bits and pieces

We got back into town from San Antonio Christmas eve, so we were all too tired to cook anything. We picked up a few pizzas from a local pie shop, and called it dinner. Afterwards, we spent an hour or so flipping through the Apple iTunes movies library trying to figure out a movie we all wanted to watch. Actually, I think none of us really wanted to commit to anything other than Tay, so we just enjoyed flipping through the various options and talking about them before going off to bed, and then Tay ended up watching Elf on his own while I finished up the last touches to the paintings I was working on.

Christmas morning, I got up around nine or so, and took photos of the Christmas decor with dad while waiting for Tay to roll out of bed at his customary time of 11:15. When we finally assembled in front of the tree and the stockings, dad distributed all the gifts and we went around opening them all. I got a good haul this year, most notably a beautiful illustrated copy of the best works of Poe from Tay, and a very nice scarf and hat set from dad and Neri, and a very warm BR zip up with elbow patches.

Taking advantage of my abundance of time, I gave Tay a framed painting of Suki, and to Neri and dad, a larger painting on canvas of the Pines, their old house in the UK countryside.

Dad made a standing rib roast for Christmas dinner. This is a very expensive and prime cut of meat, and I swore aloud when he took it out of the deli wrapping. It was a 5 pound solid cube of meat. He put on a peppercorn rub, and smoked it over wine-soaked apple chips on the grill for a few hours. It was an elaborate endeavor and the biggest challenge I think was simply making sure the heat was getting through to the center of the cut without burning the outside.

It was one of the best preparations of beef I've ever had, for me, right up there with that legendary filet I had on my birthday dinner in Buenos Aires many years ago. Nicely marbled, wonderful flavor. It killed me that I could't finish the slab of meat in front of me.
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At some point, we went to go see American Hustle. Slick, harmless. Good acting especially by Amy Adams, and the Hunger Games girl did a good job too- dangerously ignorant, demanding life reward her, reckless, pathetic, and proud. It was a bit like Guy Ritchie directing Goodfellas but more poppy. Tay called it a 1970s Ocean's 11.
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Two days ago, Tay and I went out on the town. We stopped for breakfast/lunch at Black Walnut cafe close to Rice University for a quick bite. Good coffee, good food, best fresh kolache I've had here. Kolaches are kind of strange culinary artifacts- they are a distinctly Czech pastry, brought over by a massive or at least massively influential influx of Czech immigrants to this part of Texas.

Actually, it is a bit strange to drive through the middle of Texas, named after the various ethnic groups which have settled these lands. One may drive from Smithville to Schulenberg to Weimar to Gonzales and pick up fresh kolaches at the Hruska rest stop.

Anyway, after breakfast Tay and I walked over to Rice University. What a difference the years and perspective makes. I remember when my dad took me to Rice to check it out as a potential college back in high school, I was blown away. The desert boy from the industrial park of Phoenix was overwhelmed by the live oak alleys, the byzantine architecture and regal air of the University, the green of Houston everywhere. In sharp contrast to the eclectic and modern sprawling campus of ASU, this place felt like an elite college like Oxford. This time, I was quite underwhelmed and a bit chagrined thinking back to how much I lionized the place. I was absolutely devastated when I didn't get in.

Since then, I have actually been to Oxford and Cambridge, and went to school at Wash U, which is a much more lovely campus, and I have visited many other colleges as well as gaining insight into the simplistic stylistic devices used to seduce students and parents. Walking through, and looking at the "heraldry" on the hung banners, Rice just comes off feeling like its trying too hard, like a discount Ivy league. In many ways, Wash U is a 'safety' school for Ivy aspirants, but at least they have the taste to not hang out heraldic banners.

There was a new Turrell sky space pavilion out there, built in the last year or so, but it was really not that impressive. I think I need to get out there at dusk to really appreciate the light show played out against the underside of the canopy.

Tay and I talked about the problems of integrating student populations with the hordes of Chinese and Korean students flooding into higher education, and on cue, I was asked to take a photo of a Chinese student and her family.

From there we drove on to the tiny University of St. Thomas which is home to two pieces of famous architecture which we visited. The chapel of St. Basil and the Rothko chapel, self-described as one of the most important pieces of art in the past 50 years.

I could, and probably will, write about the Rothko later.