kevateria

2009-09-20T17:04:00.011-04:00

views from train stations in marburg and frankfurt respectfully

it's the start of another extended stay in germany, this time 10 months in hamburg, studying two semesters at the HafenCity University. it's been a great introduction to hamburg, even though i've been here before, it's large enough to feel like you're in a new area every time, at least at first, we'll see how long that lasts. certainly it's smaller than new york, but many places are, and i don't feel like i'd need to be in such a large city anyway.

the old city from kennedybrücke, the außeralstersee

whatever, here's some pictures of hamburg, and of the first few days. there have been some interesting events happening here. this week there's a climate conference of sorts in the city, today was car-free sunday, friday was park(ing) day, etc... i can't find an english version of the site, but you can tell it's pretty big anyway, just from the five or so floors it covers at the convention center.

car-free sunday from Kennedybrücke to the Schanze

i even tried to do a babel fish translation and i'm not sure it was actually english that came out. reading over the blogs with matt, andy and mike i realize i don't have any stories to tell at the moment that would match anything we had then. certainly different to travel by onesself, though not without its excitement.

i showed up in frankfurt and immediately felt at home, no need to wonder at that. the trip was air india, which is apparently owned by the indian government. the flight was half full and i had the most leg room ever in the history of leg room, thanks to the quick reflexes of heather at the airport, where she got me an emergency row, isle seat. perfect. it turns out i could have switched to whatever seat i wanted anyway, there were so few people on board, but i was happy with my seat.

same little french cafe that matt and i visited first off last time, good coffee and torts, among other things that go along with that.
on my way over i had picked up a paper and while at the cafe i read about germany's chancellor angela merkel coming to frankfurt that afternoon around one pm. she made a brief tour of some sights in germany in honor of a few of the germany's previous chancellors. her stop in frankfurt was in commemoration of the second chancellor from the cdu (her political party,) who had something to do with the financial sector. i decided it wouldn't be often that i would get to see such a political figure speak so i went. the tour was prompted really by the fact that there's an election next week, and she's running for reelection. overall it was interesting, i understood most of it but nobody really seemed to impressed with what she was saying so i got bored. the only interesting character was this guy with a poster for die linken, a left-leaning political party. he took it upon himself to start a loud argument with some poor lady who stood on this step stool in order to see better. the step stool had another political party's message on it and i guess this guy assumed she was with that party and he didn't take too kindly to that. she walked away.

checked in at the hostel, room in a 10 bed dorm. the hostel was great except for having no one to keep you awake long enough to adjust to the time difference so i fell asleep already at around five thirty. slept four hours or so before some roomies woke me up with their chatter. they were at least nice people and we chatted. one was from new zealand, but he hadn't seen the tv show 'flight of the conchords' so i didn't know what else to talk about and tried to go back to bed. didn't work. but breakfast was good.

marburg, a college town in the north of the state of hessen

walked around frankfurt again, read the paper, drank a coffee, walked past the nostalgic beer garden of trips past. train to marburg, visiting my friend michi. forgot just how awesome marbug is. tiny but worth it. spent two days at michi's. six hours on the regional trains to hamburg to keep within budget and a stomach ache (bad cheese?) and now in hamburg...

2008-07-20T10:37:00.006-04:00

last week my Hospitality Club friend Esther lent me her city bike, nickname: 'the old pickle', and we made the trek, roughly 30km to a small town a little north northeast from kassel called Hann. Münden. renowned for it's Fachwerk Häuser, half-timbered houses, the city was at one point a political center of germany. there's an interesting fella named Doktor Eisenbarth, who a long time ago was a roaming doctor who would set up a tent around the marketplace in different cities and heal the sick, apparently performing self-described miracles. at any rate, he would often visit Hann. Münden and in the end he passed away there. he would stay at an inn called 'zum wilden Mann', translated roughly to 'at the wild man'. restaurants and other businesses and houses didn't have numbers at the time but descriptions. they might have a wreath hanging outside or something and be called 'at the wreath'. in Ulm, matt and i, and the other fellas in 2006, ate at a place called 'zum wilden Mann' and i've often wondered if there was just some looney bearded dude that would always hang out outside and the place just became known as 'at the wild man.' anyway, there's a funny tradition in Hann. Münden, where every saturday during the summer someone dresses up like Doktor Eisenbarth, just like santa claus in the mall during the christmas holiday, and you can go up and tell him what illness you have and supposedly he says 'eureka' or something and you're cured. all doubts aside, it sounds like a fun thing for a little town in which not much else happens. though the old town is amazing to just walk around in. and the bike path along the Fulda river is beautiful and totally separate from the street. just watch out for all the bugs that make their way into your mouth. i'm no longer a vegetarian after all the flies i ate.

2008-07-20T10:30:00.003-04:00

this is the way home at night. i'm not sure how to describe how quiet it is, but i feel like these pictures go a long way to emphasize that. and the sunsets (which are usually around 9:30 or 10:00) are really something. the walk home at night is almost right out of a movie. the streets look lit for a film shoot and it's actually a little twilight zone-ish but surprisingly relaxing. the little town is called Fuldatal and has a not very busy main street with a few stores, including a bio-laden or health food store. the church is small and very plain but it has a clock on it that keeps the time pretty well.

2008-07-20T09:56:00.010-04:00

i finally did a little exploring around kassel. the first two pictures here are from the Löwenburg, which was used as a model for a disney film or the like. originally, however, it was the summer playground of the count of so-and-so a long time ago. he lived most of the year in the main residence in the city proper and then his mistress lived here in the Löwenburg. interestingly, the castle was built to look aged like a ruin. this aesthetic obviously was enhanced over time, but during the second world war a bomb landed kind of right next to or maybe a little on the castle and then the ruin really was a ruin. it's in the process, still, of being rebuilt. you can see (not in these pictures) the difference between the original weak stones, used intentionally to speed the aging process, and the current work which uses solid stone. the third picture is the Schloß Wilhemshöhe, the original residence of one of the wilhelms (i'm not a historian). it was taken over for about 6 years by napolean's brother, something of a womanizer and with a reputation for being completey incompetent. the fourth picture there is a beautiful Schloß right next to the city center. a Schloß is basically just a residence for the rich aristocracy, the ruling class families and such. this particular Schloß is now called the Orangerie and houses a museum and i think something of a planetarium something or other. might be wrong, the day i was walking around there was a wedding party there taking a lot of pictures. kassel originally had three Schloßes, but the third one, the residence of wilhelm something or other, was nearly completely destroyed during the second world war.

here the first picture is kassel, obviously in the evening. that's the silhouette of the dom and way in the background, just to the right of the two Turms, you can kind of see the Herkules. the other two pics are the Schloß Wilhelmshöhe.

there's an art university here and plenty of graffiti around. and then this yellow banana rocket-mobile.

and my two new friends i made walking home one day. they didn't have much to say but they did laugh at all my jokes.

2008-07-12T10:28:00.009-04:00

tribute to those who came before...

matt, this is for you. a few things. first a tribute to the basic of functions. surely you understand. and second, you can always get closer to the construction site. thought i was done with those, but what do i see out the window upon arrival at my friend's house in marburg?? wow. super times. also, the main attraction here in kassel is the huge statue of Hercules. but guess what. yup. entirely covered by scaffolding. enjoy!

2008-07-12T09:59:00.004-04:00

Marburg, Germany - Vegan (definitely) Gulasch (sort of)

i made this dish a few nights ago for my dear friends in the small but beautiful town of Marburg, in hessen. i'd chalk it up as a victory that these meat eaters thought it tasted yummy!

1/2 carrot
4 tomatoes
1 green pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1 1/2 red peppers
1 small cucumber
3 cups textured vegetable protein
1 big onion
1 head garlic
8 sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup capers
2T. olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar (apple-cider is best)
3 cloves
hungarian sharp paprika
handful fresh dill
1 T. dried dill
3 T. marjoran
1 T. oregano
1 cup vegetable broth

prep... dice the garlic. cut the onion into whatever kind of large chunks. slice the tomatoes nice and thin. dice the sun dried tomatoes. cut the carrot, cucumber, and some of the pepper into larger chunks, the rest of the pepper dice up fairly small.

1. heat up the oil in a large pot. when hot throw in the dried herbs, cloves, and some sharp paprika. cook for 30 seconds or so. toss in the onions and cook for about 1 minute. add the garlic and cook further about 30 seconds.
2. add the sun dried tomatoes and the other tomatoes and cook roughly 30 seconds. add the vinegar and put the top on the pot. cook further until the tomatoes are fairly cooked down.
3. add the small chunks of pepper and cook further 10 or so minutes keeping the pot covered.
4. add the rest of the vegies and the fresh dill. depending on spice tolerance you can add more sharp paprika here. salt and pepper to flavor. cook 5 minutes further.
5. add some of the vegetable broth. let cook a few minutes more.
6. add the vegetable protein. let it rehydrate.

you can always add more TVP as necessary. if it seems like the gulasch will be too watery, add more TVP. try variations on spiceyness or try simmering the tomatoes a bit in the beginning with red wine. try other herbs, too.
goes well with small noodles or try and find some egg free spätzle.

2008-07-12T09:41:00.003-04:00

first impressions from Kassel, Germany...

i suppose it's called settling in, but as of yet, communicating solely with people in a foreign language, it'll be sometime before i'd consider myself 'settled in.' but my host here is one of a kind. i think if i was a bit more comfortable with the language we could be the best of friends. even still, we've had conversations about global warming, the size of the automobiles in the states, why i'm a vegetarian, herb gardens (she has a rockin one), the schooling systems in both the states and germany (totally different), favorite vacation destinations, and what life was like in germany before the wall came down. and then there's kassel. the city is a bit different than the rest of germany. it was totally destroyed during world war two. there's only a slim few buildings that made it through and for the most part the streets were totally anihilated. so the whole city was rebuilt. i'm not a historian or anything, but as someone from the states who's interested in city planning it was the first most outstanding feature upon arrival. it's immediately apparent that there was a western (specifically american) influence during the reconstruction. the streets are a bit wider, things a bit more spread out. there happens to be suburbs, too, something you don't really find throughout the rest of the country. at some point it became law that the cities had to absorb the surrounding communities. these then all became part of the city's structure: transportation, public works, etc... also the new cities are, for the most part, not allowed to build outside their boundaries. meaning you can't just say, it's too crowded here i'd like a house a little apart from the rest of my neighbors. to me, this makes a bit of sense. people are forced to deal with each other and find solutions for shared problems, mainly i guess transportation-wise. i wouldn't call it ideal, but it's a few steps ahead of the states. with people so close to their work, grocery stores, post, etc. it allows a greater emphasis on public and alternative forms of transportation (trams, bikes, teeny tiny cars...).
anyway, the surrounding communities of kassel had powerful mayors and nobody wanted to contest them. so when it came time to form one big city, as per law, somehow kassel was exempt. so now the tram only goes so far and the surrounding communities work together with the city of kassel to provide bus service past that.

2008-05-14T16:47:00.002-04:00

talk about shooting yourself in the foot; albany has done us a lovely not a favor by losing out on 350 million dollars worth of transportation funds. consider that in light of this article here that talks about just how much ridership on MTA is increasing in light of the increased prices at the pump. but it's not all bad news, as May is BIKE MONTH! we've already had a great ride through brooklyn along the future Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway and i'm eagerly anticipating the Tour de Brooklyn on 25 may. this past weekend was a bit of fun as well, with the first annual LIC Bike Parade led by the Hungry March Band as well as the City Reliquary's Bicycle Fetish Day with five awards given out for the Best Crappiest Looking Bike, Best Homemade Bike, Most Family Friendly Bike, Best Track Bike, Best Vintage Bike. no pictures to show but i'm sure you can find some at the City Reliquary's web site. wish i had pictures of my bike to show, since i decorated it along with all the little kids that were attending the LIC bike parade with their parents. i had lovely gray tassels hanging off the ends of the handle bars and blue fridge hanging from the bar tape. maybe i'll get it together and get some pictures from this friday's bike to work day. i'll be volunteering at the 59th street bridge in the borough of queens handing out morning pastries and water to bicycle enthusiasts, and it will probably only be enthusiasts in light of the weather forecast. then again, there's plenty of construction on the Queensborough Bridge so i'm sure the workers will appreciate it. also, check out San Francisco's Bike to Work Day, my friend kati is one of the coordinators there for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition...

2008-04-23T12:44:00.003-04:00

with the death-for-now of congestion pricing, a few questions remain. just how does one convince new yorkers that they are not dependent on an automobile? perhaps the congestion pricing plan was a bit harsh on commercial businesses but it was a step in the right direction. in order to get people out of their cars there needs to be an infrastructure that supports alternative modes of transportation, a point that the city would do well to work on. first of all, we lost out on 350 million dollars with which to build up public transportation and bicycle routes. but what we can still do is work on ways in which to encourage people to use alternative transportation. we could divert money from parking projects and road repairs and put that into bike lanes and increased subway services. transportation alternatives is still working on these exact things. likewise, the greenpoint/williamsburg waterfront greenway has been voted to move ahead. last week community board 1, covering our neighborhood (greenpoint) voted overwhelmingly in favor of this much needed project. especially in light of all the private, financially exclusive housing going up in the area - williamsburg/greenpoint - this project will help to ensure that the community retains access to its waterfront, instead of watching it go to the sole use of those who can afford it. thankfully, the project includes the calming of traffic along kent ave, notoriously dangerous for its high speeds. this will also connect us to the rest of the brooklyn waterfront greenway. and plenty of events coming up this bike month!
but on another note, just a thought. it's becoming increasingly obvious as transportation is becoming more talked about that we can't talk about what to do regarding transportation when not also dealing with housing. the areas whose train lines are the worst are only about to become more so. people can complain about the subways all they want and yell at the MTA for raising fares and not keeping up with the volume of ridership, but we have to also talk about what to do regarding all of the new housing go up around some of the most-used lines in new york. for example, the L and JMZ trains and all the ridiculously exclusive housing going up in williamsburg and greenpoint. long island city, as well, and the well-used 7 line, not to mention the EV trains. it would seem that private developers are putting up housing at a rate that the consistently-in-the-red MTA could never keep up with. and now we've lost millions of dollars that could have gone to deal with these exact issues. more later...

2008-04-02T17:57:00.003-04:00

i finally remembered my password! posting again finally...
matt and i have been planning our german/austria/switzerland trip for a little while now. we've come up with our basic itinerary:
frankfurt
cologne
freiburg
basel
berne
zurich
uelm
munich
salzburg
frankfurt
pretty much in that order. what we're in the middle of putting together now is a bit of a beer tour of bayern, though not an extensive one. mostly we'll be trying weisses Bier though we're very excited to be heading to the city of Bamberg for a visit to the Aecht Schlenkerla beer tavern which has been around since 1405. you can view the full contents of our planning process at matt's yahoo travel page. if you've been to germany and have any tips for us on breweries and sights to see in bayern or baden-wuertenburg, switzerland, or austria please chime in.

2008-02-18T17:47:00.002-05:00

well, this would be 2008. and supposedly i've not posted in quite a while, once again. again, things have been a little busy, but not so much that i shouldn't have been here at the computer typing away and uploading pictures and all those things that make people want to read blogs. why would you want to read this one??
well, for a while we were actually putting recipes up here, that was fun. and then maybe there was some talk of city planning and maybe public transportation...
now things might be a little different, and maybe at the same time a little more accessible for posting and things like that. we actually have the internet now. no more internet cafes or making time to go use the interweb... it actually exists right here in this room from which i'm currently writing.
so what's been happening?
i've gone back to college, that's the biggest thing i suppose. i've definitely been cooking a lot, making quite a few new recipes from an amazing recipe book put out by two girls from brooklyn and queens called "veganomicon", perhaps one of the best recipe books i've ever read. not only is it full of excellent recipes it's full of useful tips on equipment and nutrition as well. plus it seems to be very community oriented, and by that i mean that the authors have tried and tested all the recipes with their friends, and they make it known. even a few of the recipes have come from some of their friends. and community is something important here making the book extra special in this respect. perhaps if i keep this a little more up to date you might find some pictures of their recipes.
recently there's been a lot more german being spoken and hear around this apartment, since that's kinda what i'm learning at college. but there are also some good books being read and some excellent music being listened to:
books
cradle to cradle
moon palace
winning at all costs
nicht lustig vol3
television/movies
family guy
samurai champloo
wild style
music
der Plan
MIA
cave singers
or, the whale

all of these have found their way into the environment here. being home a lot more since working less, i've had a little more time for the plants around here, too. it would have to happen then that the rosemary would get a lovely case of the rosemary beetle. that pesky little beetle perhaps somehow related to the colorado beetle has taken quite fondly to my rosemary plants and already killed one of the two. careful watching over the one has for now saved it so hopefully as it warms up i'll be able to put it back outside, maybe repot it and we'll see some new growth. there's a been a little new growth of late, having finally succumbed to the liquid plant food after watching how pathetic the rosemary and thyme were becoming having stayed inside all winter.
on slightly more important matters, nyc has started to talk a lot about congestion pricing. it's up to albany now after hearing from advocates, neighborhoods, citizens and others their thoughts on the congestion pricing plan for manhattan and some various parking permit zoning for brooklyn neighborhoods. the state has until 31march to vote on the plan. for more information check out transportation alternatives. let's hope albany realizes just how much of an impact this plan could have on a city such as manhattan, completely clogged with personal automobile traffic to an extreme excess. this would encourage people who normally drive to utilize public transportation more, thus decreasing air and noise pollution. this would in turn create a more encouraging atmosphere for cycling and pedestrians, along with the city's slightly increased efforts on the bicycling front regarding new bike lines and a proposed new greenway in manhattan along with better signage, more bike parking and some interesting talk of a bike-share program, not unlike what has just been implemented in paris and has already been in use in other european cities such as vienna. apparently the city wants to try it out on governor's island, possibly to simultaneously push tourism to the old military island in new york harbor. while i don't think the city is giving the project ample experimentation time being so isolated there on the island it's still a great push for the city to be even considering such a communal project as a bike-share. it will be most interesting to see how our US individualism reacts to such a thing. and here's hoping! having utilized the bike share in vienna i feel it's a great plan and if people have the right mind set to appreciate how useful it is i think it could be an amazing thing for such a clogged city as new york. the bike-share would be best utilized if the state brings into effect the congestion pricing, further creating an encouraging environment for cyclists.
by the way, if you haven't yet seen the new bike lanes on the short strip of canal st. at the manhattan entrance to the northside manhattan bridge bike path it's a breath of fresh air. besides the westside greenway it's probably the only other place in manhattan that actually feels like the city cares about it's cyclists.
cheers

2007-08-02T20:55:00.000-04:00

well,
hi grandma, i'm sorry i haven't been here in a while! hope you're doing well and you received my card a short while ago.

i admit i seem to have vacated this website and left it for better times, but certainly it's not because nothing has been happening.
that last few months have been extraordinary as time would have to admit. many excellent meals have been cooked, written down, redone, revamped. a little scotch drank, a few walls have literally (and figuratively) been scaled. very few items have been found and reclaimed few stories made up about the lives of strangers, a country has been traversed and a new coast explored and i admit i'm a little tired. but i can't say it hasn't been the time of my life :)

oh johnny, where are you is very nearly finished. kelly may be putting it on her website soon, this web page will be notified of that happening. thanks to george and kelly for all your time and efforts and friendships.

we've started working on getting a legit (i.e. not dinky) recipe book made. the san francisco contingent being a bit helper on that end. the kevateria will continue it's examination of vegetarian food mixed with spices and herbs, the flavor experiment perhaps it should be called, let's throw some ideas around here peoples...

heather and i have since you and i last talked completed two WWOOF experiences. we both had a lot of fun and learned a great deal. i've become a fan of WWOOF as i've heard other peoples' stories and true to their words it was a wonderful experience. we had the pleasure of sharing in peoples' lives and lifestyles as they opened their homesteads to us. both were in oregon, which we discovered (or rather found out) runs the gamut of ecosystems and habitats. we stayed for two weeks at a ranch in the high desert of lake county in the south central valley region, 4600' elevation, just east of the cascades and close to so much forest service land we became spoiled with vistas and forests, cloudless nights and old time movie theaters (somehow that's related, i swear). we experienced the little town of Lakeview oregon there in the desert and then made our way to just northwest of corvallis oregon, in a rural town called Kings Valley. much lusher and more farmable than our previous stead. we stayed on a self-sustainable farm, where the crops grown were for the benefit of the farmers (us) and the 'cash crop' was jams and jellies. certainly we learned a vast amount there and though the lifestyle was maybe something a little too inaccessible for us, we value that experience nonetheless. we there had the opportunity to harvest seaweed straight from the pacific at low tide on a blisteringly chill morning while the fog reeled in from the coast and the sun struggled to make headway against that same gray billow. we camped after our stay on the farm, along the coast and on our way to portland, with which i fell in love.

in portland, kelly and i had a chance to quickly reunite the powers and joke like a couple of lost long forgotten friendos..... to which i shall return later this year

we then journeyed to san francisco, taking in the oregon dunes and the silent monstrous guards of the pacific the redwood trees of northern california. we hit san francisco and stayed out two weeks there, seeing my cousin marry and joining the culinary forces of matt and myself to incredible achievement... kati helped me start rock climbing and soon we were joined by the youngest of the family, my sister leah, stopping by on her way to cuenca ecuador, saraguro, then peru and chile before she begins a masters in spanish....

recipes, pictures, thoughts to follow.......

2007-01-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

a lovely new post for a lovely new year...
smelly moved to portland and seems to be doing excellent there, for her i am very happy. george, who is editing oh johnny no is currently in texas on a job and will hopefully return soon so that we may complete this project. andy is allowing me to borrow his eight track so that i may finally complete the mix of oh johnny for when george is back.

battling with a type of flu bug right now i've been able to finish reading a biography of one iossef v. stalin by the writer Robert Conquest...what a cruel individual as though that needed to be restated..however reading about this attrocious despot somehow managed to provoke me to start thinking about how to create a realistic economic plan for today....or whether that is even possible..certainly it would not be an economy based on mass killings or anything of the sort....some excellent writings on the state of the economy today are to be found on the german website der spiegel. i believe this translates to 'the mirror'. anyway, under their english or international site one can find a series of essays written by the editor including topics such as the global labor economy and the effects of immigration.....these essays are actually part of a book he has published in germany....i couldn't find an english publication of it anywhere just yet but i'm happy to have something a little more focused to be thinking about....

certainly this talk of economy would not have come about except for my very dear friend allison in the kinky nasti...her guidance into the realm of economics has been most helpful with understanding more about politics and the current state of things and of course things to come...though i'm certainly not making any predictions

2006-08-29T11:42:00.000-04:00

whoooah....this should be a multipost day, time will tell, there are many thoughts rolling around in this noggin...

so my farewell to smelly.......one of my favorite people ever
as she moves herself to the other coast and i now have yet another city to go visit :)
here are some pictures of our short little 35mm film shoot from near a week and a half ago
enjoy......
OH JOHNNY, NO!

below is the one and only smelly flusher, aka kellys slusher....please find here amazing person on the world wide intraweb here

2006-08-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

so the cafe i frequent and sometimes (have) work(ed) at is having a halloween short film festival....this is the flyer. should anyone be interested, please please pass it on or submit! also check out cafe grumpy on the internet....

today is a big day for the kevateria and cohorts Smelly and George Lyon......please check back soon for pics of a short film we three are doing together, today, for a silly little song called "oh johnny, no" made by the infamous and wonderful Smelly and the kevateria. tschuess!!

2006-08-15T11:31:00.000-04:00

wouldn't it be nice to have more pictures here? i'll have to see about that. i suppose i do own a camera......

for the first time i actually feel like i live here. yesterday i was ready to call myself a new yorker. this is interesting to me because for a while i was actually feeling more and more like an ohioan, proud to be midwest and thinking about when i would be moving back to the heimat as it were.....i am still proud to be from the midwest/great lakes...but more than ever i live here and feel like what i thought was a love/hate relationship with this city actually has nothing to do with this city. every time i'm on my roof, every time i go up in a lift 130feet and look out over this crazy place i love it, i love being here and being a part of whatever we are all trying to make this place be. what might fascinate me most about new york is that everyone is on their way somewhere and they're going there in a hurry, whether they know where it is they're going or not. they are determined. what would it be like if a majority of these people began to be in a hurry to get to a similar place, not neccessarily a physical location either but say equality. what if everyone rushed to equality, rushed to throw their televisions out their windows and all at once there was a huge crashing sound and then we all rushed to get our brooms and sweep up the pieces and while we are all sweeping we introduce ourselves to our neighbors. we said hello with congenial smiles on our faces and genuine feelings of community in our little heads. and we concerned ourselves with our community's well being, and the wages of our neighbors and we rushed to say to government 'what you are doing is against what we believe in and by golly we elected you and we did a poor job of that. we the people take responsibility for that and we the people are going to rush to change that.' and so we rush to increase the minimum wage to a livable wage, and we rush to increase access to health care and higher education, and we rushed to make our streets and environment less polluted and more breathable. and we rushed..........

welll, we might rush right past each other..........
maybe we could mosy. with a quickness :)

2006-08-15T11:03:00.000-04:00

the kevateria was pleased to play host to a parental and sibling unit for a few days. their stay culminated in a meal cooked by the kevateria and enjoyed by the above as well as one miss of the important persuasion. this meal was picked out of a german cookbook and poorly translated by the kevateria. thanks to the sibling for picking it out, it turned out to be an excellent choice........measurements for the most part remain metric

Kokos-Mais-Gemuese
coconut-corn-vegetables (in this instance, broccoli was substituted for the corn)

serve with rice noodles

1 small fresh coconut
2-3 fresh red chillies
2 bunches broccoli
1 large handful bokchoy
2 Tbl sesame seeds
3 Tbl oil
3 cloves garlic minced
3 tsp ginger finely choped
1/8 L vegetable stock
5 Tbl soy sauce
2 Tbl sweet chilli sauce

1. open the coconut and cut the flesh out of the shell, grate into narrow pieces. rinse the chillies and cut into thin rings.

2. rinse the broccoli. cut the bokchoy into thin strips.

3. heat the wok, rost the sesame seeds and take them out.

4. heat the oil in the wok, fry the chillies, garlic and ginger. then add the coconut, allow to cook for a half a minute and add the vegie stock. allow most of the water to evaporate.

5. add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes. then mix in the bokchoy. cook all with the soy and sweet chilli sauce for a short time more. serve with the sesame seeds.

2006-08-01T16:45:00.000-04:00

new new new..........
the kevateria gets restless. a couple weeks ago the kevateria made a not quite up to par meal for a friend and feels bad about it and has not attempted anything spectacular (as all shared meals are bound to be) for a while now. as we work that out let's consider what all has happened since the last post.

for starters, the kevateria took a trip. you may all find the blog that deals with that trip at the link in the previous post.....please refer. so i went to germany and learned among many things that i don't know as much german as i thought i did. also had the pleasure to become intermingled in a handful of wonderful lives, people who know at least three or four languages and have travelled far more than this blog's comparatively static hero (but who's comparing) and had the pleasure of making a few meals to share with amazingly generous hosts, some of whom were even patient enough to allow us to practice our own meandering german. i have inclinations that i learned something about another culture, heard interesting thoughts and comments on nationalism and anarchism alike, more frightening with regards to the former.......i would like to believe, too, that i learned about patience and observation, human beings in general and what it is to have to rebuild. reinforced during these travels was the current trend that this world is not so big as i thought it could be, though certainly there is the potential i believe now that that potential does not reside with borders and nations, our gaps traverse thought process, culture and understanding (or viewpoint). shoving the television so far in our brains (read: daily life) we leave little room for the purely rational thought necessary to begin any friendship....the recognition that she/he, too, is human and could easily have thoughts of her/his own.......certainly not everyone could fit the stereotypes we see on the tele no matter how closely they appear to fit it on first glance (i suppose since fewer people read these days it's tough to use the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover")

and to continue.....i am back at work. i think i'm enjoying having a trade, especially one that is so flexible that i can leave for a month come home and immediately get a call for work....i know for a while i was questioning what i was "doing with my life." but reasuringly enough, today as a matter of fact someone i work with who is usually my boss (about 15 years my senior) mentioned that he is attempting to piece together the next phase of his life, saying he is trying to put together a reel and might be trying for more shooting jobs and less rigging gaffer jobs.....interesting...this provokes the thought processi

and this coming weekend i'm very excited to be helping the courtlandt community gardens rebuild their treehouse. a community garden that i volunteer at, to bring you up to speed, courtlandt community garden is run in part by the MORE Gardens Coalition and i haven't been able to volunteer recently and will certainly be looking forward to getting down and dirty building a treehouse in the south bronx to the benefit of the neighborhood kids, that they can have some added activities during the summer time. maybe i'll actually put batteries in my camera and take a picture, what do ya think of that...........

willkommen, schon wieder

2006-07-06T06:57:00.000-04:00

okay holy smokes the newest post here just for anyone.
the kevateria is currently still travelling germany during the world championships and yeah i mean footy but if you so desire you can also follow the ramblings of the kevateria and travelling companions at deutscheblogophon. much more to come after this trip.............

2006-05-03T15:34:00.000-04:00

started volunteering at the courtlandt community garden in the melrose neighborhood of the sounth bronx. a community garden involved with the More Gardens Coalition. please check them out online at the above. was there for the second tuesday in a row. they're open tuesdays from 1-6P and located on 158th street between Melrose and Courtlandt streets. two kids, brother and sister, from the neighboring public housing came through and helped us pick weeds, plant Veronica plants and looked at a bunch of bugs inside a rotting stump with Zack, who works for the More Gardens Coalition. they weren't afraid to get their hands dirty with us! as they asked questions, though, i realized i don't know a whole lot about ecology. time to hit the books. feel free to toss some suggestions this way. but perhaps the most rewarding part of this week was brightening a kid's day, being enthusiastic about ecology with them and having them ask questions and show interest in our garden. that doesn't happen as an electrician. people on the job are so stressed with time and money and appearences und so weiter. in the garden we're outside, enjoying the sun, enjoying the plants, eating lettuce as it grows, cultivating the garlic we'll eat a few weeks and most importantly learning, from ourselves, each other, and the kids in the neighborhood. bis dahin. Gruss von Kevateria

2006-04-22T20:58:00.000-04:00

so we had a great time at the city reliquary's collector's night hosted by union pool. the kevateria was there in style, new t-shirts sort of completed being sported. thanks to ariel goldberg for coming by in support of her collection of found crossword lotto tickets. thanks again ariel. unfortunately we've also been super busy with work, however, with a little more time on our hands now, a mention about collecting. why is it that people collect stuff. the kevateria collects because it puts us more in touch with our surroundings. collecting is fun, entertaining and a good hobby for us. it's a way to decorate our indoor surroundings and great for icebreakers when friends are over; nearly everyone has something that they collect or at least stories about what they used to collect. collecting also opens us up to whole new worlds of information, interests and creativity. we can learn about history, cultures and each other through our collections. so what is it when an executive decides to form a television channel for collectors. there is of course an aspect of money, after all, television can't be run for free. however, at the city reliquary's collector's night this year we got a glimpse into this niche channel specifically for collectors. the vast majority of the collectors featured in the programs that we got snippets of (if not all the collectors featured) were collecting things with specific financial value, things new and still in their box. should this financial quest be the impetus for a collection? the kevateria is without question against placing any sort of financial value on a collection or item within. this only follows our belief in non-hierarchical systems. implying hierarchy and financial standing can all too easily cloud a person's judgement. as necessary as it may be to have a forum for collectors and their passions, the kevateria believes it can be done otherwise. we believe that we can create our forums, through pages such as this and through our own media, documentaries and events such as city reliquary's annual collector's night.

2006-04-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

so it's about time to introduce our friend and colleague, Inspector Collector, pictured here working with a girl scout troupe at the jersey city museum. IC is by far a one-of-a-kind individual, holding the world's largest collection of chinese takeout menus as verified by the guiness book. a collector of just about everything, IC is probably our biggest inspiration at the kevateria. you can check him out here. and be sure to swing by the the city reliquary's second annual collector's night at union pool, at the corner of meeker and union avenues in williamsburg, bk, ny. that's tonight, sunday 09 april at 5pm.

2006-04-05T21:19:00.000-04:00

the kevateria would like to mention grandma kevateria. an awesome lady in cleveland ohio, my grandmother. she recently sent us an article about a lady in lakewood ohio who's been vegan for at least 30 years. the interesting thing, however, is that she is still interested in her Slavik roots, as is the kevateria, and has adapted traditional Slavik recipes to be meat and dairy free. we are currently working on kevateria adaptations of these traditional dishes.....Halupki, Loksha, and a simplified Perohi......these too shall soon be seen here

2006-04-05T21:13:00.000-04:00

the emperor's kevateria is pleased to be a part of the second annual Collector's Night at Union Pool this upcoming sunday evening. put on by the City Reliquary, an amazing museum for the people here in brooklyn that celebrates NYC history, we're setting up sunday afternoon at Union Pool, the corner of Union and Meeker under the BQE in Williamsburg BK NY. doors open around 5pm, panel discussion at 6pm-8pm or so and viewing of all the collections again at 8pm. more info can be had at www.cityreliquary.org. no charge! hope to see somebody there

2006-03-07T17:39:00.000-05:00

2006-03-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

from 'das unendliche buch'
....Aber dieser Planet ist explodiert.
Gib mir deine Hand.
Wir fliegen weiter.
Es gibt ja so viele, viele Millionen von ihnen.

w. schmoegner

2006-03-07T15:10:00.000-05:00

today we are pleased to publish our first recipe on this page.
this is the kevateria scramble.
with this recipe, as with all others, the amounts are subject to taste. in fact, the numbers before the ingredients are mere possibilities. no recipe in the kevateria has ever been measured out or timed.
we are not meticulous, but we know what tastes good to us, may not taste good to others, so improvisation is encouraged.
we do, however, recommend all organic, fresh ingredients.

PEANUT BUTTER SCRAMBLE
1 package extra firm tofu
2-4 thai red chile peppers
1 medium onion
1 whole thing garlic (we don't know what a clove is, if it's the smaller part or the whole thingy, feel free to provide this info)
2T(ish) cumin seeds
handful fresh basil
1c fresh ground peanut butter
vegetable of choice (usually spinach or other leafy green for us)
2t peanut oil
1t brown rice vinegar

prepare:
dice chillies, onions, garlic and basil. cut tofu into desired sized pieces, set aside, ditto on the vegetable(s)
over low to medium flame heat oil and vinegar in frying pan. when hot (you will hear a pop or two) add cumin seeds. saute for a minute and add onions and garlic. saute until onions are almost slightly brown. add chillies and basil and saute briefly. adding water as neccesary so as not to burn. turn heat up slightly and add tofu. fry until golden on the outside and turn heat back down. simmer for however much time you have. we go maybe ten minutes or so. add peanut butter and stir to melt. add a bit of water and steam vegetable on top for two to three minutes. you can also cook vegetable by itself and serve seperately, whatever floats your boat.

serve with rice or plain, or with something else, it's your kitchen after all. just be sure to invite your friends over so they can do the dishes... :)

2006-03-05T13:57:00.000-05:00

we will share our kitchen with you. in our kitchen we collect......ourselves, other peoples lost items, recipes, stories, theories.....our friends.
we don't know how this blog thing works, but we will figure it out.