Record Club: Skip Spence "Weighted Down" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Beck, Feist, Nels Cline, Glenn Kotche, John Stirrat to name a few doing Skip Spence. If you haven't seen The Record Club work that Beck has been putting out, I think you'll want to soon. Good stuff. Do you self a favor while you're there and check out the Record Club featuring MGMT doing Suzanne by Leonard Cohen. Beautiful.

A Cup of Really Good Coffee

I want to talk to you today about a cup of really good coffee and how I make mine. I want to preface this by saying I am not a coffee snob. I will drink coffee at diners and truck stops. I will not turn my nose up at Quick Trip coffee. The fact is I like coffee. I particularly like to make my own coffee. I like the process of making coffee, and I like to savor the fruit of my labor. I will not say I make the best cup of coffee I have ever had. The best cup of coffee is such a subjective and ephemeral thing. The difference between the best cup of coffee and a cup of really good coffee can be as minute as ambient temperature, the cup used to serve it, or the mood of the person drinking it. The best cup of coffee can not be replicated. A cup of really good coffee on the other hand can be had every day. This is how I make mine.

I use a French Press most of the time. I have found that this method gives me the most control over the brewing process. The French Press is a very simple device that consists of a cylinder that holds the coffee grounds and the hot water along with a plunger that is used to separate the grounds from the coffee. One of the benefits of brewing with a French Press is that the coffee oils are kept with the coffee. Another benefit is that extraction by immersion allows for a rich and full bodied coffee taste. The coffee aroma and taste generated by this brewing process can be close to intoxicating.

Next you need to have some good quality beans and a decent grinder. I am using some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and a burr grinder set for a medium coarse grind. The French Press I use holds 32 ounces of water which equals a little more than five 6 ounce cups. The rule of thumb is two tablespoon of coffee per 6 ounce cup. I have a two tablespoon scoop and use 6 of those for 32 ounces of coffee. I have big thumbs.

I have found it is best to use a coarse grind to prevent the screen in the plunger from becoming clogged. Too fine of a grind can lead to a clogged screen and more sludge in the bottom of the cup. I like to start grinding the coffee beans just before my water starts to boil. I use an electric kettle to boil the water. It is also a good idea to use filtered water to make sure all you taste is the coffee. The temperature of the water should be between 200 and 205 degrees. I let the water boil for just a moment then open the lid for the kettle as the beans finish grinding. I then put the coffee grinds in the French Press and let the water cool.

This will give the water the right amount of time to reach the proper temperature. At this point it is also a good idea to get a timer ready. I use the timer on a microwave. Brewing time is a personal preference and can be tweaked. I like to brew the coffee for between 4 and 5 minutes.

Once the water is added, I place the lid on the French Press with the screen just above the water level. Now I start the timer, wait about a minute, remove the lid, give a good stir, and replace the lid to allow the brewing process to complete. Now I wait with much anticipation as the timer counts down. After what feels like forever, I get to plunge the plunger. I do this slowly and with steady force. I try to be careful not to use too much force. Too much resistance means the screen is clogging. It is a good idea to stop if this happens, rinse the screen with hot water, and try again. As a side note, I have never had any trouble with the plunger not plunging properly, but I feel obligated to tell people to be careful with scalding hot liquid and thin glass.

Now comes the fun part. I pour a really good cup of coffee for myself and put the rest in an insulated travel cup to keep warm. If the coffee is left in the French Press, the brewing process will continue and the coffee will become bitter. For me a cup of really good coffee is a simple and fulfilling pleasure. Try it yourself and see what you think. It is time to sit down with some tunes and enjoy a moment or two of bliss.

How Did I Wind Up As the Grave Digger

My girlfriend has asked me to dig a grave for a friend's pet rabbit, again. Not exactly on my list of favorite things to do. How did I wind up needing to dig the holes for her friend's rabbits? Logical question isn't it? See if you can follow this. The most recent deceased rabbit is the offspring of my girlfriend's rabbit (a rabbit we believed to be male until it had bunnies). The other rabbit was this rabbit's sire. She gave both rabbits to her friend at the same time if I remember correctly. So naturally it is up to us to see that these rabbits' are taken care of when they go to the great prairie in the sky. I don't mind digging the hole, really I don't. I will do whatever Christina wants me to do within reason and some things without reason. I don't even mind the funeral service that will ensue tonight once Christina gets home from work. We will put the rabbit in the hole. Christina will say a few words, then she will pour out a good amount of beer from a 40oz Old English, take a drink herself and cover the hole with dirt. If I were still a drinking man, I would be appalled at the waste. I am not so I am not. I love the way she loves her, and her friends' animals. I like animals. I take good care of my d o g. I will be miserable for a long time when it is his time to go, but I have difficulty extending that to other domestic animals including rabbits. Pretty much anything that is not a dog or a horse. Maybe a miniature goat would be different. I don't know. I have never had a goat, but I could see myself as a goat person. Anyway, I am off to dig a hole. BTW, Christina still has her rabbit. Her name is Pepper. She is a cool rabbit and really likes Cheerios.

See What I Mean?

Like I Was Never Gone

I must be bored or procrastinating if I am here. I have been seeing who I can find online from my previous lives. Surprisingly many people I once knew have Facebook profiles. I have one, but I have not asked to be a friend and have not accepted any friend requests sent my way. I really do not see the value in using Facebook. You can email me, IM me, text me, call me, or if you want to get really old fashioned, you can drop by my house and have a cup of really good coffee if you want to catch up with me. I suppose Facebook, is that right or is it Face Book, don't care. Anyway, I suppose FB is meant to allow people that would otherwise not connect in real life either because of busy schedules, distance or, as I believe, an underlying lack of desire, to connect and seem civil and even social online. A bunch of phony baloney if I ever saw it.
On a completely unrelated topic, if you enjoy good rocking music from time to time, get your copy of Transference by the band Spoon. Do so now. I will be here waiting for you to pick your ass up off the floor.