7 Color Lagoon

Signs of Compassion and Creativity

hfdratch — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:10:10 +0000

There are bad things in Mexico. And elsewhere. There is cruelty, violence and injustice afoot in the world. Yet my cousin sent me a link to this wonderful, short film on YouTube that begs to be watched for its’ 4.5 minutes. It is about compassion or advertising and it is Mexican unless it is partly American-made, partly financed by the National Film Board of Canada that has brought so many fine films to the world over the years. I think it is finely-made, following the best example of the primary order of the world: less is more.

Pay homage to a Mexican talent in this award-winning short film:

Fourth annual Short Film Online Competition - Cannes 2008. The NFB, in association with the Cannes Short Film Corner and partner YouTube, is proud to announce that the winner of the NFB Online Competition Cannes 2008 is Alonso Alvarez Barreda for his short film Historia de un Letrero (The Story of a Sign) produced in Mexico/U.S.A.

The short film

Director : Alonso Alvarez Barreda
Running Time : 04:50
Year : 2007
Country : Mexico/ U.S.A
Category : Short film

With a stroke of the pen, a stranger transforms the afternoon for another man in this emotionally stirring short film by Alonso Alvarez.

Enjoy:

Historia de un Letrero/ The Story of a Sign (or sign-writer).

Dolly Moves Inexorably

hfdratch — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:50:03 +0000

Not to ignore the possible effects of even a small tropical storm here is the wind predictive 5 day cone from NOAA. It appears that Cozumel, Cancun and Merida will bear the brunt but these storms are fickle and still able to fool the predictors.

Dolly's Probable Wind Cone

I successfully upgraded WordPress (the blogware) to the latest version (2.6) and the image has appeared unlike the last post.

This is only a tropical storm but the “only” proved to be a dangerous concept with the last storm. Only a tropical storm can still damage and kill and cannot be taken lightly. I will go out now to fill the generator, close storm shutters and make sure there are no potential missiles lying around. I wish I had more candles and batteries and may rue my inattention later.

Tropical Storm Dolly Threatens Yucatan

hfdratch — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:39:33 +0000

The last tropical storm that hit us in Chetumal (it came up from Belize in late May) I belittled — and prepared. I was wrong to belittle any storm. It only brought us in the immediate area a lot of rain with flooding limited to remote areas, I thought. I was wrong that time since a number of people died in Belize and parts of Campeche and Tabasco states in Mexico did suffer from the torrential rains.
As the active storm season begins the US is threatened with Bertha, there is a storm forming in the Pacific, a depression in the Atlantic that might or might not intensify and Dolly is making tracks for the Yucatan Peninsula (check out the graphic from NOAA. It appears that Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the Mayan Riviera can expect some wind and water and Merida appears in its path. With luck we will be spared on the southern frontier since I have not prepared well this time — although in this part of the world it is best to always be basically ready for a good storm.

Click on the NOAA link to see a range of storm track maps and predictions. I could not get the image to load into the WordPress blog. Maybe the new version of WordPress will work better. If you get an “under construction” message it will be the change-over to the newer incarnation of the blogware.

I have been away from posting again as the potential sale of the house has taken a lot of time. It is not yet in contract but there is some hope. Stay tuned.

China Makes Kung Pao Chicken Official Dish

hfdratch — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:04:23 +0000

I am a little late on this but some folks may not yet be aware of the civilized side of China — its’ food (the jury is out on other facets of modern China). Last week the Chinese government made Kung Pao chicken the official food of the summer 2008 olympics.

Kung Pao chicken was one of my early favorites in New York’s Chinatown. I seem to recall a good version at a restaurant on Doyer or Pell, in the tourist center of things. It was perhaps the early ’70s when we gallery-hopped SOHO, headed for Chinatown for dinner, partied heavily and finished off the night at Ferrara’s or the Cafe Roma and trundled sleepily back up the Hudson Valley in the wee hours. That was youth.

Kung Pao is a diced, fried chicken with peanuts and chiles. It is foreigner-friendly (albeit not familiar to all sports fans) and has a comforting name. It will make a lot of visitors happy with its comfort-food tastes. One story of its traditional name is that it was named after an imperial official on an inspection tour. Reuters also pointed out the “linquistic makeover” of a number of dishes. One is a favorite of mine for many years now that my wife and I tried all over America — from NY Chinatown to LA, Houston, Miami and even a fine, Chinese restaurant we found by accident next to a Food Lion in Abington, VA. Ma Po Tofu is the stuff of dreams (if you have ever dreame of tofu and not called it a nightmare).

The Chinese are instructing restaurants to call it Ma Po rather than the more literal translation: ” bean curd made by a pock-marked woman”. They have put much time and many meetings into these friendly translations and, in this case, I think the comfortable version is a great improvement.

About.com has a recipe for Kung Pao on their site as well as a recipe for a “lite” version. I noticed a Chinese site touting tours of China labeled the dish “Chicken fried with chiles and peanuts” which really doesn’t have the equivalent romance.

Wash Food, Eat Safely

hfdratch — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:22:23 +0000

New Post on my little blog, Lizard Stew, about disinfecting foods — especially those eaten raw. Tomatoes are in the news for that reason. Last year it was “pre-washed” spinach. It is a simple process that is not only for the developing nations. Moctezuma can visit the US, too, for his revenge.

The other alternative is to eat cooked foods. These tomatoes are safely cooked in a sauce with onions, capers, olives, and (for me) chiles.

House For Sale, Casa Se Vende On Laguna Bacalar

hfdratch — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:22:49 +0000

HOUSE FOR SALE ON THE SHORE OF LAGUNA BACALAR. PRICE REDUCED TO $369,000US.

CASA EN LA ORILLA DE LA LAGUNA BACALAR SE VENDE. PRECIO REDUCIDO A 3.8MILLION DE PESOS M.N. La casa tiene 4 recamaras, 3.5 baños, alberça, grande muelle, jardin, casita de 2 cuartos, 2 bañitos, 1100 metros cuadrado embardado, titulado. Fotos: clic AQUI

La casa esta cerca del Hotel Laguna y Cenote Azul. El dueño puede recibir correo electronico hfdratch@yahoo.com o (983) 834.26.18.

Visit the gallery — Bacalar House For Sale — by clicking on this link or on the blogroll in the left column.