About Fritz Bogott

250 volts, plate to cathode.

The Conk-Singleton Forgery Case

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

He was a libertine, and this was his particular art: After each seduction he returned to his potter’s shed, closed his eyes and, working by touch, reproduced her every curve, fold and blemish with perfect accuracy. The woman was celibate thereafter, preemptively satisfied. Each cuckolded rival eventually came knocking on the door of the shed, willing to pay any price for a facsimile of his lost love. After a few years births grew rare and the city grew old and small, silently mourning the death of each jaded lover or patron of the arts.

_{Image CC-BY-NC-ND by jcolman}

Injera

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

~~Sourdough Pancakes~~Injera

~~Sourdough~~Injera Starter

1/4 c old starter
3/4 c ~~all-purpose~~teff flour
3/4 c water

Mix in blender on high for one minute, to grind some of the coarseness out of the teff flour.
Let stand until bubbly.

~~Sourdough Pancakes~~Injera

1 c all-purpose flour
~~1 tbsp sugar~~
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
~~1/4~~1 tsp salt
~~1 beaten egg~~
1 1/4 c bubbly ~~sourdough~~injera starter (Put the remaining starter into the fridge for next time.)
2 tbsp oil

Stir together dry ingredients.
Mix in wet ingredients. Thin with water to the consistency of heavy cream: thinner than pancake batter, but thicker than crepe batter. Do not overmix.

Pour about ~~1/4~~1/2 c batter into a medium-hot non-stick skillet.
Cover tightly
Cook until surface is bubbly and edges are ~~slightly dry~~just beginning to turn brown.
~~Flip and cook other side until golden brown.~~Cook on one side only.
Remove to cooling rack. Texture will be slightly gummy until cooled a bit. First one in the batch will be awful, just like pancakes.

_{Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1989.}

_{Image CC-BY-NC-ND by marymactavish}

Mangas Verdes

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

The cities of SÃ£o Cosme and SÃ£o DamiÃ£o
have twenty million souls between them.

They are separated by mutual ignorance,
spanned by a single narrow bridge.

Children occasionally make the crossing,
and return full of unfamiliar sweets.

The blind, the mad and the extremely old
maintain friendships across the divide.

The rest live as silent neighbors,
often dying unaware.

I ate a green mango,
given to me by a stranger.

Now I can’t stop seeing all of you,
here in my own hometown.

_{Image CC-BY-NC-SA by Jepster}

Pollo Asado

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

This recipe comes satisfactorily close to the flavor of a pollo asado al carbon Rachel and I once bought in Valladolid, Yucatán and ate with our fingers in a ferociously-hot Volkswagen.

Brine.

(Makes enough for a 3 1/2 lb chicken in a pot that just fits. For a bigger bird or a bigger pot you’ll need to scale up.)

6c water
1/2c salt
small handful dried oregano
small handful powdered cumin
smaller handful cinnamon
powdered cloves – about half as much as cinnamon
around a tablespoon of liquid smoke (unless you’re going to roast over wood or charcoal)

Bring to a boil and simmer for five or ten minutes. Allow to cool.
Soak the chicken in the cooled brine in the refrigerator for around an hour per pound, then drain the chicken.

Marinate.

one dried ancho chile, seeds and all
half a dozen garlic cloves
small handful dried oregano
juice of a lime
glug of vegetable oil

Grind all that up in a blender. Smear it on the drained chicken.

Roast.

Roast the chicken at around 450DegF for around twelve minutes per pound. Use an instant-read thermometer to test for 160DegF in the middle of the thickest part.

(This is a hacked-up version of this recipe from the Rocky Point Tides blog.)

_{Image CC-BY-NC-SA by vanherdehaage}

What would motivate the crows?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

What would motivate the crows?

Loss of habitat?
Delicious food?
Bank robbery?
Altruism?

_{Image CC-BY-NC-ND by Frank Kehren}

Exquisite Corpse

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

Exquisite Corpse is a method by which a dream is collectively assembled. Each collaborator sleeps with the dream bundle in sequence. The game ends when a player opens the bundle or refuses to give it up.

AndrÃ© Breton writes that the game developed at the residence of friends in an old house at 54 rue du Chateau.

_{Image CC-BY-NC-ND by paperbackwriter}

Somnial Boats

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

“Somnial boats” are models of boats placed in a bed at or near the time of sleep in order to be available to the dreamer in case he or she needs to cross a body of water in the course of a dream.

_{Image CC-BY-NC-ND by Matt Stratton}

Wai Shou

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

When he was fourteen years old, Wai Shou fought the seasoned warrior Lao Xiong, whose left arm was strong as a bear’s. It took Wai six hours and a quart of blood before he was able to beat Lao. As the older man was dying among the trampled wheat stems, Wai struck off his own left arm and replaced it with Lao’s, and a village girl named Lianmin covered the joint with limestone paste.

When he was sixteen Wai bested the bandit Li Yeying, even though Li’s right arm was swift as a nightjar. Wai replaced his right arm with Li’s and slunk into the forest to recover from his wounds.

When he was eighteen Wai was challenged by Li Tiaozao, who could leap like a flea and was believed to be untouchable. But even a flea eventually tires and Wai’s dagger pierced Li’s belly. With his last breath Li bequeathed Wai his legs, and Wai hired Old Mother Chen to bathe the fresh grafts in seawater.

When he was twenty Wai found the handsome Han Shuai in bed with his woman, and this is the reason Wai’s children all bear the surname Han.

_{Image CC-BY-NC-SA by Søren Holt}

Greasy Pippin

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

We had been mates since we could walk but this was the first time Dierdre had put a gun to my head.

“You could have just asked,” I said.

“Couldn’t chance it,” she said.

“What’s to chance?” I asked. “We’re best mates.”

“They’ve got Nigel,” she said.

“Let’s go,” I said.

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Audible Plants

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Fritz Bogott

Jon Johannsen, author of Audible Landscaping, has a backyard greenhouse full of audible plants, including:

Slow-Horn, Darlingtonia Pneumonica, with lung-like structures that inhale at night and exhale during the day.
Northern Guan, Pinguicula Calama, whose noxious squeal drove it close to extinction before it caught on with hobbyists.
Kjamantchi, Genlisea Cithara, whose long strands sing in the wind.

_{Image CC-BY-NC by Michael White}