A History of the World in 6 Glasses
by Gary Robson
Generally speaking, the rule for book reviewers is to always review the new stuff. Some rules are just meant to be broken.
A couple of months ago, I got a pre-release copy of Tom Standage's newest book, An Edible History of Humanity. It's a fascinating study of the history of mankind, and how the development of people has been so closely tied to the foods we've had available. I enjoyed the book, and went looking for something else by Standage.
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Guarding the guard dogs Are you a dog
by Jon Katz
Last month, "In Defense of Animals," a California-based animal rights organization, sent me some materials about its "Guardian Campaign." A polite letter complimented me on my most recent book, then requested that I use the term "guardian" rather than "owner" in future writings about dogs.
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Healthy Pantry Gets 0% Loan
The Healthy Pantry, based out of Red Lodge, Montana, recently received a Bootstrap Montana loan. Owned and operated by Keith Lauver, The Healthy Pantry is an online business targeting the health food industry, where customers can order meals online. The company offers healthy and convenient means for family needs to inspire a healthier lifestyle. The company's mission is to provide healthy food options for families that are easy, tasty, and accessible. The Healthy Pantry utilized the loan funds to upgrade to a newer version of their web store's e-commerce software.
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Service & Non-Profit UPDATE: Elks
The Elks have hired a new secretary, Tam McDowell. She has worked extensively in Red Lodge area nonprofits, serving on the Boys & Girls Club board for two years (including 8 months as Interim Executive Director), and as an EMT with the Red Lodge Emergency Medical Services Association for four years.
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Service & Non-Profit UPDATE: Red Lodge Area Community Foundation
$120,000 in Grants to be Awarded to Carbon County Nonprofits
After Willie Nelson's biodiesel bus left town, after the rodeo grounds were cleaned, after the thousands of fans had gone home, a handful of Red Lodge area residents were left holding the bag. And that, it turned out, was a very good thing.
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by Gary Robson
As much as I enjoyed the scenery and splendor of Alaska last month, I did force myself to do my Local Rag duty and go indoors from time to time so that I could investigate the beers of that expansive state. It's a tough job, but as the old saying goes, somebody has to do it.
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by Randy Tracy
There?s something about the bubbles that raises a wine into elegance, and changes the whole character. Even people who don?t care for white wine seem to like Champagne just fine.
Me, I love it. And recently a bottle of Drusian Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (non-vintage) made my day?or at least the evening. It was dry, crisp, fruity, and danced along with the food like Fred Astaire. At $16.50, it was a class act. You might be tempted to call it ?Champagne,? but not all wines that bubble are eligible to be so named.
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Cooking with John:
Summer Foods; Salmon, Corn, and Potatoes
by John Overton
I usually think of June as the beginning of summer. Maybe that's because June 21st is the official first day of summer, regardless of the temperature or how much snow is on the ground.
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by Marci Dye
"Let's go see if there's any shooting stars yet." I think I said this to my younger children many times this spring, hoping to see a glimpse of spring trying to poke through the snow banks. We all had a very long spring, and you were not alone if you were extremely on edge and feeling claustrophobic due to our lovely weather. The shooting stars (Dodecatheon flowers) were there, they just had to hold out a bit for that snow to melt!
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by Jeff Ewelt
What is it like to be a father? This is something I have asked myself many times until it happened. Honestly, having kids wasn't really ever on my radar. The sleepless nights, unlimited poop and deafening screams never appealed to me. Then one day, out of nowhere, my little dude showed up. That pesky stork! So here I was, a dad.
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by Jay West
Meatballs are a national dish in Sweden, or at least we think so. All Scandinavians seem to have a thing for meatballs, though. There was a 1948 movie about a Norwegian-American family in a west coast city in the early 1900s. It was called "I remember Momma" (it later became a TV series in the 1950s, too). In the movie, there was a scene where the oldest daughter, who is a writer, is trying to get a writing career going. Momma (played by Irene Dunn) lobbies the local paper's society editor, and basically bribes her by divulging her secrets for special meatballs--her secret was to boil the meatballs in beef broth before baking them, as I recall. My granddmother's Swedish meatballs are what I serve at my smorgasbords. Here's the latest version of the recipe with some adjustments and substitutions for modern times.
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by Jeanne Thomas
I am very pleased and excited to remind you that the Red Lodge Music Festival will be celebrating its 46th season this year, bringing world-class chamber music and jazz to our fair city. This fabulous festival begins on Saturday, June 6th at 7:30 PM at the Red Lodge Civic Center. Tickets are available at the door, and I encourage all of you to set aside the evening and just go! You'll be transported and astounded at the virtuosity of the musicians and the wide variety of music on a scale most of us experience only in major cities and venues.
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by Gene Rodman
As the weather becomes more comfortable to venture outdoors in, the grass is green, and the flowers are blossoming everywhere, some of us are starting to get the photo bug. If our current camera is not quite up to our expectations or we lag behind in the technology it might be time to think of upgrading. With so many different types of cameras, features, and prices how can one know that they are getting what they want and need?
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by Clare Witcomb
I recently paid a visit to one of my favorite stores in our fair city: Red Lodge Books. Anyone who knows me is very aware of how much I love to read. In fact, I was in the bookstore to pick up a book I had ordered. As I was perusing the aisles, I noticed a sign on 2009 calendars at 75% off. I love to save money as much as the next person, so I bought a day-to-day desk calendar sold by Workman Publishing called Living Green--365 Ways to Make a Difference. As I was tearing off pages to catch up to May 12th, I noticed a very profound quote by Ansel Adams: "It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment". Here is a list of green ideas that each of us might want to take under consideration. And most of them are so, so simple. See how many you might want to try.
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About Town:
The Red Lodge Newcomers' Club
by Corey Thompson
Welcome to Red Lodge! Are you relatively new to this area? If not, though you may have lived here for quite some time, you've probably noticed new faces around town. Where do these people come from, and why to Red Lodge, Montana?
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by Ryan Sankey
As if nature herself is tired of the same old dreary colors of past months, she bursts forth in a dazzling array of colors every spring, and this spring the fashion world seems to be following suit. Multiple forces have come together to create this demand for color. Historically, in periods of uncertainty people reach for things that are uplifting, and what could be more uplifting than bright colors? Secondly, even designers have to get tired of black eventually! Even the usually lady-bug-looking red carpet, with its dots of black, has emerged as a rainbow of bright colors.
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Off the Reel:
Dammit Man, I'm a Doctor, Not a Physisist!
by Doug Robson
A movie came out recently that was, in my opinion, a boundary-breaker when it comes to science fiction. When people think classic sci-fi they think of this (if they're not busy thinking of Asimov first). Of course, I'm talking about the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise. Star Trek has been redone more times than I can count, but never the original series with the original characters. Voyager, Deep Space 9, The Next Generation: all Star Trek series, but not a one features Kirk or the original Enterprise. J. J. Abrams changed this. He rewound the whole thing, got new actors, and changed the storyline a good bit. This is Star Trek.
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