sauce bowls at Target and they’re the perfect size and depth for a good amount of sauce and coverage per dumpling. I don’t add much salt or seasoning to the dumpling filling because I like to play with the sauces aftrewards. Excellent sauces to try:

• soy sauce and

• pepper (50% fresh-ground pepper, 50% Kikkoman)
• jalapenos
• green onions
• red vinegar
• peanut sauce
• Worcestershire and soy sauce
• Sriracha
• sambal bawang putih, sambaj bajak, or any other Indonesian sambal.

Super H Mart has the BEST sauce selection in Dallas, bar none, but I’ve found the red vinegar at I’ve only found it so far at 99 Ranch in Plano.

Lee Kum Kee Red Vinegar (click to embiggen)

Cantonese Red Vinegar (click to embiggen)

Peppered Kikkoman (click to embiggen)

Optional Soup

We also make a chicken broth with green onions, sometimes egg noodles, always fried onions (from the Asian store, not French), to accompany the dumplings if it’s a “dinner” thing.

YAY NOMZ!

I hope you enjoy these dumplings, I know I do and they’ve save my dinner-making butt about 1000x. If I’ve forgotten a step or you have any questions, hit me up on Twitter @stealingsand

Which is your favorite?

UPDATE: Game of Thrones is the winner!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Boardwalk Empire

Imaginary Forces for HBO

• Karin Fong, Designer/Director
• Michelle Dougherty, Designer/Director
• Lauren Hartstone, Designer/Art Director
• Cara McKenney, Producer/Art Director

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rubicon

Imaginary Forces for AMC

• Karin Fong, Creative Director
• Jeremy Cox, Designer/Animator
• Theodore Daley, Designer
• Cara McKenney, Producer/Art Director

Too Big To Fail

Shine for HBO

• Michael Riley, Creative Director
• Bob Swenson, Creative Lead
• Adam Bluming, Editor
• Cory Shaw, Designer/Animator

Game Of Thrones

Elastic for HBO

• Angus Wall, Creative Director
• Robert Feng, Art Director
• Kirk H. Shintani, Animator
• Hameed Shaukat, Designer

(video and Making-Of on Art of the Title)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Any Human Heart (Masterpiece)

Huge for PBS

• Paul McDonnell, Designer
• Hugo Moss, Art Director
• Justin Lowings, Animator

Color Theory

Curry should be served in white ceramic bowls. Curry is made with saffron, a powerful staining agent, and will stain plastic or melamine bowls. We used to use melamine bowls but now we use ceramic because I got tired of bleaching them. I’ve decided from now on to only buy white dishes, plates, etc., so that the food takes center stage, not the plate.

While working at a Japanese restaurant, I was taught, and I really believe, that the look of food matters almost as much as the flavor. A friend of mine made white wine chicken with red wine once. The dish turned out lavender in color. Bright lavender chicken and wine sauce. Eyes closed, it tasted mostly the same, but eyes-open it was inedible.

Balancing colors is important. With such a warm-hued dish (red-orange shrimp, yellow curry, tan noodles) it’s important to have contrast from the other side of the color wheel (greens, blues, violets) of similar saturation (not necessarily amount) to complement the dish and make it bright and attractive. Since there aren’t a whole lot of blue or violet foods, green usually does the trick. That’s why I add the edamame and chives/green onions. Chives have a stronger flavor, but that also comes with a stronger color that complements the curry color very well. Well-cooked edamame peas are a bright lime green (but can turn dull if overcooked), adding a second balancing green note for the orange in the shrimp. You’d be amazed how much of a difference color balance and presentation makes in your dishes.

Ingredients (makes 1 serving):

• Curry ramen (up to 1.5 packages per serving)
• 10-15uncooked 26-30 shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1/2 c frozen edamame peas (or regular frozen green peas)
• a pinch or two of chopped green onions or chives

Optional ingredients: we’ve tried it with boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, eggs broken and boiled with the noodles, and frozen corn…

The curry ramen is Ottogi Bekse Curry Myun, a pre-packaged curry-flavored ramen at Super H Mart, but last week I also found it for sale, at a slightly higher price (along with the Korean Pancake batter!), at Asia World in Plano. Yay convenience!

Most Asian stores sell frozen “seafood mixes” in the frozen fish area, and these can be used in place of the shrimp for variety. They tend to be fishier, though, and I prefer the cleaner shrimp flavor.

As for the green onions/chives, we can’t keep the fresh ones fresh in the fridge long enough, so every few weeks we buy and rinse some, chop them and freeze them to use if we don’t happen to have any fresh on hand.

Frozen, shelled edamame is a lifesaver, because I can’t imagine boiling and shelling edamame very time I want to eat it. This recipe will work just as easily with regular frozen peas. I prefer frozen vegetables because of their color as compared to canned, but if you have canned on hand…no, on second thought, don’t use canned We want our dish to be bright and colorful!

Directions:

• Set two small pots to boil, one big enough to boil the shrimp and peas, one for the noodles.
• Boil the shelled and deveined shrimp for 8 minutes, less if you want a softer shrimp. I prefer firm shrimp, so I boil them for a long time.
• Add the frozen edamame peas with 6 minutes left, or  green peas when there’s about 2 minutes left, finishing the shrimp cooking and peas together.
• Boil the noodles in the second pot for 4 minutes. Don’t overcook them, really, don’t. Otherwise they turn into a gummy icky mush. This step you cannot mess up! I try to time it so I drop the noodles in with 2 minutes left on the shrimp, which gives me two minutes to plate the shrimp/peas, then I can drop the hot noodles in with them. This kind of timing kung-fu isn’t really necessary, but it keeps everything hot for service.
• Empty 1.5 packages of seasoning into the ramen bowl per cooked noodle package. This intensifies the flavor, and makes it spicier, so if you’re not into spicy food, add only the one package that comes with the noodles you’ve opened. If you add 1.5, you’ll have to open one extra package of noodles that you’re not going to cook (now). I set these aside and make other homemade soups to eat with them.
• Add 2-3 Chinese spoons of water from one of the boiling pots to dissolve the seasoning. This soup isn’t meant to be a brothy soup, but more like a flavored-noodle dish.
• Drain the shrimp and noodles when they’re done cooking and add to the ramen bowl.
• Drop in the pinch of chives or green onions.
• Serve!

And now I’m going to go make some for dinner!

Ingredients (for 2 plus leftovers):

• 1-1.5 lbs. 1″-cubed small red potatoes or golden potatoes or—ooh—fingerling potatoes!
• 1 box S&B – Golden Curry Sauce Mix – 3.5 Oz. (you can get the mild, medium, hot or extra hot, none of them are really that spicy)
• a half a yellow or white onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• at least one hamburger patty per person (we usually make 3-4 for leftovers)
• rice on the side
• a pinch per serving of parsley, chopped or dried

I’m being so imprecise because this recipe is quite variable and because I stopped following the directions on the box a long time ago. We prefer a 1:1 ratio of potato to hamburger with a lot of sauce to pour over rice.

We buy Bubba Burger sweet onion hamburger patties frozen because they’re yummy and cook in about 10 minutes directly from the freezer.

Sometimes we mix Worcestershire sauce with ground beef and green onions with hamburger meat and let them marinate then cook them that way. That’s MUCH tastier, but takes a whole lot more effort than this lazy-butt dish requires.

Curry is a strong flavor, so if you take the time to make a really fine home-ground hamburger, save it for the bun. Use less-fancy burgers for this. Lazy-butt, remember?!

Directions:

• Cook the garlic and onions in a saucepan over medium heat with enough oil to make sure it doesn’t stick (maybe the garlic oil you made last time?) the kitchen smells amazing and someone comes in to say OMG WHAT ARE YOU MAKING?!…or until the onions are translucent.
• Add the potatoes and enough water to cover them to the pot, maybe an inch or so more and bring the mixture to a boil.
• One by one add 4-6 of the curry cubes (more for more spice), stirring gently until they’re all dissolved. Check the bottom of the pot for reluctant dissolvers, and sometimes if the water’s not boiling they’ll glue some potatoes together.  The sauce should thicken and not be runny, but also not be as thick as pudding. If it’s too thick, add water. Too thin, add another curry cube or 2. Store remaining cubes in the refrigerator.
• Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cooking time is going to vary – if you cut the potatoes to the 1″ cubes as suggested, you’ll probably cook them for about 20 minutes, max. If your potatoes are cut 1/2″ or smaller, they’ll cook a lot faster (and now that you smell the onions and garlic that will be what you want).
• Stir occasionally to make sure nothing’s burned to the bottom. Check after 12-13 minutes. When the potatoes are soft or the skins are coming away from the potatoes they’re done. If you peeled the potatoes (why would you go and do that?) fork them, and if they break easily, they’re done.
• Cook the hamburgers while the curry is cooking per box instructions. Cook them just ’till the juices run clear, not cloudy or bloody, and they should be perfectly done.
• Make rice in your trusty rice maker.
• Plate the burger in a shallow bowly-plate that’s not too flat or in a large bowl. You can choose to put your rice in a bowl on the side or under the hamburger.  You can cut the burger, or leave it in a big pattie shape. Patties tend to be prettier and slow you down so you chew between bites when you’re really hungry.
• Sprinkle on a pinch of parsley. The curry’s a monochrome saffron yellow color. To make things look more appetizing, and less like a thrown-together dish, add parsley, dried or fresh-chopped. You know those little green decorative bits scattered on your plate at the restaurant? Parsley. Add it right before serving so it doesn’t lose it’s color. I buy parsley in bulk, chop a ton of it, air-dry for a few hours, freeze. I don’t want to use  dried, but it’s just me and my husband right now, so I have to freeze it or it’ll go bad before I can use it up. As long as you don’t add too much, the frozen bits won’t cool the dish down.
• When the curry’s done, pour it over the hamburger and eat.

Experiments: add apples, carrots, jicama, or other starchy, solid veggies for a different flavor.

So that’s lazy-butt curry hamburger, which looks a lot more complicated than it actually is. After you make this a few times you’ll be able to eyeball it, and have to make up measurements like I did to tell someone else how to make it.

While you’re here – is there anything you want me to write about making? Hit me up on Twitter if so!

I make this out of whatever I have on hand, and often add or subtract other stuff just to see how it tastes. I taught myself this after eating them in the Korean restaurants around town, so if I have any Korean friends out there feel free to tell me I’m doin’ it wrong.

I’m gonna give you the base recipe and you can add or remove whatever you like. Just be careful with the water content of the items you add and how much they’ll sweat into the batter when cooking – too much water makes for runny pancakes, too little and they’re too dry.

I buy a premix for the batter at the Korean grocery, Super H Mart in Carrollton.  The brand is CJ Foods Korean Pancake Mix, and the bag looks like this. We buy this one because it has English directions on it, and it has the slightly-gummy texture we like best. Other brands make crispier pancakes but we like the softer ones.

The edamame peas are sold shelled and frozen in bags in the freezer section from a Chinese store nearby, Asia World. I usually put them in a bowl of warm water until they’re not frozen, then drain.

A “special” ingredient that I use is homemade garlic oil. I chop about 5-6 heads of garlic, put them in a mason jar with oil, and let it infuse the oil with garlic flavor. We’re big fans of garlic and use this oil and the garlic in most savory dishes. We use it up pretty fast, and it’ll go bad if you leave the garlic oil mix in the fridge for too long, but if you use it up in a few weeks you should be just fine.

Ingredients:

Makes about 12-15 pancakes or 4-5 GIANT pancakes.

All of these measurements are approximate because I don’t usually measure, I eyeball, so if you’d like a little more or less of something feel free to modify. As long as there’s enough batter between the items to hold a pancake together, you’re good

• Korean Seafood Pancake Mix (the easiest part)
• 1 lb uncooked 26-30 shrimp, peeled & deveined (or other seafood, whatever you have around)
• 6-8 sticks crab meat, defrosted and unwrapped (I recommend Nishimoto’s Osaki Fish Cake, a sushi-grade surimi used in many sushi restaurants, and available at many larger Asian grocers. They’re packaged frozen and wrapped individually in a thin plastic wrap. If they’re very wet when defrosted, gently squeeze excess water from them.)
• 1/4 c chopped chives or green onions
• 1 c shelled edamame peas
• oil
• 3-4 cloves chopped garlic (for dipping and/or frying – feel free to add more if you love garlic)
• OR combine the previous two and use prepared garlic in oil (see above)
• You can also add sliced jalapeños for a bit of kick, or other stuff…

Directions:

• Slice the shrimp in two down their midlines, then halve them again, so you have 1/4 shrimp-pieces.
• Mix the pancake mix per its directions. It’s usually a 1:1 ratio of mix and water, but can vary by brand.
• Once the mix is lumpless, add shrimp, edamame peas and chives.
• Add the crab meat by splitting the sticks in half. They’ll split up more when you’re stirring the batter. Don’t shred them or they’ll fall apart when you’re stirring and you won’t be able to taste them at all when the pancakes are cooked.
• Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the  pan over medium heat. It’s ready when the oil shimmers or lets off a faint “steam”.
• If you go the home garlic-in-oil route like I do, put a spoon of the garlic (or two or three) (no, seriously) in the pan and cook it until it starts to brown on the edges. This is not something you want to walk away from, because garlic burns VERY fast once it’s started down that road. A very dark brown is acceptable, and now that I think of it, blackened garlic isn’t all that bad, so don’t be afraid to push the limits here.
• Pour spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan. I fit about 5-6 in an 11″ skillet. The pancakes will end up just about the size of the patty you make. They don’t spread much, maybe a centimeter or so. You want them all to be uniform in thickness, about 1/2″ deep, so if the semi-gelatinous mix is too tall, smush it around a bit until it’s as flat as the others. It will settle a bit more but not too much.
• You can also make a GIANT 1/2″ pancake and fill the pan but it’s heavy and hard to flip unless you have a double-sided pan made for that.
• You know they’re ready to be turned when the surface of the pancake surface has turned matte and is no longer shiny. You’ll also see the edges looking “done”, and you may notice bubbles in the mix that have solidified.
• Flip the pancake and cook it until browned. I like both sides of my pancakes browned and I’m not a fan of “wet” shrimp, so I cook them thoroughly. I’ve had some that are still wet in the middle, and that’s a-OK if you like them like that, no chicken or other scary ingredients in here.
• Let the pan cool for a about a minute after you remove the pancakes and put garlic in for the next batch. The garlic will burn in seconds if you put it in a too-hot pan.

Restaurants usually use too much oil for my taste, because these babies soak it up like you wouldn’t believe. I prefer to make these at home because I know I won’t be stingy with the crab meat and shrimp and they won’t be too oily.

If you’re interested in learning more about this haphazard, half-assed method of cooking I do, check out this book, Ratio – The Simple Codes Behind The Craft of Everyday Cooking. It taught me how to look like I know what I’m doing and take chances with recipes.

Since I didn’t wanna get “stuck” on the very first item, I started with an easier one. The last one!

I heard about this from my friend Jonathan over at his blog Stranger in a Strange Land (which I highly recommend). I got the “task list” from this Facebook page, in case you’re doing this and mine doesn’t match yours.  And I’ve been modifying the steps along the way, so it probably won’t match anybody else’s.

day 01 – your favorite song Eason Chan (陳奕迅) – 不求人 It’s a beautiful song about someone he loves who is slowly destroying themselves, and he is begging them not to, reassuring them of his undying love. It took a long time to decide this is my “favorite song”, with the many reassurances to myself that this is just my favorite song right now. I love so many songs i cannot imagine REALLY choosing one that is my favorite

day 02 – your least favorite song Don’t have one. I have songs I don’t like to listen to but not a “least favorite” song. #copout

day 03 – a song that makes you happy – Girl Talk – Jump On Stage Can’t help it – love this song. it’s audio caffeine. I listen to it at my desk at work and desk-dance. With the ‘phones on.

day 04 – a song that makes you sad – Elton John – The Greatest Discovery I can’t explain why this song is so melancholic for me. I listened to this album like a fiend when I was in high school – I was a typical depressive artsy unpretty high school kid in orchestra and the combination of pop and orchestral arrangements really appealed to me (ssh, still does). So why does this song bring out a longing sadness? Who knows. It’d cost thousands in therapy to find out, no doubt. But it’s still beautiful.

day 05 – a song that reminds you of someone – Marc Cohn – Walking in Memphis When I was little my mama loved this song and now if I hear it I think of her. Tried to think of a deeper meaning and more insight but. yeah.

day 06 – a song that reminds you of somewhere - VAST – Candle I saw Step Into Liquid, and they used this song over a long cut of a ride on a massive wave. We went to Oahu not long after and spent the day at Pipeline. I’ll always think of the waves when I hear this song, and miss the beach painfully. It’s also the “first song” I played in my new car, so that can almost qualify this as my favorite song.

day 07 – a song that reminds you of a certain event – Whenever I hear this song, Please Don’t Go (DJ Benzi Boson Remix), found in the mixtape download at that link, I wanna drive my car fast. Really really fast. Wish I could link directly to it but you know how the interwebz be. Nobody likes to share.

day 08 – a song that you know all the words to – Padi – Jika Engkau Bersedih

day 09 – a song that you can dance to – Montell Jordan – This is How We Do It Back in college I almost bit it dancing to this on top of a speaker in a little club called Tumbleweeds out in the middle of nowhere in Stillwater, OK. I did not, in fact, bite it, and that I attribute to my youth and dancing skillz. The almost-fall I attribute to my old friend Jack Daniels and his little sidekick, Coke. And this YT video has me giggling uncontrollably. BONUS! I can also dance to Mike, Aaron & Eddie (Boreta Remix)…it’s just not pretty

day 10 – a song that calms you Eason Chan (陳奕迅) – New Order I’m changing this prompt to “a song that calms you” because I can’t think of a single song that would “make me fall asleep”. THIS song makes me calm. Every time. Maybe it’s the elegaic tempo, but it always lowers my blood pressure by at least a notch.

Two others:

day 11 – a song from your favorite band Nirvana – Lithium I don’t think of music in terms of “bands” or “solo artists” and if you asked me who my favorite “band” is I might be hard-pressed to come up with an answer. I mean, is Nirvana a band? Or is it merely the tool through which Cobain’s genius funneled? Deep, right?

day 12 – a song from a band you hate Britney Spears – Everytime I wouldn’t say I “hate” Britney Spears, I just don’t have much use for her music. Sure, there’s a few songs that I don’t mind, like the one linked above, I’m just not much into the writhing false-sensuality famous-for-being-shocking bit.

day 13 – a song that is a guilty pleasure Wang Lee Hom (王力宏) – Heroes Of Earth (蓋世英雄) Yup. Definitely. I am singing along to it as I type this. I love this guy. I know a lot of Americans would laugh their asses off watching this video – it’s so sophomoric compared to the hard hateful music that’s “cool”. But I love it for that. It makes me happy. And no matter how silly, I know all of the words and it makes me want to dance. So while I’m aware of how “uncool” it is, I. Love. It. I mean, a guy who can pull this off (wait for it…) isn’t THAT bad, amiright? OK I’mma go listen to it again – HAPPY MONDAY!

day 14 – a song that no one would expect you to love Darius Rucker – If I Had Wings

I KNOW, RIGHT?!? I was raised in Texas and on my grandparents’ farm. There’s definitely a country influence there. I thought about posting George Strait’s The Chair, but another country song has supplanted it as my favorite.

Imagine me, cartoon-red hair, barefoot with my big black sunglasses, windows down, top open in my black-on-black mini cooper belting this out in traffic on 75 on a Friday afternoon. Idiosyncratic to say the least.

I am in love with Darius Rucker’s voice, have been since his Hootie and the Blowfish days. It really reminds me in quality and timbre of Eason Chan’s, and I ADORE Eason’s voice. Am not disturbed or daunted by Darius’ transition to country.

Oh, and on that video I apologize for the visual quality – bitch can’t spell. “Why is their killing?” OMFG.

day 15 – a song that describes you - Robyn – Konichiwa Bitches

I asked @puresky, my husband, about this one. I needed a song that’s got a bit of humor so I can be self-deprecating (not comfortable talking about “how awesome I am” even if I secretly believe deeply in my own awesomeness). This is a tricky subject, a song that “describes you”, because which do you show – the you that you think you are or the you that you wish you were? Are these very different or are they close enough to be the same song? Who does she think she is, anyway? That girl? Shiiiit, no way is she THAT girl. So this song is perfect – has attitude but is being sung by a parrot. And it makes me laugh every time I watch it. Thanks for the idea, baby!

day 16 – a song that you used to love but now hate Samantha Fox – Touch Me

Hate is a strong word…this song doesn’t make me want to destroy the stereo but it’s really really not “high art”.

I loved this song when it was popular. LOVED it. But I was not of an age to have known anything about sex or love or anything of the sort. But we kids would sing and sing this song, play the tape over and over again.

I think Mama got tired of it, or the silliness was just too much, so she started to make fun of us when we’d sing it, theatrically shouting “Oh touch me touch me!!” I HATED it then because I knew she was mocking us, me, but now it’s just funny. And it’s no longer my favorite song

day 17 – a song that you hear often on library random shuffle Justin Timberlake – My Love ft. TI

The prompt is SUPPOSED to be “a song that you hear often on the radio“ but I don’t listen to the radio…not regular radio anyway. I listen to NPR and local web radio stations like the Indieverse, and Taiwanese radio stations and my own music library, so I’m choosing a song I hear often in my iTunes whole-library random shuffle list, because that’s more relevant. It’s similarly “out of my control” when it plays but for whatever reason repetitious enough for me to feel that I “hear it often”.MY CAR LOVES THIS SONG.

Every time I get in the car and play my iTunes library on random for the 45-minute-to-hour-and-a-half work commute, THIS song plays. It may soon become “the song I used to like”. I don’t know what algorithm iTunes uses to choose “random” songs but if it has anything to do with most-played it’s creating a really unpleasant feedback loop for me by continuously choosing this song and boosting its “play” numbers.

day 18 – a song that you wish you heard on the radio Khalil Fong – Southern Sound

I wish I heard Chinese music on the radio in America. Not the Beijing opera type of music but the real music of people like me that just happen to live on the other side of the planet.Sometimes I wonder if people here would be less derisive, or stereotyping, of Chinese people (like my husband) if they knew they were more like “us”.

And not, as one coworker asked, walking around fucking Taipei, Taiwan in kimonos.

Which are Japanese, by the way.

day 19 – a song from your favorite album [right now] Eason Chan (陳奕迅) – 綿綿 MinMin from the album: Sound and Sight

Right now it’d have to be 綿綿 – Eason Chan 陳奕迅 from the album Sound and Sight. I say “right now” because it was a difficult decision to choose one favorite album (and I kind of cheated because this is a 5-disc compilation, even). And tastes change based on mood.

So on this rainy Monday, this soothing one wins.

BTW – “綿綿” means “rain”

day 20 – a song that you listen to when you’re angry Jo(조)PD – Pride This song is great when I’m angry because it’s got the swagger I want from an “angry time” song, I only understand about 10% of it, and it has “FUCK YOU!” in the middle. Works for me.

day 21 – a song that you listen to when you’re happy Kim Tae Woo (김태우) – 사랑비 (Love Rain) This song is so upbeat and positive. Always lifts my spirits.

day 22 – a song that you listen to when you’re sad Jacky Cheung (張學友) – Love

day 23 – a song that you want(ed) to play at your wedding VAST – You Are The One …since I’m currently married and not really interested in a “wedding”, I’m posting a love song to my husband.

day 24 – a song that you want to play at your funeral Dan Auerbach – When the Night Comes I didn’t really have an answer for this one, as in “I didn’t plan to die any time soon” but this one will work.

day 25 – a song that makes you laugh SMP Films – Mean Kitty Song

day 26 – a song that you can play on an instrument Bach Cello Suite 1 Prelude …given enough time and a cello to practice on I could totally play this again.

day 27 – a song that you wish you could play Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

day 28 – a song that makes you feel guilty –  Амин Нутаг -Камертон

I don’t really have a “feeling guilty” song. Unless it’s this one. But the feeling I have is not really “guilt” per se, it’s more of an “I wish I could have done more” feeling. I listened to this song religiously to calm me down when I was walking my dog Layla, knowing I would have to give her up.

I walked her a lot, for hours every night. I heard this song a lot, so every time I hear this song I think about her.

An ex I lived with and I were separating; I was moving back in with my Mom, and she didn’t want me bringing 3 cats and a German Shepherd. She was afraid the GSD would kill her 3 dachshunds (ridiculous, though she was 150 lbs and loved to play), but I try to understand her desire not to house a returned daughter and four new pets. The ex didn’t want any of the pets, but he took Layla, one GSD being approximate, cost-wise, to the “weight” of 3 cats somehow.

I found out over the years that she was passed from friend to friend and never really loved like she should have been. That breaks my heart. The look she gave me as I left her there breaks my heart. So it’s not really guilt, but it’s close enough for this silly game.

day 29 – a song from your childhood – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger

I was so sure when I was little that I wanted to be a ballet dancer when I grew up. Ballet dancers are so graceful and sweet and pretty and in order to be all of these things I was going to be a ballet dancer. I took classes in ballet and then of course classes in “jazz” dancing, which of course meant a herd of 6-yr olds in sequins erratically shaking their little butts, eventually on a stage.

One of the performance songs I remember vividly was this one, Eye of the Tiger. We were cool, we were dancers, and we were six, clad in spandex and fuscia and violet sequins. With masks. It was awesome.

day 30 – your favorite song at this time last year – The Notorious B.I.G. Vs. The xx – Dead Wrong Intro (Remixed by Wait What) I was working feverishly to complete my MA capstone project piece and listened to this album obsessively, all the time. Can’t remember any other music from that time…

Click here to view the embedded video.

or: I’ve Never Been to SXSW and I Don’t Wanna Look Like A Tool

If you’re reading this you:

• have never been to SXSW or other big conference
• have been and wanna know if I might have tips for you

I attended SXSW in 2009 and 2010, and have bought myself a pass for 2011 – and these are my ground rules for SXSW. They may not all work for you, or you may feel differently about some things than I do. And if you have a clever solution that beats mine, please tell me about it!

Preparing for SXSW

Panels

In 2009 I got the online SXSW schedule before going down to Austin, and thought “Eh, I’ll look this over later.”

The first day I looked at the daunting, massive schedule and I had no idea what I wanted to see. I also ended up missing the sessions I should have been in.

This year I’m looking over the schedule one conference day at a time, taking it in small bites, and researching not only what the panels propose to be about, but also the work of the panelists. Session titles can be mighty cryptic, or irrationally seductive, and if you’re not absolutely sure how the panelists see the world you can pick some real lemons (I’m sure they’re wonderful sessions but if you’re not interested, they’re lemons to you).

Also, pay attention to the “advanced/intermediate/beginner” designations (sounds obvious, I know) but one session I sat in on (for a few minutes only, mind you) there was in-depth discussion on something and I had no idea what they were talking about. Switch!

There are several classes of presentation:

• keynotes, opening/closing remarks - These are widely attended and feature big-name presenters. Expect a crowd and if you show up late you’re outside or seated on the floor. On the other hand if you seek a little peace and quiet, this can be found during the keynotes.
• panel – I attend more panels (more than two presenters) than other programming. They provide a broader perspective on a topic and there’s almost always a Q&A period where all panelists offer their opinions.
• core conversation – usually small, guided conversations on a topic with people of shared interests with moderators. I try to avoid these now because I’m at SXSW to learn something new, and too many of these sessions aren’t well-directed, and most attendees come to the sessions for answers, too, not to share their knowledge. On the other hand, with smaller groups, there is more opportunity for YOU to participate in the discussion.
• dual – two presenters, two points of view on a topic – deeper analysis of the topic
• solo – one presenter. You’d better hope he’s an expert. Seriously, though, usually they’re quite well-vetted

The beauty of South-By (that’s what the veterans call it) is that there are exquisite panels during every time period, and while that can be agonizing, it’s awesome, because if so-and-so turns out to be a horrible presenter, or they are telling you stuff you already know, you can easily move to another panel. Be sure you have an alternate panel ready to go, and you know where it is – your alternate panel will probably be at the opposite end of the ACC, and since they last only an hour, you’d better get movin’.

Other things I have discovered about panels:

• if it’s a solo presenter talking about their book, buy their book later and read it – save your time for the panelists who haven’t written books and are right there in the flesh.
• if it’s a panel about how ___ can change the world of ___ with XYZ Technology and the presenters are from XYZ company skip this one too unless you’re in for an hour-long commercial.

So in summary:

• research panels/panelists beforehand
• have a plan of attack
• have alternate plans

Gold Pass or Interactive Only?

I’m a web designer by trade, but getting into the field of motion graphics, and there were amazing panels in both the Film and Interactive programming that I really wanted to see in 2009. I bought the Gold pass for 2010, but the panels I wanted to see that included title design and motion graphics information were…open to Interactive attendees, too, making me feel like I’d wasted my money.

I also wanted to see some of the films showing at SXSW 09, but alas, without the film pass, I couldn’t get in to some of the best ones. I bought the Gold pass for 2010 and only went to see…one film. The rest of the time I was in Interactive or Film & Interactive panels and presentations. Found out later you can buy passes to most of the films one by one if you so desire. So, for 2011 I did not buy the Gold pass – we’ll see if I end up regretting it.

Location, Location, Location

Get a hotel room as close as you can; parking is limited, and running ALL the way back to your cheaper hotel out by the airport to drop off your 30 lb. bag of swag and your laptop and running all the way back into town and finding parking for the fun evening parties takes a lot of time. You’ll probably end up carting stuff to every party you go to instead, and you’ll sorely wish you’d sprung for a hotel room across the street from the convention center.

Laptop Debate

To lug or not to lug? I found that in 2009 I was better off without the laptop, though I was jealous of everybody who had theirs. Not lugging it around meant more mobility and no hunting for the “plug seat”. I spent a lot of time on the floor, running around, etc. and leaving the laptop in the hotel meant I didn’t have to worry about it getting jacked.

However, the Great AT&T Crash of ’09 meant that my iPhone was not working every time I needed it, but neither was the Wi-Fi, so even if I was pushing the API limits tweeting from a device, I couldn’t have tweeted from the laptop anyway. I used the power up every day on the iPhone battery backup, so if you plan to rely on your smart phone, bring a rechargeable backup power supply.

In 2010 I brought a tiny, light netbook but ended up using it more for Twitter and charging my iPhone than anything else. Also, I typed too fast for it, and lost half of my notes waiting for it to catch up. ugh.

For 2011 I don’t know what I am going to do but it’ll probably involve a lot of laptops and backup moleskines. My handwritten notes won’t be as cool as Austin Kleon’s but I’ll have them.

Comfy shoes

Have I mentioned there’s a lot of walking in the ACC? It’s got a “unique” layout, too, which means that you can’t always get from the 1st floor to the third floor without walking halfway across Texas. OK, maybe not that far. Halfway across Austin. And your sessions will be all over the convention center.

If you wear your shoes because they’re cute and not because they’re incredibly comfortable, you will be hurting. Oh, and bring band-aids for blisters either way just in case. I thought the shoes I’d brought were comfortable but HAHAHA.

Airborne

I heard about SXSW SARS from friends who’d been before, so I took an Airborne tablet every morning before I went out, pink lemonade breakfast vitamin concentrate. Blech. Even “better” was the Apple Caramel chew, was a little bile-flavored elegant idea, poor execution product (so not recommended).

Honestly, I don’t know what medical validity these supplements have, but I don’t take risks with health success; I didn’t get sick the last two years, so I’m gonna take Airborne again this year.

When You’re There

People

There are a bazillion people at SXSW and the only time they’re not crowding the halls and escalators is…pretty much never. If you want to get downstairs fast, take the stairs. During the keynote there’s a smaller crowd but there is always somebody in the halls. Always. Plan for it when going from one panel to the other. During the height of the day it can take the entire 30 minutes you have between sessions to get to the next one. On the other hand, the earliest sessions are usually sparsely attended.

Water

Stay hydrated – the brain works better that way. At SXSW ’09  and ’10 they had water stations set up all over the convention center, and they were almost always full and ready to go. I carried a water bottle with me all day, every day, and I kept it full. There is much running around during SXSW and you’ll need the water. I’ll be bringing an aluminum water bottle to further help the environment, and my wallet, because at $3 a bottle, water gets expensive – and it’s right in front of you for free!

Eat (no, really)

You’ll be tempted to skip lunch, or breakfast or both, and run around the swag room but trust me, I was going every day solid from 8 AM to midnight. The missed meals were a mistake every time. Bring snacks in your bag if you must, but don’t skip the food. There’s actually a cafe inside the ACC that sells not-so-bad food that’s way better than being hungry. Try the fajitas.

Hand Out Your Cards

Don’t spray them around the room like insulation, but have them, because, well, everybody else does. Determine whether this person is a personal or professional contact and hand them the appropriate card. Your personal card should have at least your name, Twitter handle, maybe Google voice number and email on it.

Don’t be shocked that everybody has Moo cards. Some hipster will invariably say “Oh. Another Moo card.” You do get bonus points for creativity.

Here’s a kindness tip for you: take every card offered to you with a smile, but put important and not-so important cards in different places. The cards you don’t intend to keep, put in one pocket, the cards you intend to keep in another. If you want to remember everybody you meet, make an effort to add them to your tweetstream or your address book. Write identifying info (flattering only) on the cards of the people you want to remember. Go back to your room (hopefully sober) at night and make meaningful connections to the people you met that day, or guaranteed, you’ll forget them. And then what’s the point?

Don’t throw away the cards you don’t intend to keep in the trash bins at the ACC – throw them away in the hotel room.

I’ve always kept all of them, because, well, you just never know.

Be Nice. No, Really.

Now, I’m nice normally, but some people really aren’t. They’ve got their snazzy top-of-the-line laptop and their trendy glasses…I’ll stop right there, you know who I’m talking about. I’ve attempted to socialize with some of these people between panels and they treated me as if I were interrupting the Force. Yet they had Tweetdeck up, which to me indicated some desire for social interaction (just not with strangers?).

I’m no big dog, but how do they know? At SXSW the person right next to you might be a lead to that big break you’re waiting for, or they could be your professional idol if you’d just look up from the computer screen. They could introduce you to your next favorite band, or be the lead singer in your next favorite band, and have a wicked afterparty planned for tonight. I’m not saying stalk everyone you meet at SXSW but be open and friendly — you never know who you could meet (or piss off).

Lemme know if I’ve missed anything!

Photos

My Flickr Sets from 2009 and 2010

We shot this video on the fly on a family trip to Taiwan in June 2010 on a Flip Ultra HD and a Canon 7D. We went all over the country, constantly on the move. Can’t wait to go back!

Audio: Abandoned (拋棄) by Taiwanese artist Wu Bai (伍佰)

I chose this song because Wu Bai’s image was EVERYWHERE in Taiwan – he is the face right now of Taiwan Beer. He also has a very Taiwanese manner of singing that reminds me of our trip.

How to save web images as background (iPhone)