A Poem for Summer

"The Summer Day"
by Mary Oliver

Who made the World?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Steak. Sauce. Bun. Genius.

This is one of the best sandwiches in the world. 
I’m not kidding.

Hundreds of people every day will attest to the goodness found here by happily slapping down their $8.00. They stand in line, they fight for a seat, they crowd around the counter, eagerly awaiting their number to be call- all to get just a few bites bites of sandwich perfection.

It’s power is in its simplicity. Thinly sliced, tender, juicy trip-tip between a bun that’s soft and garlicy yet has just a touch of crispiness to add texture to the experiece. Add just the right amount (not too much) of sweet bbq sauce and you’re there: sandwich heaven.

Steak. Sauce. Bun. Simple, yet oh so profound. The Firestone Trip-tip sandwich is truly more than the sum of it’s parts.

-Here’s the official Guide To Good version for the optimal Firestone experience. Deviate from this at your own risk:

-Get there early- say 5:30p to avoid the dinner rush and the semi-ridiculously long line.
-Find someone to split your order with. Then order the following:
-Trip Tip Sandwich
-Side of fries ( not the basket unless you’re a very big eater)
-Steak Cobb salad. You’re call on the dressing. I like the ranch or the vinigerette.
-A glass of Mountain Dew to wash it all down. There’s something about the combo of the salty that nicely compliments the sweetness of the classic Mt. Dew.
-When you pick up your order, ask them for a side of BBQ sauce to dip your fries and sandwich in.
-Thank me later for one of the best meals of your life.

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Out on a Limb: The Best Coffee in Seattle

I know I'm going out on a limb here, but I’ve discovered the best coffee in Seattle. In a city filled with cafes staffed by baristas who take coffee extremely seriously Stumptown Coffee coffee rises above the rest like the crema to the top of an espresso shot.

I’m not saying they have the best espresso, or the best latte or even the best atmosphere. But they do have, hands down, the best damn coffee in Seattle. This is because when you order a regular cup of coffee you’ll get only coffee brewed in a french press; none of this drip coffee drivel. If you’ve never had coffee made with french press you really need to.

I’ve come up with a few things to help give you a sense of how dramatically different it is to taste french press coffee done right compared to drip coffee (by definition mediocre).

Taco Bell compared to authentic Mexican food.

Bud Light to a quality, sweet, dark beer

A postcard of a Van Gogh painting vs seeing one in person

Watching a kiss vs actually kissing

A few tips:

Take it black. Let it sit on your tongue and sparkle and shine. French press coffee (when done correctly) tends to have a lighter feel on your tongue that blooms into a complexity of flavor you won’t find in traditional drip. This method also leaves more of the coffee’s natural oils intact. Also, as your coffee cools in its cup you’ll find that the flavor profiles grow more and more complex and yummy.

So sit back, grab one of the thick, heavy ceramic mugs Stumptown gives you and savor a leisurely walk down a meandering side street of coffee goodness. And don’t worry if you’re left wanting more. Refills are only $0.55 cents after tax.

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Polariod Perfection

In need of something interesting to kill some time on your oh-so-exciting Monday? Look no further.

The New York Times posted a really amazing collection of polariod pics that readers submitted from around the world. Watch out though. You just might get lost in these beautiful, intimate little glimpses of people's lives- all captured in a tiny little square of instantly developing film.

NY TIMES POLAROID GALLERY

Part of the Story

Gethsemane

Mary Oliver


The grass never sleeps.
Or the roses.
Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.

Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.

The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,
and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,
and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.

Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did, maybe the
wind wound itself into a silver tree, and didn't move, maybe
the lake far away, where once he walked as on a
blue pavement,
lay still and waited, wild awake.

Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not
keep that vigil, how they must have wept,
so utterly human, knowing this too
must be a part of the story.

Bill Murray in "Fact Checkers Unit"

So for those of you that have been reading this blog, you may have noticed my recent semi-obsession with Film Festivals. Short Film Festivals to be exact. Now, I know a few of you did in fact join me for some of these events and had a ridiculously good time.

For the rest of you I thought it might be an easy way to keep my blog going....err I mean a great chance for me to bring some Goodness into your world with little effort to you. So went looking online for a few of the films I really liked. Sadly, most of them want you by the DVD or actually go and watch the film in the theater. Can you believe the nerve of these people?

However, I did manage to find one of the funnier ones online. A lot of the films (as you might expect) erred toward the melancholy, reflective, and/or slightly disturbing. This film doesn't have much of that, but it will make you chuckle and IT HAS BILL MURRAY IN IT! What more do you need? I love Bill Murray.

Lastly, for those of you are reluctant to click the link and spend 9 minutes of your life on little piece of art, I offer you a final note:

Remember dear reader, I am not the Good, I merely point you towards the Good. So get out there! Watch the short, eat some Thai food, sip some espresso ... and take someone you care about and get out there! Otherwise I am useless to you. Go ahead, it's Thursday night. You shouldn't be on your computer anyway. You should be out there living your life, not reading my blog. Wait, it's Thursday night and I'm on the computer too! Shoot. Well, anyway, watch this short (and don't judge it by the first 43 seconds either, keep watching):

Bill Murray in FCU: Fact Checkers Unit from Bill Murray

Wedding Poem for the Wedding Season

Well, I guess the wedding season is off and running. Friends and foes of mine all over the country are tying the knot. I went to a wedding last night here in Tucson and I have 2 more in the next 3 weeks to hit; one in Portland and the other in Carmel. Then another wedding in Tucson before my little brother gets married in North Carolina in June! Whew. I better get my dance moves tuned up!

Luckily, I like weddings.

Food, folks and fun- just like McDonald's used to say! ha. But besides seeing old friends, the music, the food and (hopefully) free alcohol, it's of course the bride and groom that really matter. I like hearing the stories involved. The really good ones have a healthy mixture of humor, heartache, cheesy love and redemption. I like seeing the families and all their beautifully awkward attempts at trying to bring two people together. And of course bearing witness to those classic moments: seeing the groom's face when the bride walks in, the exchanging of vows, the triumphant walk out...

So whether you're a cynic or a romantic,
single or married,
or wishing your were on the other side of the fence,
here's a poem that'll give you some food for thought this wedding season:

Wedding Poem
For Schele and Phil
by Bill Holm

A marriage is risky business these days
Says some old and prudent voice inside.
We don't need twenty children anymore
To keep the family line alive,
Or gather up the hay before the rain.
No law demands respectability.
Love can arrive without certificate or cash.
History and experience both make clear
That men and women do not hear
The music of the world in the same key,
Rather rolling dissonances doomed to clash.

So what is left to justify a marriage?
Maybe only the hunch that half the world
Will ever be present in any room
With just a single pair of eyes to see it.
Whatever is invisible to one
Is to the other an enormous golden lion
Calm and sleeping in the easy chair.
After many years, if things go right
Both lion and emptiness are always there;
The one never true without the other.

But the dark secret of the ones long married,
A pleasure never mentioned to the young,
Is the sweet heat made from two bodies in a bed
Curled together on a winter night,
The smell of the other always in the quilt,
The hand set quietly on the other's flank
That carries news from another world
Light-years away from the one inside
That you always thought you inhabited alone.
The heat in that hand could melt a stone.


(thanks to Crystal at Poetry Mix Tape for the tip on this poem)