2012/12/11

Jayne Mansfield's Car

Jayne Mansfield's Car is a funny, crazy drama directed by Billy Bob Thornton.

Jayne Mansfield's Car
 

This quirky film is about two colourful families who are brought together by the death of a woman. The acclaimed cast includes Robert Duvall (Apocalypse Now, Lonesome Dove), John Hurt (The Elephant Man, Harry Potter), Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade, Bad Santa), Kevin Bacon (Footloose, The River Wild) among others.

Delightful!


2012/12/06

Zacharie Cloutier

Zacharie Cloutier is an award winning raw sheep-milk cheese from Quebec's Eastern Township region.

Zacharie Cloutier

Zacharie Cloutier has a firm, semi-cooked, pressed paste that has a pleasant sweet floral aroma with hints of coconut and caramel. The 3.3 KG wheel has a golden-orange coloured washed rind that bears a distinguished zigzag basket weave pattern. Zacharie Cloutier is ripened from 4 to 6 months. The butter coloured paste has a mild, soft and creamy texture.
Fromagerie Nouvelle France's Zacharie Cloutier label

Zacharie Cloutier produced by Fromagerie Nouvelle France, is the brainchild of experienced cheese consultant and cheesemaker Marie-Chantal Houde.  The farm's herd of East Friesian sheep is run by Marie-Chantal's brother, Jean-Paul Houde on the family's 250 hectare spread in Racine, Quebec.

East Friesian sheep

Zacharie Cloutier was named as a tribute to the Cloutier-Houde family ancestor.

Fromagerie Nouvelle France and Fromagerie du Prosbytère have recently collaborated to make a unique mixed milk (sheep and cow) cheese called Le Pionnier

Photo source: Wikipedia

2012/11/29

Outside Bet


Outside Bet is a tale of seven friends, who embark on a journey that eventually leads them to gamble all of their savings and redundancy money on a single race.

Outside Bet movie
 
Outside Bet is a British comedy film directed by Sacha Bennett and starring Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Jenny Agutter (Logan's Run), Philip Davis (Vera Drake), Adam Deacon (Anuvahood, Criminal Justice) and Montserrat Lombard (Ashes To Ashes).
A light, enjoyable film.

2012/11/22

Alvin Child


Alvin Child is a Haida artist from Alert Bay, British Columbia. Alvin, born in 1962, is a member of the Tsawataineuk band from Kingcome Inlet. The Tsawataineuk (pronounced 'tsa-wa-tay-nook') belong to the Kwakwaka'wakw Indian group.

Alvin Child - Haida Chest

Kingcome Inlet is an isolated fjord set against the breathtaking backdrop of towering mountains on British Columbia’s mainland separated by the Queen Charlotte Strait across the north-end tip of Vancouver Island.

Alvin Child studied native art for about twelve years under the tutelage of John Livingston, a Victoria, BC master wood carver and accomplished artist.

I was drawn to the works of Alvin Child for his great eye for design and form and great respect to the traditional Haida symbols.

Alvin Child - Raven

These photos are some of Alvin Child's silkscreen prints done from 2000 to 2008. They are great examples of the artistic skills of one of today’s exceptional Haida artist.

For information on the history and detailed description on the symbols of art depicted in the Haida culture visit: Haida Designs.com and the Canadian Museum of Civilization exhibit on The Haida – Children of Eagle and Raven.

2012/11/16

Le D'Iberville

Le D'Iberville is a beautiful raw organic cow-milk, semi-soft, washed rind cheese from Québec's Montérégie region.

Le D'Iberville 

This farmstead cheese which has been ripened for 60 days has a lovely herbal aroma. The exquisite pale ochre washed rind covers a rather soft pale-yellow paste punctuated with small openings due to its molding method. Le D'Iberville has an herbaceous floral flavour with lingering notes of creamy mushrooms.

Le D'Iberville pairs well with a California Zinfandel.

Le D'Iberville is produced by La Fromagerie Au Gré Des Champs who are located in Saint-Jean-sur Richelieu.


Meet the Gosselin family, Québec's first certified organic cheese-makers and passionate organic farmers from La Fromagerie Au Gré Des Champs.


 

Charles Bukowski - The 9 Horse

Charles Bukowski - Hostage - The 9 Horse

Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Here's a great example of Bukowski's prose and brilliant sense of humour. ‘The 9 Horse’ is an excerpt from an album recording entitled “Hostage” which was recorded live at The Sweetwater, Redondo Beach, California in April, 1980.


The 9 Horse by Charles Bukowski

I was at the race track one day
And I had drunk much beer the night before
And I was late for the first race
But I parked, hustled in, and I could
Feel this beershit really coming on,
You know, not only coming on
But I had to hold the cheeks of my ass
Together while walking real fast from
The parking lot and through admissions
And toward and in the crapper.
Luckily, there was a stall and I got
My pants and shorts down real fast
And then it came: hot, glorious and
Stinking.
When I got up and wiped I looked down
And there was my wallet afloat
In all of it.
I dipped in, got it, flushed, got out
Of the stall, washed up, walked out,
Then stood in a corner and pulled
The bills out of my wallet: they
Were wet and they stank.
I heard the announcer say, “it is
Now one minute to post time.”
I wanted the 9 horse, I had this
Very strong feeling for the 9 horse.
I put the bills back in my wallet.
I didn’t know what to do.
Then the announcer said:
“they’re at the gate!”
I ran around the corner
Found a betting window
Pulled one of the bills out
Of my wallet and hollered:
“Ten to win on the 9 horse!”
The seller picked up the bill
And looked at it.
“Come on! Come on!” I said,
“It’s good, just a little wet,
What the shit!”
The seller looked at me,
Hit the button and I had
The ticket.

Then I went out and watched the
Race and the 9 horse ran
Out

2012/11/09

Koko Taylor - I'm A Woman

Koko Taylor is one of the reasons why I like the blues.

Koko Taylor - The Earthshaker ft. I'm A Woman

Koko Taylor was an American Chicago blues musician, known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and her traditional blues style.

Over the course of her career that ran near 50 years, she sang with the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Robert Plant and every other imaginable legend as well as being a major influence to other female blues singers such as Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin.

On this track "I'm A Woman" Koko Taylor shows us how it's done and there is no dispute why she is the undisputed "Queen of the Blues".



2012/11/08

Jersey du Fjord

Jersey du Fjord is a firm cow-milk cheese produced by Les Bergeries du Fjord located in Quebec's Saguenay area.

Jersey du Fjord

Jersey du Fjord gets its name 'Jersey' for the breed of cow-milk and 'Du Fjord' from the geological fjords formed along the deep, cold waters of the Saguenay River that links Lac St. Jean to the Saint Lawrence. 

Jersey du Fjord is inspired by the traditional English Cheshire cheese, a dense semi-hard cheese produced in the English county of Cheshire. Cheshire is made in the form of a cylindrical wheel that is as high as it is wide. It distinguishes itself by its moist, crumbly texture with small crevices punctuated through the paste. This feature is related to its manufacturing process where the curd is milled and therefore lacks consistency.

Jersey du Fjord is produced in a 20 kg (44 lbs.) wheel that is aged 10 months. The natural rind is golden coloured speckled with gray mildew and the crumbly paste has a butter coloured hue. It has a mild, salty taste with a slight marine aroma with a hint of orange zest and a lingering slightly sharp aftertaste.

Jersey Cattle

The Jersey breed of cows is a small, docile breed of dairy cattle that is popular for the high butterfat content and high percentage of protein in its milk.

Les Bergeries du Fjord produces the award winning Jersey du Fjord along other farmstead cheeses, such as La Blanche Du Fjord and La Belle de Jersey. The dairy is located in La Baie, Quebec.


2012/10/31

Ermite

Ermite is a pasteurized cow-milk blue cheese produced by the monks at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Benoît-du-Lac located in Québec's Eastern Townships.

Ermite

Blue Ermite has a semi-soft cream-coloured paste with a blue-green mould and natural rind. The paste is crumbly yet creamy in the mouth with some granular bits. Ermite is a relatively mild blue cheese, with tangy slightly salty after tones and has a pleasant mushroom aroma.

Ermite, is fabricated in a 2 kg. (4.5 lbs.) wheel which is treated with Roquefort penicillium. The wheels are aged for five weeks, then removed from the ripening rooms and are then washed to remove the natural molds that have formed on the rinds.

Cheese fabrication at l'Abbaye Saint-Benoît was launched in 1943, at this time the Benedictine monks only made the Ermite blue cheese. Through the years they have added other quality cheeses to the range of products they produce such as the award winning Bleu Benedictin, Frère Jacques and Le Moutier.

l'Abbaye Saint-Benoit

Ermite blue cheese is a perfect addition to any cheese platter; it is great for cooking or in salads.

Ermite pairs well with Ambre de Pommes (a Michel Jodoin blend of eau-de-vie and apple juice aged 18 months in oak barrels), or a late bottled vintage porto, or a red Tempranillo Rioja wine.


2012/10/26

Le Tire-Lune

Tire-Lune

Le Tire-Lune is a raw goat-milk cheese from Québec’s first certified organic goat farm Cassis et Mélisse located in the Chaudière-Appalaches region. This 4 kg mountain style semi-cooked firm paste tomme has been aged between 3 to 6 months on pin boards. Le Tire-Lune has a brown coloured natural rind that is spotted with pinkish flecks. It has a fruity taste with hints of butter and hazelnuts and a delicious lingering hint of goat in the mouth.

Hand-ladled chesse

The certified organic farm Cassis et Mélisse is run by Aagje Denys, a Belgium agronomist who started up the goat farm in Saint-Damien-De-Buckland, Québec over twelve years ago with her partner Gary Cooper. Cassis et Mélisse produce a variety of hand-ladled fresh goat milk cheeses as well as the lovely refined semi-firm washed rind Le Galarneau.

Cassis et Melisse Farm

Located less than an hour's drive south of Quebec city, situated between a forest and lake, the Cassis et Mélisse farm also rent out a 2 bedroom suite "L'Appentis de la fromagère" for overnight stays on the twenty hectares organic goat farm.


Photo source: http://sofadeco.com