Steak au Poivre

Filed under: Recipes — Artflux at 2:40 pm on Wednesday, January 31, 2007

This dish is a classic in France and always delicious with salad and a baked potato, and of course a bottle of red wine. Western Beef located in the meet packing district of Manhattan has the best in the city. For sear-roasting, a cast-iron pan works best.

1 New York Boneless Beef Shell Steak (sliced & trimmed)
Salt
1 Tb. crushed ground black peppercorns
Olive Oil
1 cup red wine
3 Tbs. butter, sliced

Heat the oven to 500° F. Sprinkle the steak with salt and press the peppercorns into the steak on both sides. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add just enough olive oil to make a light film. When the oil is very hot, add the steaks, cooking until nicely browned on one side, about 3 min. Flip the meat over and put the skillet in the oven. For a medium rare steak, roast for 3 min. Check for doneness with the tip of a knife or by pressing with your fingertips, keeping in mind that the straks will cook a bit more as they sit. Transfer the steak to a warm plate and tent with foil.

With a spoon, remove any fat from the skillet. Put the skillet back on the burner and heat to medium high. Add the wine and cook until it’s reduced to 1/4 cup, about 7 min., scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Whisk in the butter a slice at a time until completely melted. Taste and adjust the seasonings, drizzle the sauce over the steak, and serve immediately with more sause on the side.

N’Harmonics – Janie’s Got a Gun

Filed under: General — Artflux at 7:06 pm on Monday, January 29, 2007

Hillary Clinton’s New Gay Look, Casino Royal, The Queen, Youtube.com and My New Passion

Filed under: Editorial — Artflux at 6:15 pm on Thursday, January 25, 2007

Well I’ve deliberated about photos for myspace.com test running them on rating sites like hotornot.com to get a more subjective view. Not to mention there’s a few on Friendster.com as well. I really need to update.

2656203415294l.jpg
President Bush is going off the deep end as a lame duck this week with his state of the union address. From the commentary is seems that there was a partisan response that was to be expected. Yikes!

26563528939047l.jpg

Then again Hillary Clinton’s webcasts were just as hideous. She was so made up that she looked like a china doll. Or maybe she has been spending some of her contributors money on a face makeover. But the image is everything so lifts are becoming acceptable even for politicians now. She’s looking so butch. Maybe she should duel with Madeline Albright in a leg press competition. Madeline boast being able to leg press 700 lbs. So is she or isn’t she a lesbian? That is the question.

26563494417828l.jpg

So here are some of the recent movies that I have seen. Casino Royal, with a rejuvenated Daniel Craig as Bond. The footage in Venice toward the end was nice but the films length running about 144 minuets left me yawning even with all the geeky gimmicks and gadgets.

bermuda.jpg

When I worked at La Mama E.T.C. back in the 70’s while a student at Pratt, I managed the rehearsal building on Great Jones street. I watched Tom Eyen direct productions there such as Neon Woman with Divine as well as The Whore and the Bit Player with Madeline La Rue. His major contribution was Dreamgirls. Unfortunately he never saw on screen version having died of Aids in a 1991. Staged by director-choreographer Michael Bennett, I regret never having seen the Broadway version. The film version is inspirational. Tom was always pleasant to be around. He sometimes would spend time with me after rehearsals asking me what I thought. Hmm…

blond.jpg

I’m not a film critic, but the documentary mix of The Queen based on Princess Diana’s tragic death in Paris and the royals reaction left me in awe. It was 1997 about 10 years ago that she crashed in a town car race in a tunnel to escape overly aggressive paparazzi. I don’t know what more to say. It’s well worth seeing.

1978.jpg

Gambling in Second Life has become my passion recently. I’m not sure of the legality of this but it seems to have become popular with the residents. You realize that there are questions as to how legitimate the online casinos are. The machines have at times paid handsomely at times.

cam.jpg

So now that Artflux has entered into the new media.com era I have been trying my best to keep up with the skill for it’s upkeep. Thanks to the WordPress it has made creating content ridiculously easy and more enjoyable.

Cyclist Run Down by A Drunken Motorist Along the Hudson River Bike Path

Filed under: Cycling — Artflux at 10:50 am on Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Unseasonably warm weather had me up early Saturday morning for a 30 some mile cycle ride down Battery Park and up to the Central Park my usually spin. I had heard from a friend that someone had been killed recently. I saw another white ghost bike along the Hudson River Park bike path along with a memorial. Eric Ng, a 22-year-old bicyclist and teacher, was killed on Dec. 1 by a drunk driver as he rode his bike on the Hudson River Greenway after a party at Chelsea Peers. Here is the Youtube tribute by Streetfilms that I found on Streetblog.
YouTube Preview Image

Black Bean Soup

Filed under: Recipes — Artflux at 10:17 am on Tuesday, January 9, 2007

1 cup dry black beans cooked
2 tbsn olive oil
1 cup  chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic crushed or minced
2/3 cup raw short brown rice
5-6 cups stock
1 hot pepper minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1-2 tsps salt
2 peppercorns
2 whole cloves
6 tbsp powdered milk

Drain the beans when they are tender and mash them.  If there is any stock left save it.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot that holds at least 4 quarts. Saute the onions, celery, garlic, and rice until the vegetables are soft.

Stir in one cup of stock, and while continuing to cook over low hear, add the herbs and spices.

Add the remaining stock and black beans.

Cover the pot and simmer for 2 to 3 hours

Blend the milk powder with about 1/2 cup of the soup and add the mixture back to the pot.

Adjust the seasoning.

Major Clevage Exposed in Second Life

Filed under: General — Artflux at 6:29 pm on Friday, January 5, 2007


capture_4.jpg

I was exalted when I won an enormous amount of Lindens the currency of second life.

denise_shen.jpg
Then there are avatars that are over endowed. Hmmm…

Click here to see a gallery of Second Life snapshots.

It’s 2007 Already

Filed under: General — Artflux at 10:49 am on Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Happy New Year!!! Here’s to the second anniversary of this blog. How time flies.

While browsing around Second Life I ran across a popular landmark called Elements located on Goddess of Love Island. The DJ, Bob Sinclair, plays a wild mix of music from all eras that I am listening to as I write this post.

I’m continuing the search for someone to share the loft. Yesterday I met the executive director of ‘Road to Hope’ an aids education organization. He left me with a DVD about young people with HIV. The group has traveled across the country on a nationwide campaign to share their stories. The film is insightful and touching.

A very interesting guy who recently moved to New York from Vienna Austria stopped by New Years Eve and took some video with his cell phone from the fire escape of Broadway. You can see it on Youtube at http://markuswinkler.at/blog/. He had made some suggestions on the design of Artflux that I appreciated.

So the Christmas tree has been dismantled as of today making way to the New Year 2007.
Best wishes to all in the New Year.