A By-The-Calendar Recipe List
by John Overton
February. It's the shortest month, but a busy month. How about if we scope the calendar and see if we can match some food with February's holidays!
The first one is February 2, Groundhog Day. I have never seen a recipe for grilled groundhog.
Read more...
|
Best of Red Lodge 2007
The results are in, the ballots are counted, and we're ready to present (drumroll, please) "The Best of Red Lodge" 2007!
Read more...
|
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest: Chatting With the Best Worst Writer
by Gary Robson
Everybody who has ever read a Peanuts cartoon knows how you start a novel: "It was a dark and stormy night." Snoopy used this line (or a variant of it) many a time.
But where did that line actually come from? Who wrote it, and what came next? It was penned by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton in 1830 as the opening sentence of his novel, Paul Clifford.
Read more...
|
Digital Cameras: Understanding Image Size and Quality
by Tom Egenes
One of the most common questions I get at Flash's is how many pictures can fit on a card. The answer is of course, "It Depends." The following may help you to understand what you're dealing with concerning digital pictures.
Read more...
|
Fostering a Future for Homeless Animals
by Susan Bury
For communities without an animal shelter, foster homes give homeless animals the chance to live with a caring family until the animals can be adopted into "forever" homes. Beartooth Humane Alliance (BHA) began its foster program in July 2007.
Read more...
|
Global Warming = Montana Fires
by Jay Mennenga
"Wildfires are Montana's sea level rise." So stated Dr. Steven Running, University of Montana Ecology Professor, who was the keynote speaker at the Northern Plains Resource Council's annual meeting last November in Billings. Running, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which co-won the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, showed graphs and statistics to paint a picture of the Northern Rocky Mountain States that will change significantly in the coming years.
Read more...
|
Great Gourmet Garlic Growing in the Garden (in Belfry!)
In 2000, Hazel McDowall of Belfry first heard that Montana was a good place to grow garlic. She attended a pair of workshops put on by a grower from Kalispell, and got hooked on the idea of growing some tasty gourmet varieties herself.
"It's not just that the gourmet varieties taste better," Hazel says. "Home-grown garlic is fresher. The commercial garlic you buy at the store may be older than you think, and that shows through in the taste."
Read more...
|
History of the Local Rag, part I: Lou and the "Local News"
by Gary Robson
In September of last year, my wife Kathy and I purchased a 16-year-old newspaper called the Local Rag. It's fun, it's challenging, and it makes one stop and think: how did my predecessors do this? Where did the Local Rag really come from and how does it work? To answer these questions for our readers, we're pleased to present part one of this multi-part saga: History of the Local Rag.
Read more...
| 
|
Let it All In
by Vivian Beam
Do you remember the sixties expression, "Let it all hang out?" In a consistent and seemingly determined effort to date myself in whatever material I commit to the printed page, I admit I do and trust that I have lots of company.
As I interpret it, the idea of letting it all hang out is to rid one's self of mental or emotional roadblocks preventing the full enjoyment of one's life. Perhaps more accurately, the objective would be to lighten up on self-censorship. The underlying implication seems heavily weighted in favor of disregarding what other people think or feel.
Read more...
|
Local Limerick Contest!
How would you like to have a stylish Local Rag T-Shirt of your very own? One with a bright, colorful Local Rag logo on the front and a puppy on the back sitting on a copy of the Rag and declaring it to be his "Number One" choice?
Oh, yeah. You definitely want one of those! Well, here's how to get it:
Read more...
|
Look Who's (still) Tawkin'
by Jason Magida
First let me pay tribute to the reason I am still here. A year or so ago, my body was invaded by some bastard we'll call Leu for short. This S.O.B. had me good?so good in fact that I was ready to holler "uncle" and let the chips fall where they may. Then I took a drastic step: I got married. Unlike me, my lovely bride Cathy decided to look Leu right in the eye and say, "stay the %$#@&% away from my husband!"
Read more...
|
My Name is Phyllis and I Read... Romances
by Phyllis Sederberg
I also read other genres, but it is the romances that create the most attitude. To be honest, I used to be one of those people who would respond with "I don't read that stuff." Then, several years ago, my friends who owned a used bookstore granted me the privilege of working at said store. The only proviso was that I needed to adjust my attitude.
Read more...
|
Robson's 20th Book Released: His Newspaper Shamelessly Promotes It
by Gary Robson
The 20th book by local author Gary D. Robson hit the streets last month. Realizing the newsworthiness of the event, Local Rag editor Gary D. Robson cornered our enthusiastic author in the mirror one morning.
Read more...
| 
|
Sharp, Keen, and Decidedly Foolish by Corey Thompson
by Corey Thompson
Oxymorons are abundant in our language, especially in politics and the media. Here are a few favorites: pretty ugly, working vacation, tax return, dodge ram, work party, jumbo shrimp, healthy tan, virtual reality, government organization, alone together, living dead, same difference, taped live, tight slacks, peace force, and everyone's favorite, head butt.
Read more...
|
Something Fishy: Still Water, and Something Extra in the Fly Box
by Craig Beam
The water is glass. Two fish of size are rising. You can tell by the deliberate rings. Slow and heavy ripples. No splash. No nose showing. No bubbles. Only the ring. Small, rash fish rise all around, bubbling and splashing. But the two big fish rise, confident and steady. You make two or three practice casts, feeling the action of line, leader, and fly. Then you let the fly fall several feet above the fish from upstream. Never let the fish see the line hit the glass. The wait is excruciating. No real current, so the drift takes forever. Then, at the last possible moment of patience, the fish hits the fly. No deliberate ring this time! It's as if the fish senses something alien about the fly, but can't resist. She hits it hard and fast, afraid, but captivated. Nerves pushed to the breaking point, you struggle to control your strike. Swift upswing, feel the rod bend. Keep your head, let the fish have hers. The fight is the payoff, not the fish in hand. But after two fine runs, she does come to hand.
Read more...
|
The 11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count - Coming This Month!
Each year, thousands of birdwatchers all across the U.S. and Canada pull out their notebooks and binoculars and count birds. As the four-day event progresses, participants register their counts at the Great Backyard Bird Count Web site and watch the data develop.
Read more...
|
The 2008 Hair Ball
by Barbara Trapp
Did you miss your prom? Do you fondly reminisce about that special prom night? Here's your chance to recapture that special time in your life... or laugh at others recapturing that special time in their lives!
Read more...
|
The Saga of Cody Quarterline, Part XVII: Cody and the Malodorous Mademoiselle
by Tam McDowell
Cody was warm, dry, and at ease for the first time in several episodes. For a few brief moments no one was chasing him, drugging him, or bugging him. It was kind of pleasant. I could get used to this, he thought. Maybe I should just let Mom keep everything. The bad guys can hassle her for a while. He stretched and took a deep breath, catching a good whiff of Chrysy in the chair opposite him. Then again, maybe not, he thought as he pushed his chair back from the fireplace to try and put some distance between them.
Read more...
|
Yet Another New Red Lodge Outdoor Sport: Broomball
by Asano Ostu
What is like Hockey, takes six people to play (per team), uses Soccer strategies, and played on ice without skates? The answer is BROOMBALL!
Read more...
|
|
by Randy Tracy
Terroir. It's a French word, and you need to know it. Pronounced "tehr-war," the literal meaning is "soil." But when the French talk about wine, terroir means a distinctive, unique local characteristic. And that's a good thing in wine.
Read more...
|
|
by Marci Dye
This seems to be the time of year when Red Lodge takes off. Maybe it's the mid winter blahs, maybe it's the post-holidays quiet time, maybe it's that we live in an ultimate playground. There's also been a definite increase in the interest in cross-country skiing and snowshoeing with you locals, and now you're off to travel the winter world on your skinny skis. Need some ideas? Put your skis or snowshoes in the car, and let's go!
Read more...
|
Heirloom Recipes:
Fried Chicken with Spicy Fruit Sauce
by Jay West
A showstopper of a dish, this main course requires a Sunday afternoon to prepare. Nothing difficult, though. You simply have to let things sit or cook down, and that just takes time. On the other hand, this dish scales up or down very nicely. You want to double the recipe? Double the ingredients. You want half as much chicken? Use half the amount of ingredients.
Read more...
|
|
by Gene Rodman
Recently Tracy and I were out taking pictures and, once again, I tried to outsmart my camera by guessing what the exposure would be for the light we were shooting. Remember I mentioned in December's article how the whiteness of snow can throw off the camera's meter, resulting in an underexposed picture? Well, we were shooting in snow so I gave the picture a little extra exposure by slowing down the shutter speed. My guess was close but my picture was still a little underexposed. How did I know it was underexposed? My camera?like most digital cameras?has a little viewing screen on the back so I can see the picture I just took. My camera is only a few years old but not up to the quality of the latest models, so my preview screen is smaller than newer ones. It's also pretty scratched up, making it hard to see my picture in the bright snow. That's okay, because I didn't use my preview to really know if my picture was underexposed; I used the histogram. So what is a histogram?
Read more...
|
Stop and Think:
Working Together is the Only Solution
by Gary Robson
On Tuesday, January 15, a strong wind blowing toward the northwest picked up dust exposed by the construction crews working on the new Red Lodge High School site. The dust, remnants of the coal mine slack pile under the site, blanketed the Nature Center next door. "Everything was filthy, dirty, black snow," Vaughn Clutter, President of the Nature Center Board, told me. "We moved all of the raptors into the barn right away."
Read more...
|
