Feature photo by CrowdedGarage. Photo above by joey.parsons.

Erase

Purchase a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (or your store’s knockoff). These sponges are the greatest invention since the stripper pole.

Cut the sponge into 2-inch strips (you’ll get more use out of them, since using a whole sponge dirties it fast), apply a little bit of water and rub like crazy on anything vinyl. You’ll be shocked at how much dirt you can remove, especially from the sneaker’s lower sides.

Wash

It’s time to dunk these Chucks in the washing machine. Always take the laces off first, as they’re prone to turning machinery into mayhem. Remember to pack the machine with a whole load of clothes, because otherwise the noise from the machine will wake every baby within a two mile radius.

Photo by Tom Gates.

Add detergent and if you’ve got some, fabric softener. If you’re cleaning white Cons, I’ve also had success adding them to the “whites” wash load using some bleach.

Dry

When washed, you’ll want to dry them in the sun. I never put them in the dryer, mostly because heat doesn’t seem like a good thing to do with cheaply glued sneakers. Also, the noise is just ungodly.

Open the tongues and imagine the fragrance from all of the smelly bar-nights disappearing into the atmosphere. If you’ve worn the to a concert or festival recently, it also helps to pray. When half-dry, I often stick a Bounce inside for good measure.

Surgery

Arm yourself with some Crazy Glue. The first thing to go with Chuck Taylors is a piece of molding in near the toes. Nobody knows why – it’s one of the great mysteries of the world.

Five Months And Still Kicking. Photo by Tom Gates.

Get in there and do a little bit of surgery, if necessary. I take the cotton off a q-tip to apply it and use as little glue as possible, so that it won’t splatter onto the outside of the shoe and look unsightly. There’s also a product called “Shoe Gum Repair” that can help out if things have gone horribly wrong.

Sole

Chuck Taylors are VW Bug’s of sneakers, efficient but not meant to last. After a couple of polishes, you’ll might have to add a new insole. Heel pads can play an important role, as the area at the back of the sneaker seems to rot quickly, as if it’s been attacked by a sneaker-eating virus.

Lace

The last step is to add new laces. Remember to buy a size appropriate for 14 eyelets, usually 114cm or so.

Photo by Tom Gates.

The cool thing is that with a little expense and lots of love, a pair of Chucks can easily last a year. We’d love to hear your tips for shoe/clothes resurrection in the replies!

Fried Brains

1 calf’s brain per person

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 bunch italian parsley chopped

1 lemon

1/2 stick salted butter
salt and pepper

Pick the blood vessels and film off of the brains and soak in cold water overnight. Change the water every few hours. When they are properly soaked the water will remain clear.
 Blanch in boiling water for two minutes and remove onto a rack to thoroughly drain.

Season with and pepper. Roll through a pan of flour to coat evenly. Melt butter in a skillet on medium high heat. When it is frothy and begins to turn a nut brown color add brains. Sauté until golden brown, constantly basting with butter to evenly brown.

Remove and keep warm. In another skillet melt 3-4 Tablespoons of salted butter and quickly saute parsley and garlic. Remove from heat, squeeze lemon into garlic / parsley mixture, stir, and pour over brains.

Courtesy of msglaze.

Filipino Fish Head Soup

Photo by chanmelmel

1 fish head (salmon, lapu-lapu, maya-maya, tanguigue)
1 whole garlic, crushed and peeled

2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

2 onions, peeled, halved and sliced

6 c. of boiling water
patis
2 tbsps. of cooking oil

a bunch of sili leaves

Heat the cooking oil in a large deep saucepan or casserole. Saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds. Pour in the boiling water. Lower the fish head into the hot water. Season with patis. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the fish head.

Courtesy of Pinoycook.

Lamb/Goat Brain Curry

This chef is hilarious. “I forgot the oil. My brain is not functioning, thinking about this awesome brain curry today.”

Brain Soup (Hirnsuppe)

A traditional German recipe that is surprisingly simple, if you have some brains around the house.

1 calf’s brain
2 tbls butter
1 qt beef Stock
1 egg yolk
1 cup cream
flour

To wash brain clear of blood, soak in cold water, renewing water several times. Skin and chop fine. Melt butter in pan, add brain, sprinkle with flour, and saute 10 minutes. Add beef stock and simmer 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in egg yolk and cream.

Courtesy of recipehound.

Salted Fish Head Curry Recipe (Kari Kepala Ikan Masin)

Photo by matahati67

1 tbs oil
2 onions, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
¼ tsp mustard seed
¼ tsp fennel seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek
¼ tsp black pepper
3 tbs fish curry powder
200ml fish stock
1.5kg salted fish head
1 litre low fat milk
300g orange and apricot yoghurt
3 eggplants, quartered
3 tbs tamarind paste

Heat oil in awok over medium fire. Stir fry garlic, onion and shallots until fragrant, about three minutes. Add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek and black pepper. Mix well for 1 minute. Add fish curry powder and fry for another one minute. Pour in fish stock, stirring all the while. Add salted fish head, milk and yoghurt. Allow to simmer over slow fire fore 5 minutes. Add eggplant and cook another 5 minutes. Allow the gravy to reduce before adding tamarind paste. Mix well and bring to a boil. Serve hot, garnished with chillies and coriander leaves.

Courtesy of Pickles and Spices.

Photo: photo by limowreck666

Auto-Tune

It can take fifty shows for a band to perfect harmonies and learn how to perform under difficult conditions. Auto-Tune is an audio processor that fixes pitch problems for singers who are incapable of singing, as well as those who just haven’t gotten their chops together. Sadly, nothing ever seems to help Stephen Jenkins of Third Eye Blind.

The Ticket Price

Moan as you might, the artist is not making nearly as much as you think, unless they’re charging Eagles prices. They are given a guaranteed lump sum but any income beyond this amount is subject to turnout (ticket sales), as well as whatever overhead is incurred for the night.

This can include the venue’s crew, the support artist’s guarantee, union fees, security and even the cost of printing backstage passes. Do you know those ads for venues in newspapers with 16 boxes promoting each show? Each band is charged back for their own little box.

Photo: mccoyspace

Catering Rider

This is a list that is sent ahead to the promoter and includes the band’s backstage wishes. Famous indulgences are too long to list but are easily perused here. Don’t let opulence requests fool you – the most popular items are often socks and underwear, of which a band can never have enough on tour.

Because these lists are sent out in advance of the dates, it is guaranteed that the artist will be sick of the catering rider by the middle of the tour, condemning the sight of 30 orange Vitamin Waters and 9 Toblerone bars.

College Shows

Do you know why your favorite band is playing community colleges in North Dakota? Because they’re bagging a pile of money. Universities have budgets for such things and artists are all-too-happy to take the check, often making triple their normal guarantee. One string of college dates can help cover the crew’s overhead for an entire year.

The Band Doesn’t Know Where They Are

No matter what the night means to you, you’re just where the bus pulled up that morning. Look closely on stage and you might catch a piece of tape with “Austin” taped to a piano, microphone or monitor. Hope for their sake that it was changed from last night.

Photo: meowhouse

In Ear Monitors

Bands used to hear their live mix through stage monitors (“wedges”), which pointed back at them and caused for ridiculous hearing loss. Nowadays most artists reach a point where they can afford an in-ear monitor system. A live mix is transmitted directly to the band’s ears, via a wireless system and custom-molded hearing pieces.

Most often you’ll notice a person on the side of the stage working a board – it’s their job to mix the sound just for the band. Telltale signs of technical problems include a desperate ear-picking, hilarious pantomimes and horrific pitch.

Merchandise Is Money

T-shirt sales might make an artist more money than their performance fee, depending on the venue. Buying one definitely puts money into the band’s pocket, but only after a percentage is taken by the venue (anywhere from 10 to 30 percent) and the materials are paid for.

A basic t-shirt usually costs the band around $3, unless they’re offering American Apparel, which will run at least double. The more colors on a design, the more the band paid to have it created – you’ll notice the price differences.

Photo: aubreyarenas

The Lighting Director

This is a sure-fire way to see if the band is broke or cheap. If the lights look like they’re done by a Radio Shack employee with a seizure disorder, that means that the band is using the “house” lighting tech, who probably hasn’t even heard the band’s album.

If the show looks smart and sharp, that’s because they have paid dearly to bring their own LD. This person usually spends a few days before tour, locked in a blazing-hot room full of lights, programming to a list of songs that the artist has given them in advance.

Sleep With The TM, Not the GT

Other than the promoter, the Tour Manager has supreme power. If you’re looking to flirt your way into a backstage pass, don’t waste time with a Guitar Tech, who will simply have to ask the TM for one (sorry GT’s, your secret is out). It is not recommended that you sleep with any of these people, especially because they all have girlfriends and boyfriends back home. But you’ll never know that, will you?

Photo: jeremycliff

Tour Buses Are Really Expensive

One tour bus can easily cost $75,000 for an eight-week tour, and that’s not even for a fancy one. The band also pays for things like gas, the driver’s hotels, overtime for long drives, cleaning and satellite TV. Fines can be thrown on top for things like pooping in the toilet (a huge no-no on tour). Add extra money for a “slider”, which allows for more living space in the main berth by popping the wall out another 3-4 feet, when parked.

Photo: Brandon Hambright

101-in-1 Explosive Megamix For DS

It seems like a foolproof monotony-buster from where we sit. $20 bucks will nab you this new DS title, which features 101 ways to kill an hour. The games are wireless multi-player, for those of you who are looking to be social. In your own, dorky way.

Dengue Fever: Sleepwalking Through the Mekong DVD

A Cambodian singer returns to her country after a five-year absense, with her America-based band in tow. A very interesting documentary concept, given that the Pol Pot did everything possible to destroy this kind of music, which sounds a bit like surf tunes on acid.

Manchester Orchestra

Hailing from Georgia, Manchester Orchestra has built their following like REM did; by touring nonstop. Mean Everything To Nothing may be their first stab at the bigtime but that won’t matter to the legion of fans who turn up at shows, screaming along to lyrics as fast as singer Andy Hull can sing them.

Caprica

We’re very nervous about this one. Battlestar Galactica finished so brilliantly that nobody wants to see the sci-fi equivalent of “Joey”, which is what some online chatter is predicting. Releasing the pilot almost a year before the first episode makes for an interesting marketing campaign. Eric Holtz is praying to The Gods that this one puts him back on the map.

Feature photo by Amir Chamdin. Photo above by superbomba.

First up: Nathan Larson of the band A Camp.

1. Best Acid-Inspired Movie With Burt Lancaster Set in Connecticut: 

The Swimmer (1968)



Truly a bizarre piece of film making, this 1968 release is actually a dark hallucinatory horror picture dressed up like a sunny domestic drama. Or something. The mind boggles at the thought of marketing this one.

Essentially, Lancaster plays a well to do businessman who is determined to “swim home” via the pools in the backyards of a well to-do-county in Connecticut. Lots of tripped out stuff happens along the way, Lancaster looks fantastic without a shirt, and the whole thing is incredibly sad and very very disturbing.

Inspired one of the first A-Camp songs, “Sympathy For Ned Merrill.” Classic! (the film , not the song).


2. Best Greek Pop Star of the Early 70′S

: Demis Roussos

1973 was the year of Demis Roussos’ bust-out hit “Forever and Ever” (and we challenge you to forget this melody, once heard), but this was by no means the beginning of his career. Demis had been in the Greek prog rock bank Aphrodite’s Child with none other than Vangelis, the man who would go on to score such classic films as “Chariots Of Fire” and “Bladerunner.”

But Demis was never overshadowed, and remains a massive star in Germany, Spain, Latin America, etc. When A-Camp was mixing “Colonia” we couldn’t get enough of Demis, and bumped him on YouTube nonstop, particularly the amazingly unselfconscious documentary from about ‘75, which depicts his screaming , buck naked pubescent son getting baptized in a very frightening looking Greek Orthodox ritual. Great stuff.

3. Best Falafel in a Swedish Port Town: 
Falafel # 1, Malmo, Sweden



Tastes good! We eat it. We ate it today at rehearsal. Actually, we ate it the day before yesterday too. The only reason we didn’t eat it yesterday is because we felt guilty about eating it three days in a row. 



4. Best Name for a Falafel Joint in Malmo, Sweden

: Tusen Hallo!



It means “A Thousand Hellos!” Somebody asked the dude who owns the place what the name was all about… there’s an expression “tusen tack”, it means “a thousand thanks,” so his reasoning was why not say “a thousand hellos!!!” when people came in your spot, just ‘cos you were really psyched they would choose to eat there! And who can argue with that? Tip: Food’s not as good as Falafel #1.



Photo by tinou bao.

5. Best Swedish Black Metal Band We Have Met on a British College Campus (Playing Hacky Sack): Dark Funeral

Well, the best and the only. Dark Funeral. For real, it was a nice day and here they were in full regalia and corpse-paint, out on the green playing hacky sack amidst the bemused students eating their lunches, there on the Manchester University campus. 



From Wikipedia:

Dark Funeral is a black metal band from Stockholm, Sweden. In their earlier years their lyrical themes usually revolved specifically around depictions of Hell and Satan, but since Emperor Magus Caligula joined the band their lyrics have focused more on blasphemy and anti-Christian rhetoric although there have been several exceptions to this.



Nathan gave his phone number to the drummer, this dude Tomas (a.k.a Alzazmon) who called him in NYC for a while. Tomas was cool but mostly he really wanted to talk about how Dark Funeral practice had gone that day etc (”Oh, it was brutal. It was super brutal….”) And so on.

Apparently Tomas is now in a Norwegian band called Gorgoroth who are supposed to be even more brutal and evil although they all seemed like pretty swell people, though who knows what folks are up to in private. 

When it comes to evil we say keep your eyes on the twee pop people. There lies the true darkness.

Nathan Larson cut his teeth and hurt our ears (in a good way) in the seminal indie rock band Shudder To Think. Colonia, the second album from his new band A Camp (which also features his wife, Nina Person), will be released in America on April 28th. Learn more about A Camp here.

The buzz out of Sundance is that it might be the best Rock Doc ever made. We’re salivating. Do yourself a huge favor and watch the trailer. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil (note: band name twice, one exclamation point) opens on the 10th.

Sesame Street: Being Green DVD

Paul Rudd goes for an Emmy as Mr. Earth, a planet-shaped character who teaches Sesame Street the values of being Green. We are running to Borders as you read this.

Simon Reeve (Dull Travel Guy)

Who is this dude? The BBC2 travel host has dogged us on current trips, always on the screen in a hotel or airport. While somewhat gorgeous, Reeve is a fascinating study in just how boring one person can make the world appear to be. “Just around the corner is a lake.” Ohhhhhh. “This is just nature showing off.” Mmmmm. We’re not kidding. Watch him even take all of the fun out of weed.

Doves

This wildly talented and under-appreciated band from the UK release Kingdom Of Rust, their first album in four years. Known for rather spacey live shows, this album was recorded over 18 months in a “farmhouse-come-studio”. The CD/DVD version of the album features a documentary with live footage and a making-of.

Photo by Niko Villegas

Drop Bombs Elsewhere

You’ve downed the seafood platter at The Chowder Pot and important body parts have gone off autopilot. Make for the lobby bathroom instead of the place where you might have shower sex in two hours.

Alone Time

The brochure pictures are a lie. You cannot spend seven days on a beach, looking suggestively at your girlfriend’s lips. Agreeing to a break in the day will probably come as a welcome relief to her as well – she was hoping to take a long bath and shave her legs anyway.

Be A Little Silly

Suggest picking the ugliest car in the rental lot. Walk through Disney playing a game of “Is he gay or just German?” Romance isn’t all flowers – it’s remembering the spark that you had before the dog started sleeping in your bed.

Guidebook Highlights

Take two highlighters along for the trip, one color for each of you. Go nuts on the guidebook with your color and have Lewis mark the things that he’s interested in. Overlap makes for easy planning, as well as a good chance to re-learn the color wheel.

Be Aware Of Annoying Ticks In Tedious Scenarios

The bus is crowded, your pits are wet and you just want to be back in your room. Prime Time Cranky. Your boyfriend Brett breaks into a fit of whistling, breaking out a Creedence medley right there in 16B. You keep quiet but add this to column of negatives that you’ll save for tomorrow’s overdue vacation fight.

“Whatever You Want To Do”

The kiss of death for anyone in a relationship that is not dominated by one Type A: How many couples have had dinners full of silent resentment because one person didn’t say that there just weren’t in the f’ing mood for f’ing Mexican again?

Stories, please! Maybe share a little dirt? We’re curious about what things drive have driven you to “the bad place” on vacation, as well as any advice that you can offer for going into a trip with your +1.

Slumdog Millionaire makes its way to DVD this week. It will be curious to see if the Oscar hype has legs, or if bread-and-butter America would rather slap their money down on Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories. While the ending still makes us trickle a tear, this take on the final dance makes us figgle a giggle.

PJ Harvey/John Parrish

The new album from PJ Harvey and John Parrish, A Woman A Man Walked By, marks their second collaboration together. Out Tuesday, it satisfies our Polly Jean itch but keeps us scratching for a new PJ solo record (it’s been nine years!).

A Wolf At The Table

Augusten Burroughs leaves his mommy issues for his daddy issues in A Wolf At The Table, out this week on paperback. Reviews of the hardcover were pretty harsh but we think that’s just because he is a light-to-carry, airport-book kinda guy. Long distance drivers take note: the Audiobook release contains music from Patti Smith, Ingrid Michelson, Tegan Quin and Sea Wolf.

Attention Yoga Lovers!

Enlighten Up is a documentary out to prove that yoga can transform anyone, even the film’s subject (a skeptical New York Journalist). The movie opens in NYC this week and goes semi-wide later in the month.

Coast To Coast AM

Just another week at Coast To Coast AM: Reptilian humanoids, haunted funeral parlors, 2012, near-death experiences, telepathy and time travel. If you’re into crazy shit and have never heard this radio show, catch the live stream or catch and old podcast here coasttocoastam.com.

]]> http://matadorlife.com/this-weeks-picks-slumdog-dvd-pj-harvey-yoga-dorkage-and%e2%80%a6reptilian-humanoids/feed/ 6 http://matadorlife.com/matador-picks-pearl-jam-hitchcock-foie-gras-and%e2%80%a6yngwie/ http://matadorlife.com/matador-picks-pearl-jam-hitchcock-foie-gras-and%e2%80%a6yngwie/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:26:25 +0000 Tom Gates http://matadorlife.com/?p=797

Photo: fiskfisk

Editor’s note: in the first of a ’soon-to-be-famous’ new series, Matador explains whatever we’re feeling to be ‘culturally relevant’ for us at the moment.

Ten

It’s difficult to believe that Pearl Jam’s Ten is almost twenty. This week’s re-issue will contain a re-mastered version of the original release, as well as new version re-mixed by Brendan O’Brien. We can’t tell if the later is a good idea or a bad one. Do we really want the guy who mixed Limp Bizkit records toying with “Alive”?

The Decemberist’s

Also out this week is The Decemberist’s The Hazards Of Love, which they played live in its entirety at last week’s SXSW Music Festival. Catch the playback on NPR. There’s so much buzz about this “folk opera” that it had better be damned good, because we’re already over the record label’s hype.

Guitar Hero Metallica

Guitar Hero Metallica becomes available this week for Wii, Xbox and PS3. We’re playing this one for the old tunes, as well as the brilliant Mercyful Fate medley that’s been slipped in. It’s also pretty badass that “Whiplash” was included.

Speaking of the bass parts, Jason Newsted definitely has his Lars Ulrich voodoo doll out again – Robert Trujillo is ‘performing’ his parts. His nephews are so bummed.

Bond vs. Hitchcock

This may be a big week for the James Bond Series but our money’s on the restored release of Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

Yngwie Malmsteen

There are also two, count ‘em, two Yngwie Malmsteen live DVD’s out this week – we want pictures of the guy who pre-ordered them both. Those aren’t mayo stains on his sweatpants.

Foie Graz

It’s hard to imagine people fighting about duck liver but that’s exactly what is covered in a recently-released book called The Foie Gras Wars: How A 5,000 Year Old Delicacy Inspired The World’s Fiercest Food Fight. This one is crying out for some foodie-nerd (noodie?) love.

]]> http://matadorlife.com/matador-picks-pearl-jam-hitchcock-foie-gras-and%e2%80%a6yngwie/feed/ 1 http://matadorlife.com/obama-on-leno-%e2%80%93-what-would-bill-hicks-have-thought/ http://matadorlife.com/obama-on-leno-%e2%80%93-what-would-bill-hicks-have-thought/#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:57:38 +0000 Tom Gates http://matadorlife.com/?p=799

“I can’t watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.” – Bill Hicks

Nobody ever expected Leno to ask Obama tough questions (he’s been soft around the middle for years).

Still, I’d give anything to hear what Bill Hicks would have said about the show. Hicks, always merciless, had a particular penchant for pointing out that the once-funny Leno had sold his soul to the devil years ago.

Hicks’ run-ins with talk show hosts was not just limited to Leno. He famously ran charged into battle with David Letterman after his act was censored (removed entirely, actually) on that show in 1993.

Letterman fully redeemed himself earlier this year by having Hicks’ mother on Late Show, airing the originally censored piece and apologizing. Apparently feeling the need to repent, Letterman said “It says more about me as a guy than it says about Bill because there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.”

There are plenty of Hicks clips available online, if you’re new to his blistering routines and opinions. His brand of comedy is certainly not for everyone, least of all the audience members who came to hear “dick jokes” and instead became his punching bag for twenty minutes. A true comic visionary, Bill died in 1994 of cancer.

]]> http://matadorlife.com/obama-on-leno-%e2%80%93-what-would-bill-hicks-have-thought/feed/ 3 http://matadorlife.com/the-master-of-disaster-an-interview-with-matthew-stein/ http://matadorlife.com/the-master-of-disaster-an-interview-with-matthew-stein/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:29:37 +0000 Tom Gates http://matadorlife.com/?p=749

Photo by quiplash Feature photo by laughing squid

An interview with the author of When Technology Fails, a field guide to to surviving long-term disaster.

Released in 2008 , When Technology Fails has quickly become the definitive guide to surviving a long-term disaster.

And yet the author, Matthew Stein , a mechanical engineer and MIT grad, had no intention of ever writing such a handbook. The idea came to him in a vision, presented in the form of “a pictorial storyboard outline, from start to finish.” He would spend the next two years researching the earth’s most prominent threats, as well as ways to combat them.

Cover of When Technology Fails

You’ve said that this book originally came about because of a voice you heard while meditating?

I’ve had a practice of daily prayer and meditation. I’ve often used the prayer for help in seeking solutions for difficult engineering problems.

When I would get answers to these problems, pictures would snap into my head with solutions. In 1997 I made a generic request for inspiration and I got this bomb dropped into my lap.

My first thought was no way. I can’t possibly do this. But the little voice basically said that nobody knows all of this stuff. It assured me that I had the skills and talent, and that I would get the help that I needed to take this project to completion.

You probably learned much more than you wanted to know about the way the world was going.

Yes. The internal voice said that I had to focus on The Future Of the World chapter, and that these trends will all end in collapse of the natural systems on this planet, if we do not start doing things differently. If we continue with business as usual most of the people on the planet will die. But it can be shifted and changed.

The average American really doesn’t think that an event could have an impact on their life beyond one week. How wrong are they?

They’re totally wrong. History has shown huge events that have been civilization-busters, that have caused massive unrest. The thing is that America is soft because we haven’t had a war on our land since the Civil War. We’ve gotten used to everything working very well in our country. When things collapse here, we’ve got a lot further to fall.

Hopefully it won’t happen. Given the ecological trends, the chances are really high that we’re going to see some huge disruption in central services for a month, six months, a year. I’m hoping that all of the right things happen in this new government and that we make the shift to sustainability.

I’m hopeful that we can avoid out-and-out collapse. But if we don’t do the right things, in my mind, it’s a guaranteed recipe for collapse.

What happens to us after day five of a major emergency, when systems start breaking down and when water starts becoming a huge commodity?

Most of us can last at least a month without food. Without water, in a hot climate, in three days people are going to start dying. If the water stops flowing, then you’re going to be drinking out of the local ditch, if that’s all that is around.

If you’re prepared, you’ve got your little grab and run kit with a backcountry filter that removes bacteria and viruses from the water. If you’re really prepared you’ve also got a Steripen and fifteen seconds later it’s been zapped free of viruses.

The Four Horsemen Wikipedia.org

With all of our advanced medical science, why do you believe that the possibility of a severe pandemic is so large?

One reason is that some genius figured out that if we fed sub-clinical doses of antibiotics to our farm animals, the return on your investment would be better.

The animals grow fatter, quicker and got sick less often. By feeding these antibiotics to animals daily, we’re developing antibiotic resistant bugs within the farm animals.

The other thing is simply the over-use of antibiotics in this country. Bacteria are able to develop resistance to antibiotics at a faster rate than we’re able to develop antibiotics.

But how real of a threat is a pandemic?

This is a real, viable threat. It’s not just a pandemic. You can be one of the unlucky ones who picks up an antibiotic resistant bug, like Miss Brazil just did. They cut her hands and feet off trying to save her life and she died anyway.

If you’re not armed with some of the alternatives and if you believe that western medicine is the Only Way, then when one of these bugs hits you, you’re going to end up like Miss Brazil. This is where having a variety of super-viral resistant things on hand is so important.

Things like oregano oil, colloidal silver, olive leaf extract or having a blood electrifier. I believe in the shotgun effect – there’s no one right answer there but arming yourself with these alternatives is really important.

Photo by andronicusmax

Consult Mat’s website for his advice on what to include in a 72 Hour Survival Kit.

The following are his absolute musts for travelers:

• Colloidal Silver. “Kills all known pathonagenic material.”
• Grapefruit Seed Extract. “A broadband anti-bacterial and fungal material.”
• Tea Tree Oil “Can penetrate the skin to reach infections/Great for knuckles and toes.”
• Army Knife
• A Steripen
• Headlamp
• Small First Aid Kit
• 1” Cloth Medical Tape/ Stretchy Ace Bandage/Sewing Kit

]]> http://matadorlife.com/the-master-of-disaster-an-interview-with-matthew-stein/feed/ 1 http://matadorlife.com/avoiding-household-dangers-an-interview-with-the-queen-of-clean-alison-haynes/ http://matadorlife.com/avoiding-household-dangers-an-interview-with-the-queen-of-clean-alison-haynes/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:53:26 +0000 Tom Gates http://matadorlife.com/?p=656
Feature photo by jurek d. Photo above by Jono Rotten

All you need to know about keeping your crib in order.

Alison Haynes knows a thing or two about keeping house, having just released Clean Sweep: The Ultimate Guide To Decluttering, Detoxing and Destressing Your Home. The guide serves as a comprehensive how-to for any homeowner, including many ‘recipes’ for homespun cleaners and beauty aids.

Alison took a few minutes to answer our questions about dangers that might be lurking in our abodes.

As travelers, many of our readers rent apartments, or lead a nomadic existence between houses. What things should we be looking for when checking out an apartment, before deciding to rent it?

One of the simplest ‘tests’ is the nose test. How does it smell? If it smells damp, of chemicals, musty …. these are indications that all’s not well. The apartment may have insufficient ventilation, or be full of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) being emitted from new carpets or furniture — ventilation is the key.

Sunlight also helps keep microbes in check. Look for damp patches and mold on the walls, especially in ‘wet’ areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. Personally, I would also be looking at how I’m going to dry clothes. I’m not a fan of dryers as they are big power munchers and therefore are polluting.

I’ve never owned a dryer and always managed with a clotheshorse or clothes line if I have the space.

Price: $11.01 | BUY

With all of the chemicals swilling through cleaning products, what dangers do they present to the air in our houses?

It is difficult to be precise about the dangers of particular chemicals in cleaning products, but there’s no doubt we should treat them with respect.

Some pose more problems than others: aerosols, for instance, create clouds of tiny droplets that could be inhaled; ammonia produces irritating fumes (so use in a well ventilated space). If they smell, they’re in the air.

For those of us with kids especially, is there any way to tell if the paint on our walls may contain lead?

There are a number of tests, including DIY ones and lab tests. Check with your local authority about what tests are available and which are recommended (this is important as not all may have been approved).

The age of the house and paint may also be an indicator. For instance, in Australia, lead was routinely added to paint before 1950.

Most folks head straight for the pesticide aisle when encountering household pests. What are some more organic, safe ways of dealing with bugs and rodents?

Mechanical means is usually a much safer option. For instance, glue traps for cockroaches and simple spring traps baited with pumpkin or Brazil nuts for rodents such as rats. Preventative measures — such as sealing cracks where pests get in or installing fly screens on windows — can also help you avoid pesticides.

Photo by Max Klingensmith

It seems like there are many quick fixes on the market for getting rid of weeds, or growing a garden faster. Do these pose any threat?

You need to be thinking about what effect they might have on other wildlife. If it’s killing a plant, what’s it doing for ladybugs? or birds? or fish, if it leaches into the waterways? Fish and amphibians such as frogs are particularly vulnerable to pesticides such as weed killers and we should be wary of using them.

Is there an easy way to tell if the insulation in our old houses is safe?

Again, this is best dealt with on a local level, with local knowledge about what has been traditionally used in the area. If you suspect asbestos, it is very important you don’t try to deal with it yourself as disturbance can send fibers into the air.

I hadn’t really thought of carpets as potential chemical hazards. Can you explain how they might be?

Many new carpets emit VOCs — volatile organic compounds. These can be hazardous to breathe, potentially triggering allergic reactions and irritations, for instance. It’s the finishes and extras like underlay which are the problem. Chemicals used throughout the house may also collect in the carpet, along with dust mites and fungi.

Photo by Remy Sharp

Are there any plants that can help make the home healthier? I also noticed that you recommended some plants as deterrents to things like mosquitoes and flies.

NASA has examined how a number of plants improve air quality by removing gases such as formaldehyde and acetone. These include common household plants such as the Peace Lily, Boston Fern, and Spider plant. And yes, some plants such as lavender, mint, thyme and rosemary have fly repellent qualities.

An air freshener seems like a quick fix to make things smell good. Are there any dangers in using them?

They usually contain solvents of some sort and sometimes hydrocarbons as well as perfume. One chemical to avoid in air fresheners is para-dichlorobenzene, an organochlorine that can accumulate in the body and is implicated in liver and nerve damage.

Some alternative air fresheners are listed in Clean Sweep in the chapter about the bathroom and include scented candles and bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice. Good ventilation is the best air freshener around.

]]> http://matadorlife.com/avoiding-household-dangers-an-interview-with-the-queen-of-clean-alison-haynes/feed/ 0 http://matadorlife.com/my-hometown-in-500-words-bristol-new-hampshire/ http://matadorlife.com/my-hometown-in-500-words-bristol-new-hampshire/#comments Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:16:10 +0000 Tom Gates http://matadorlife.com/?p=378

Photo above by lunita

Tommy Carson loved doing rails of coke on his dashboard, then barreling his truck down The Bog Road at break-everything speed. Mrs. Allen was having sex with at least two men who weren’t her husband, one possibly under eighteen.

And once, while I was standing in line at The Video Stop to rent Gremlins, I watched Mr. Holland walk in and clock the kid who had slashed his tires the week before.

This is where I grew up. With a population that hovered around 1,000, Bristol, NH seemed like an idyllic lake town to outsiders. It’s the kind of place that cityfolk dreamed about; no stoplights or traffic, no pollution or car alarms, no leashes on dogs.

But as anyone who has grown up in a small town will tell you, there’s a rip current in places like these that can send a soul straight for the rocks.

But as anyone who has grown up in a small town will tell you, there’s a rip current in places like these that can send a soul straight for the rocks. A nice, quiet life sounds possible until monotony takes hold, driving even the nicest old lady to cane the paperboy.

Photo above by Althewebmaster

Google Earth verifies that the town still isn’t much to look at. Life centered around a Cumberland Farms store (”Cumbie’s” to locals), a gas station, a bakery, Bristol Pizza, a bar and a lone fancy restaurant. Many houses were treated as works in progress, with half-built additions and porches propped up on concrete blocks. Quite a few residents tapdanced above the poverty line, just one transmission repair away from not being able to buy milk.

School was colorful. There were the teachers, who had to deal with everything from bus sex to shutting off televisions when the O-rings failed a spaceship carrying the state’s favorite teacher, Christa McAuliffe. I especially remember the French teacher, who taught the language with a New Hampshire accent so thick that it has since made me the laughingstock of every restaurant in Paris.

Photo above by libraryimages.net

There were my best friends, a brother and sister who had rescued me from excellent grades and fashioned me as a hoodlum. Matt smoked two packs a day at fourteen and Debbie had a habit of making other girls’ faces collide with her fist. We’d down Soco while waiting for the bus, which could be quite late, given that its first pickup was thirty miles down a rural route.

Most women seemed to trudge along with a tinge of buyer’s remorse when it came to their children, while men worked speed-fueled shifts at the local plant. There were never any arguments involving ethnicity because there wasn’t a single person of color – the town was still 96% white as of the 2000 census. Mr. Shakey, whose grocery store parking lot was THE place to hang out, seemed only able to hire high school girls who had developed earlier than the rest of their class. The cops were a Deniro kind of ruthless, all seeming to have a side bet as to how many kids they could toss into Juvie.

Photo above by Derek DMan

Winter began in November and ended in April, with temperatures so low that ski masks were a fashionable accessory. John Cheever wrote here during the summer but was smart enough to evacuate before the leaves started falling. Every road led to a mountain and every mountain was next to another. And every inch would be blanketed with snow by December. Most houses were a lighter color from four feet up because the snow banks didn’t permit sunshine until they melted.

Despite the underbelly, there was nothing sinister about Bristol. It was the kind of town you’d drive through while singing to your radio, completely unaware that a population had just passed. Most drama happened behind closed doors, allowing it to be a wonderful place to visit but a tricky place to live. I have not been back in many years and I do not think that I would want to. I don’t want to know if there is a Papa Gino’s, or if what was made in factory has been outsourced to Korea. I don’t want to hear if Tommy is finally Working The Steps or if they now have Gremlins on Blue Ray. I like how it sits in my brain just fine; a sleepy little town full of invisible nightmares.

Photo above by Ed Karjala

Feature Photo: theothermattm (Flickr creative commons)

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