Prometheus and the Invisible.

Fire has come a long way since the day of the Promethean gift. I am reading in today's New York Times of a recent experiment to bend light waves around an object so that the object, a beach ball say, disappears -- at least to one's sight.

It was the Titan god, Prometheus, who started man on this quest to conquer his domain, when he, Prometheus, stole fire from the lightning bolt of Zeus and gave it as a gift to mankind. Zeus punished Prometheus because he feared it would make man like gods.

But equipped with fire, we began our first steps to conquer the world around us. Now thousands of years later Zeus' lightning has been harnessed, wired, transmitted, and even re-directed.

We can be not only warm in winter, but cool in summer, well-lit in the day and night, transported without the effort of walking, and entertained without the effort of thinking. All good things but things which give us a false sense of mastery over the natural order.

The grand and insignificant can easily humble us -- a hurricane cuts off the electricity in subfreezing weather, or a couple of birds fly into a jet engine -- either way, and the unforgiving natural laws conquer us. The separation between life and death is literally inches, seconds, degrees, or molecules away. The fragility of our existence is staggering.

The more we conquer this world the more we separate ourselves from its grim reality and the Olympians who can swallow us and leave no trace.

So I am conflicted about science and progress. The good I enjoy, the evil troubles me. And its effect on the mind and soul is "to be announced" many years from now.

Maybe Zeus was right.

Houston Street Bar. Great for a Party.

Brinton and I went to Houston Street Bar and Patio after our evening at Zambrano's and found a great place to hang out, watch a game, or meet up with friends.

Houston Street Bar is tucked between Zambrano's and Bar 9, across the street from Bent. It offers a beautiful rooftop patio, an abundance of flat screen televisions showing any game imaginable, and the owners said they would be happy to change the channel if there was a particular game we wanted to watch. Upstairs, there are two projectors showing games on the side of the building -- very cool. (Editors note:Can you say Final Four?)

One thing sets Houston Street Bar apart from the other bar/pubs -- they do not serve food -- but they let you bring food in or have it delivered. I love this idea. Order a pizza or appetizers from Cef next door, or have Pizza Hut deliver wings, while you sit on the patio and enjoy your beer, game, and friends in a cool urban setting. We asked them about having parties on the rooftop and they were very accommodating -- you provide the food and order the alcohol from them.

We really liked this place and will definitely go back.

Houston Street Bar & Patio
902 Houston Street
Fort Worth, TX
(817) 877-4727

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation.

A Byzantine icon of the Annunciation from Ohrid, early 14th century



In Christianity, the Annunciation is the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus, by the angel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God. Some Christian churches celebrate this with the Feast of Annunciation on March 25, which as the Incarnation is nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Jesus, or Christmas.

From Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation

Zambrano's: Great for Food & Wine Lovers.

Guest post by Becca

Brinton and I decided to take advantage of a night out without the kids and went downtown last night.

We were looking for somewhere we could sit outside and not feel rushed. We went into the Omni Hotel (which is really amazing) and looked through their lobby of restaurants and bars only to decide that we wanted to patronize a local restaurant. The Omni was a bit too corporate for our mood.

We decided on Zambrano's, the local wine bar started by Cef Zambrano. Cef was the Somelier at Del Friscos before starting his own place -- and it is enjoyable to learn from someone who really has a passion for what he does --seriously guys, forget Wine Styles! Zambrano's, is the real deal. I was in the mood for a Rose, but did not know which one. The waitress retrieved Cef and he told us about some bottles he had in his cellar which were very reasonably priced at $25 per bottle. We chose the Sawyer Rose of Merlot from Napa and loved it! In fact we loved it so much we finished the bottle. (Editors note: just one?) For a meal we had an appetizer, and split the Garden Vegetable Pizza and Creme Brulee. Total cost: about $60.00.

Brinton and I have been visiting wine bars lately looking for a place we feel comfortable. We did not like Winslows. I wanted to leave the minute I arrived because it is too pretentious. I didn't feel like I could drop in casually with Brinton and just get a drink. On our last visit, we asked the manager/owner(?) for some help in choosing a wine and were told, in so many words, to buy the most expensive wine on the menu. When we told him our budget, he demured and suggested we buy wine by the glass. Not quite what I was looking for. We finally chose a moderately priced wine on our own and purchased it by the glass. We were approached more than once about buying the bottle. Needless to say we bolted as soon as we were done.

We have tried Wine Styles which is fine, but I don't really like the chain feel. Wine Styles is a franchise, and feels like it.

Put a Cork in It, on Park Hill, is cute but I received no help in the wine-choosing. I was overwhelmed by all the wines, and started wishing I was at Costco where I could check the ratings.

Pop's Safari is great --love the comfortable chairs! But I could do without the heavy cigar smell. I have to wash everything when I get home because the smell is so strong.

We will definitely go back to Zambrano's. The service was exactly what I was looking for. Also, Cef is licensed to sell retail, so you can call him for a special party, or have him hand pick a wine within your budget.

Z WINE CELLAR
910 Houston Street
Suite 110
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Phone: (817) 850-WINE Hours:

Mon-Thurs (4:30 pm - 11 pm)
Friday (4:30 pm - 1 am)
Saturday (4:30 pm - 1 am)
Closed Sundays

http://zambranowines.com/

The Plantation Model I Built -- kind of.

My brother recently posted pictures of his daughter's science project. It is a model of our solar system that he and his daughter built, well, together. It reminded me of the school project I was assigned many years ago -- and built -- with my mother's help.

My mother had an artistic temperament, and artistic ability. Her handwriting was something out of the Official Guide to Perfect Handwriting. I remember mom-addressed Christmas cards with each name and address perfectly written. In green ink, from an old dip-and-write fountain pen, no less.

But I had never seen the real artistic skill in action until my fifth grade history teacher assigned each student the task of building a model southern plantation. I was prepared, as any kid would be, to glue a couple of pillar-type sticks to the front of an old show box, paint it white, and call it a day. Mom would have none of it.

First, a sturdy board foundation was pulled out of a crawl space, then some white paint. The foundation was painted, and a shoe box was turned upside down and wrapped in stiff white paper with a smaller box glued on top. Holes were cut out for windows and doors. Walkways were painted on the board and greenery glued down. On and on it went until the final touch of any respectable southern plantation: the pillars were installed, which were made from unused wallpaper turned inside out, dampened and rolled tight, like pillars. They were perfect.

I remember bringing my uber-plantation into school with some pride but also a little embarrassment, thinking that others would know that I had a lot of help. But my most vivid memory was thinking to myself -- how could my mother create something like this out of household leftovers and enjoy herself doing it?

When I look at the picture of my brother in front of his daughter's solar system, I know.

Moooon River.

Prostate Test Found to Save Few Lives.

Finally. A medical study that re-enforces my dislike of medical tests. It seems that guys that have the PSA blood test for prostate cancer die more frequently from prostate cancer than guys who don't. I knew I was right in holding out on the PSA prostate exam and the more intrusive one as well.

The cancer itself is no joking matter, I know. But I hope "poking" a little fun at the one exam we hate is okay.

This study proves my theory that if I wait long enough science will prove that I am right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/health/19cancer.html?em

DFW Population Growth #1.

We may not have the most visited tourist attractions in the USA but we do have the fastest growing metropolitan area. Or so we did in 2008. The result of job seekers, sun seekers, and babies, I assume. In one year DFW grew in population by 146,000 people. That's boom growth for an area our size. Three of the top ten growth areas are in Texas. Austin is number seven.

The north central USA continues to suffer, places like Cleveland and Detroit. It's the dynamic of a changing world and a changing economy, and they are suffering.

Our growth will not continue forever, but while it does we should be grateful for it and for a stronger than average local economy that attracts others looking for work and a great place to live.

Metropolitan area		Growth	Percentage change
DFW		146,532	2.4
Houston		130,185	2.3
Phoenix		115,978	2.8
Atlanta		114,989	2.2
Los Angeles		88,196	0.7
New York		84,227	0.4
Chicago.		72,771	0.8
Austin		60,012	3.8
San Francisco		58,406	1.4
Washington		55,835	1.1

My Favorite Movie of the Last 10 Years . . .

My son brought home a movie the other night that I had not seen in a few years, but that I had liked and watched many times. We watched it, and I am ready now, 9 years since its release, to nominate it as my number one and best movie of the last 10 years.

I am referring to Joel and Ethan Coen's, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. My wife, son and I enjoyed it last night as if we were watching it for the first time, or more correctly, enjoyed it more than watching it for the first time.

The dialogue is perfect, from the first line, "any of you boys smithies," to the last.

One knows immediately who the main characters are, and what they are like. And what the conflict is.

The bad guy is bad.

It does not try to be funny. It does not try to be current or counter-current. It is not cute. The music is wonderful (Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, etc) and new to one's ear. It is a joy to view and hear.

I can not think of anything I would change. It is movie perfection, at least to me. The Coen brother's translation of Homer's Odyssey (circa 850 BC) to the 1930's South makes it even more enjoyable as one looks for parallels (I have to admit finding only the most obvious).

I have liked many movies in the last 10 years. But I would put them in a "good" category, not great, when compared to Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. That's my opinion, but I am no film afficionado.

What's your favorite of the last 10 years? Maybe I have forgotten something?

But who can forget these lines spoken by George Clooney's, Ulysses Everett:

"Well, any human being will cast about in a moment of stress. No, the fact is, they're flooding this valley so they can hydroelectric up the whole durn state. Yes, sir, the South is gonna change. Everything's gonna be put on electricity and run on a paying basis. Out with the old spiritual mumbo jumbo, the superstitions, and the backward ways. We're gonna see a brave new world where they run everybody a wire and hook us all up to a grid. Yes, sir, a veritable age of reason. Like the one they had in France. Not a moment too soon."

"Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways"

Marmite

Since I have had such a good supply of Marmite from Town Talk, I though I would look up their website.

Very clever -- and they have a section for Marmite haters.

www.marmite.com/love/history

My Cure for the Common Cold.

I hate the common cold. And I get more than my fair share of them. But at some point, a few days into it (as I am now), I will re-read one of my favorite essays, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold, by Gay Talese. It is probably not read by many under the age of 50, except as a guide for good writing, but for those of us who grew up with parents who considered the Chairman's vocals as the background music of life, it is still a very enjoyable read.

Following is an introduction, and a link to the website of Gay Talese and the essay. The introduction, from Esquire magazine:

In the winter of 1965, writer Gay Talese arrived in Los Angeles with an assignment from Esquire to profile Frank Sinatra. The legendary singer was approaching fifty, under the weather, out of sorts, and unwilling to be interviewed. So Talese remained in L.A., hoping Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and he began talking to many of the people around Sinatra -- his friends, his associates, his family, his countless hangers-on -- and observing the man himself wherever he could. The result, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," ran in April 1966 and became one of the most celebrated magazine stories ever published, a pioneering example of what came to be called New Journalism -- a work of rigorously faithful fact enlivened with the kind of vivid storytelling that had previously been reserved for fiction. The piece conjures a deeply rich portrait of one of the era's most guarded figures and tells a larger story about entertainment, celebrity, and America itself . . .

The essay: www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/talese/essays
.

The Most Visited Place in Texas.

For Texans, that's a pretty easy guess.

Unfortunately, it is the only place on the Forbes Travel Magazine, 25 Most visited spots in the USA. If you didn't read the Yahoo/Forbes report, can you guess 7 of the top 10? And can you guess the most visited place in the America.

The answers for the top ten are in small and ghosted type below:
>
> ( no peeking, remember this is specific places in a city)
>
> ( guess 7 of 10 and win a free trip to Town Talk )
>
> (but you have to buy your own groceries)
>
> here they are:
1. Times Square / New York, NY / 35 million
2. Las Vegas Strip / Las Vegas / 31 m
3. National Mall and Parks / Washington D.C. / 24 m
4. Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, Mass. / 20 m
5. Disney World / Orlando / 17.1 m
6. Disneyland / Anaheim / 14.9 m
7. Fisherman's Wharf / San Francisco / 14 m
8. Niagara Falls / New York / 12 m
9. Great Smokey Mountains National Park/ Tennessee / 9.4 m
10 Navy Pier / Chicago / 8.6 m

San Antonio riverwalk is Texas' most visited spot with 5.1 million per year and number 14 in America. For the complete list of 25: http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists

Last question: has anyone been to all or even 8 or 9 of 10?
I have visited 6 of 10.
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Speaking of lists. I saw this note on the West and Clear blog: Time Magazine reported the Fort Worth Star Telegram as one of the top 10 endangered newspapers in the country.

Eddie V's Restaurant Review: Great.

Brinton and I went to Eddie V's last night with our friend, Muffin, and had a lovely Lenten, fish dinner. Since it was Friday, we decided to try Fort Worth's new fish restaurant -- and we were very happy with the entire experience (plus, Zeke's was packed with a line "out the door"). The first available reservation was 9 pm, which we took. They told us that they have been booked solid since they opened.

We were seated promptly and were walked by the fabulous looking lobster bar were diners pick from one of the fresh lobster tails that are packed on a mountain of ice.

We started with the Ahi Tartar, which was served with avocado, onion, and tomato. The server suggested mixing all three components before eating.

He was right, it was excellent!

The fish was cold and fresh and drizzled with sesame and curry oils. It was served with sesame flatbread.

For drinks, I had the Fort Worth Cosmo and Brinton had the sweet tea mojito (not his first choice, but I wanted to taste it) and Mary had the house Cabernet. All were good.

For the main course, I had the Salmon. It was cooked medium rare, which I like, served on a bed of asparagus, and had a butter sauce with capers and Parmesan. It was delicious. Brinton had red Snapper and was very happy with the portion and the flavor. Mary ordered the Filet of Sole which came on a lovely lemon butter sauce. I liked that the fish was served on top of the sauces instead of the normal drowning of sauce (maybe to cover for the fact that the fish is none too fresh?).

We were very pleased with our dinner and will definitely go again.
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Becca (Eastside) told me that she considers Eddie V's the best seafood restaurant in Fort Worth. I did not ask her the cost of the meal for three but I am sure it is as expected for a nicer restaurant. As to the economy and its effect on "expendable income." Eddie' V's is a big restaurant and has been full since it opened.

Eddie V's
Museum Place
3100 West 7th Street
Fort Worth, TX 76107



Also, See the Best of Fort Worth 2010


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Town Talk. The Grocery Store.

Speaking of grocery store discounters.

The biggest discounter of them all is Town Talk. They are the anti-Central Market -- in every way -- except the one way that matters: name brand food products, sometimes the really good stuff, at bargain prices. I am not saying all the food is high quality, or even that most of it is, but occasionally the deals there are better than imaginable.

For instance, Marmite. I like Marmite. My wife is British. She introduced it to me and I like it. Most Americans don't. It's a yeast extract and it's tangy. It's about $7 for a small jar. She picked up 4 of them at Town Talk for $10.

How do they do it? Town Talk takes department and grocery store overstocks, item close outs, and store closings, and consolidates it by category for resale. The aisles are changing all the time.

They have no cappuccino bar to stop and relax while shopping, the floor needs sweeping, and the warehouse spills over into the aisles.

But it's kind of fun, you never know what you will find and sometimes the cuts of beef are just too good of a deal to turn down. It's an acquired taste and sometimes they sell things past shelf-life date. But if you haven't tried it, it is worth a visit.

http://www.towntalkfoods.net/

Town Talk Foods
121 North Beach St.
Fort Worth, TX 76111

Mayorga Coffees

A very nice website from a company of folks passionate about coffee. Referred to me by my brother.

http://www.mayorgacoffee.com/mayorga

Interactive Unemployment Map of USA.

Okay, it's kind of depressing, but for map nuts and statistics enthusiasts, it's interesting to go through:

Published by the New York Times online:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive

Search by metro area, county, and even housing bubble.

Most effected by the recession: California, Oregon, and Michigan. No surprise on Michigan, but southern California and Oregon surprised me. 20% unemployment in some counties of California, and most over 10%.

Least effected: Central USA, from North Dakota to south Texas. Tarrant County is doing better than most for many reasons including gas exploration and production.

Monthly Starbucks Watch

News Flash: Starbucks to begin selling instant coffee.

My response:

Dear Mr. Starbuck,

You're kidding right?

You have spent the last 15 years telling us that your coffee was worth the extra cost. We agreed. We liked it. We liked the vibe. Cold Play and coffee -- very cool. And after adding wireless, we never had to go home to -- yikes -- responsibility.

Now you want us to go home -- and make instant coffee.

Booooring.

I know what happened! One day you mistakenly brewed a concoction from a Colombian pod of a different sort -- drank it, had a good time -- and this is all a joke.

Okay . . . I can deal with that.

(Could you get me some?)
---------------------------------------------------
End of sarcasm, honest question:

Does anyone else think this will bomb like New Coke, or is it just me?

Whole Foods Fort Worth

Whole Foods continues to list Fort Worth as a store in development. The April, 2008 issue of Fort Worth Business listed the construction start date as 2010.

Grocery stores like Whole Foods and Central Market are having a rough ride through this depressed economy. Whole Foods is a publicly traded company, which, in this case, is not in its favor. The share price is below $12 today, down from its high of $77 in 1997. It has been a slow and steady decline, which is not a good sign for investors and eventually, shoppers. Central Market is a privately held company and a division of HEB of San Antonio. Central Market's books are not open to public observation. My guess is that it has experienced what all retailers have experienced and that is a drop in sales and profits.

Not surprisingly, the trend in super markets is away from high price to the super-discount. This is partly due to the fact that the middle ground is already overserved by Krogers, Tom Thumb, Safeway, Acme, Albertsons, etc.

Fort Worth has yet to see the super discounters because of an extemely competitive middle ground presence and because of discounters like Walmart, Walmart Groceries, Sams and Costco. In other parts of the country shoppers see names like Trader Joes, Aldi, and now Fresh and Easy, in the West-- all super discounters with a minor emphasis on quality generic brands and organic brands. Sprouts is another niche food retailer going after the Whole Foods shopper with a smaller footprint store. I read that there are three Sprouts in Tarrant County but have not been to one.

But regardless of the trend and our need to find savings in food purchases, I hope that the plans for Whole Foods haven't changed and I hope Central Market can make it through these times. All Fort Worth food enthusiasts have grown accustomed to the food shopping, eating and browsing experience at Central Market. I hope it doesn't end.

If you know any changes in the plans for Whole Foods, or the viability of Central Market, please let me know.

What's for Dinner?

Want to scroll through mouth-watering pictures of salads, sandwiches, main courses, and desserts before deciding the dinner menu?

Food Porn Daily has pictures that invite investigation. Scroll until you find one you like, then get the recipe. http://foodporndaily.com/sitemap
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