The adventures and various works of a photographer, road tripper, former patron of the local arts, aspiring app developer, and late night coffee drinker and conversationalist.
This is part of a continuing series of posts exploring locations of former DFW musical landmarks and the histories behind them.
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It’s 1994, and you’re in the mood for some local flavor. The DFW music scene has come into its own, and Deep Ellum is a hoppin’ place on the weekends. Local music has been taking off on the radio, and the composers and performers of said music are gaining real traction with the teen- and twentysomethings sets. Some bands are even getting signed to national labels and their music is beginning to be stocked in the big name, big box outlets. But on this particular day you’re looking for something a bit less mainstream and a bit more underground in ethos. You pile your things into the car and head out in the direction of the historic Exposition Park strip. It’s in one of those areas where people are supposedly afraid to go thanks to a reputation for being crime-ridden, but this particular carve-out is said to be safe. You pass by Forbidden Books and The Bar of Soap, negotiating the never-ending road construction, and arrive at a small retail store on Parry Avenue, sandwiched inside a row of businesses just across the street from the entrance to the fairgrounds.
As of today, the Live Photography photo gallery is finally back up and running, with a total of fifteen bands and performers represented via dedicated galleries and a further forty-five via "Miscellaneous Bands." A gallery of music venue photos is also up now. This remains a work in progress, and several other band galleries are still in the pipeline with a planned rollout at some point in the future. The need to go through thousands of photos from hundreds of different shows is the primary reason this has taken so long.
Continue reading "The live photography gallery is back online, plus a few statistics"
I've always liked flavorful and aromatic rices, and Indian-style rice was an early recipe candidate for me once I began to focus more on cooking. Here is my current recipe, put together by combining and tweaking elements of multiple other Indian rice recipes I've made, and with the end result having actually been approved by at least one Indian acquaintance. As always, authenticity matters less to me than whether I like the final result.
Note that this recipe makes use of some ingredients that give the end result a more characteristically "Indian" or "ethnic" taste that will likely be at odds with what many people (based on experiences at local Indian restaurants) are expecting. If this an issue, omit the ingredients in blue.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
2 1/4 cups water, divided into 1/2 cup and 1 3/4 cup portions
1/2 g Spanish saffron
1/2 tsp methi seed (fenugreek seed, available in Indian markets)
Continue reading "Indian-inspired rice"