[rough] "Daughter Vengence"

"I sat with my father only once.  I agonized over it.  After it was over, I understood all I wanted to do was overcome that feeling.  That stupid feeling of completing something because it had stuck in the brain, like a shopping list."  She twirled the mug around.  Only a little coffee was left, smearing the bottom like ink.

She leveled her eyes on me.  Grey.  Not the slightest glint of tears in them.

"I've tried not to become hard.  But it caught up with me.  Tried not to be like him, and I couldn't escape it."  She stopped twirling the mug on its edge.  "Here we are."

I measured my voice.  I didn't want to come off the wrong way.  "Why does it have to be like that?  We asked for something different..."

"Doesn't matter."  I wanted to argue the point, but now was not the time.  I picked up my mug even though it was mostly empty and acted a sip.

She pulled a tendril of hair back.  Her sleeve dropped with it, revealing a portion of her markings.  She was not shy showing them, to the contrary.  But she didn't advertise either.  "I've told you more than I've told anyone else.  I suppose that is why you are good at what you do."

"I've seen you dance.  You are good at what you do."

She didn't smile.  I didn't expect her too.  I would have in others.

Quickly, "Did the song come before the dance?"

A slight shudder in her shoulders.  I hit a nerve.  You are not so hard then.  No one is.

"The song came first.  Years before.  I was just a little girl and didn't even know of it for some time.  The dance...that drifted in my mind for just as long.  So, yeah, I think they evolved together."  Chuckle.  Not light or sharp.  "I sometimes think it's more than me.  Or him.  I guess it had to be."

"That's profound."

She didn't shrug.  I did expect her to.

"What am I then?  If this is more than me?"  She stared at me for an answer.  I asked the waitress for a refill.

  

[short/rough]: Poorer Offerings the Wiser

laid at your feet

All that I had...all of what I could be
my heart, for what it's worth, may hold some value
to anyone other
could be brave, take my gaze, tell me what it amounts
even as a mere acquaintance I should feel more value than 

an abjected ally now
am I so easily cast, after all?

was it age, or time, or unintended me 

which detracted that first entrancing gleam
where I did my best to prove, that it was love (the best of what I could)
no small offerings here
just say the word
any one will do
and proof will be given

but being met in silence
or fear
or the mild misunderstanding that creates derisiveness
the light snarl of the lip
the flippancy of action
and it cuts me to the core
and I'll admit it
I'll tell you I wish it weren't so

but here it is

and how, or, by what means do you weigh an offered love?
impossible measures never met?
impassable climes of situational perfection?
unfathomable riches you'll heed in anyone else but me?
where I'm encumbered in admirable stones
aglow with the bright tones, respect and love
sigils of what is best, perhaps misplaced
assuredly
but where I could assure is that
if you simply accept them
hesitancy would fall away for you would see them true and not to harm

but in hailing, providing clarity
without no other desire than acceptance
all given
no one thing in return

where your lips would only be happily met in eager warmth
eyes that ignore the passing pleasures of the age to stare at you
and revel in the the darker hues when you look at mine
I sense subtlety
and done what i could to embrace yours
yet here we are
impassable, unfortuitous
lost.

[drink] the Dorsey Penicillin

The Venetian's Cocktail Lounge, the Dorsey, makes a refreshing and memorable Penicillin, a drink that's made the rounds of late.  In it's 'Conversation Pieces' section of its cocktail menu, it's simply listed as scotch, fresh lemon, ginger, honey & an Islay [scotch] float.  Breaking down a version for home, meaning we don't want to necessarily break the bank, may take some finesse.

The cocktail itself was created in 2005 by NY bartender Sam Ross.  Meant to be a cure-all, because of it's reliance on two very important (and I would note some Asian-influence) ingredients, the ginger, lemon and honey.  As prepared, it's meant to be sipped, breaking through the layer of Islay scotch.  It is there that you break through that smokey start and into the citrus sweet in the body.

To finish, you have a candied ginger, that gives you sweet sharp candy...and a hope to cure your ails.

Vegas has its atmospheric challenges, for those that go often.  The mixture of dryness and constantly air-conditioned air.  Smoke.  Among the global vector of people...I like to enjoy this drink a few times during a stay.  Not demonstrably, but, by belief, it helps keep me going.

So, to make a home version that recognizes we aren't all jet-setters with deep pockets:

The drink first starts with a honey-ginger syrup.  Honey, ginger and a cup of water, reduce and chill overnight.  Strain to keep it clear of any solids.  Take some care in its preparation for best results.

In a cocktail shaker:
- 2 oz of Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch Whiskey - ranges from $75-$90 - I enjoy this particular scotch for its refined taste and good pairing in cocktails
- 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice - and use real lemons, avoiding the plastic yellow one, with no offense against it, but the tones are much different
- 3/4 oz of the honey-ginger syrup
- ice

Give it a good shake, taking care to feel the temp of the shaker and consider not allowing too much ice to melt in the process.

If we are following the Dorsey, strain over a massive cube of ice, in a traditional 'old fashioned' cocktail glass.  You know, like a half-sized tumbler.  A glass is important for any cocktail to maintain flavor.

Layer the drink with a splash of Laphroaig Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskey - ranges from $75.  Don't overpower the drink, a light 'shot' suffices here.  Laphroaig is a totally doable Islay with a nice cask taste of peat and oak.

Wrap it up with candied ginger.  Now, fair warning, it is sometimes hard to find at normal supermarkets.  You'll have better luck at a Sprouts or Whole Foods.

Let me say that you want all of this to complete the drink.  I have tried variants, without even close results.
...
As to the namesake -

We owe great credit, as a civilization, to Dr Alexander Fleming.  In 1928, while studying colonies of Staphylococcus aureus (you'll know it as a staph infection), good ol' Penicillium notatum prevented its growth.  It was not until Dr. Howard Florey (with biochemist Dr Ernst Chain) saw the research some 10 years later and then 'industrailized' it for practical use.

The first recipient of the refined pencillin did well, then died, but it proved enough of its worth to continue what would ultimately become a success.  It's interesting to note that the first recipient merely scratched his face while gardening, with a streptococci and staphylocci spread to his eyes and scalp - then death.  Not cool.

Drink well!  For the full site visit, edwardianjackal.com.

[If you want to replicate the bubble bottom glasses of the Dorsey, Walmart has a similar set.]
...

[listen] night sounds

hot nights mean cruising, cruising on hot nights leans on a solid mix tape

night sounds s1e1 https://edwardianjackal.podbean.com/e/edwardianjackalcom-podcast-night-sounds/

night sounds s1e2 https://edwardianjackal.podbean.com/e/edwardianjackal-night-sounds-s1-e2/

night sounds s1e3 https://edwardianjackal.podbean.com/e/edwardianjackal-night-sounds-s1e3/

...

[rhyme] la femme dangereuse

SHE collects their attention, steals any modicum of silence
or solace yet claims nothing
as if each glance were but a breath
taken but unremembered
where the fancy and object of desire is calm as silk
the fancier is brutalized
hungering for that which will only escape him
clamor in want
that will never, ever come
the animus fills
and the sheets soak in fitful, quiet rage
leading each time, every time, to hate
HER name
Soir de Paris in lace that was begged for as consolation
the feel of her skin, where one would swear it never touched before
and the reaction, the moment where the entire frame could be felt
and almost yours
and, as fleeting as it was,
the next instant the distance
insurmountable and cold

the eyes lost from you
not as if forgotten, even in a loss of memory, in the least there is a thread
that could be pulled
but not here

you are kept alive for some time
to extract what is needed to keep Guerlain upon those lips
Balenciaga on her shoulder
Lightly playing with langoustines a la vapeur at Hostellerie Jerome
After riding a young man from Brussels since lunch

Perhaps it's us
What does the hunt for the elusive
in the end
gain?

[eye] The Majesty of Hearst Castle

There's always been a rush for me when visiting Hearst's 'Castle' - or as he coined it, 'La Cuesta Encantada', The Enchanted Hill.  There's a wild mix of what is the core of California - the natural beauty of the area, the unspoiled vistas, the lunancy of business, the legacy of Hollywood.  Hearst was a genius, there's no denying that.  The care in each placement of a tree, or statue, or fountain is undeniable.

The Roman Pool is otherworldly.  It's as if an ancient Roman bath was lifted back from time.  It is grand and terrifying.  Dark.  It is a daunting pool compared to what we know in California otherwise - the safety of light and air. The ability to see the pool's floor...here a chorus of tile and shadow.

This happy statue used to sit directly outside the main door, but has been brought in to safe it from the weather.

One could only imagine the discussions that went on in this smoking room, whose ceiling needs to be meticulously cleaned from the ravages of cigarettes and cigars.

short (draft): the Parnassus, Symmetry and Law

Aristotle and Buridan both pondered symmetry in the Universe.  A man (or in the latter's case, an ass), provided equal portions of food and water within reach, may likely starve if he lacks sufficient reason to choose one or the other.  It sounds unreasonable for any creature to starve, but the underlying logic is sound - the creature will have to make up a reason to break the symmetry of the choice.

So Man has made the Universe operate within Law, and symmetry is likely to be found.

But, if was Harithren in 2085 that found that symmetry is false.  Where behaviors of magnetism or gravity or Newtonian Law appear to be sound and replicable, there is the Harithren Dispute.  This Dispute allows for a single, and only a single, string of an absolute asymmetrical construct that induces symmetry.  A general Law is upheld.  The singular Dispute as well.

If not for Harithren, we would not have found the muon counter-effect.  The elegance and simplicity of the string provided us faster than light travel, where the general Law could not allow.

The Parnassus had the MCE Generator, which amplified the counter-effect, and space time was malleable.  We only had to point to a direction of space, account for various affectations in the travel, based upon Dispute knowns (47 in the case of extra-stellar travel).

Now commonplace, I have seen space grow dark - as trillions of starlight points pull upon itself.  I have not seen, but other Captains have, seen to within minutes of the Singularity.  Best not to think on it is the usual refrain.  The AI takes care of most of it and I have another 12 physicists assigned to me that take only fractions of the overall MCE calculations.  No one human could ever take that on.  The AI computational use is completely given over with 30% overhead so we don't disintegrate.  [A sister ship, a B-Class Haul Frigate, attempted to apply an AI to a singularity, Lord know what they were thinking, and the ship stopped.  Only 27% of the souls were saved.]

During sub-light, the Generator Crew is on high alert and are not allowed to do anything but monitor AI and continuously run calculations.  Getting into sub-light is the easiest part, the traverse is harrowing, but it is re-entry that will get you.  Arnof said that, and used 'get' where he wanted to use 'kill'.  No one on a star ship used language that could be deemed unlucky.

In sub, environment and comms were the only allowable functions.  It was a bit of a break for almost all the rest of the crew.  We were called to quarters, except for me and my executive crew.  Even then, I let them do what they did best.  I monitored their progress from my ready room, where I put them on the monitors.  All was nominal.

I sat back and thought of reading up on reports of the quadrant we were visiting.  The area was of interest as it's spectrograph spiked on having an asteroid field of some size with granirum - necessary for the production of super station frames.

It was a one week [relative] trip out, five days of study, and another week back.  The geologists were anxious and the pressure was mostly on them.  Our instruments were good, but we would have to send precise locations for the mining syndicate to be of any value.

The hum continued and took me from the reports.  I instead snuck in an organic tea and a physical solitaire game to reset my thoughts. The starlight returned in parts, but the pattern wasn't recognizable.  I got dressed into my tactical uniform and had to pay a visit to the MCE.

As I walked aft, a fleeting thought came in about a different Dispute, then was suddenly lost.  I let it go and hoped it would drift back to me again.