Phil Houtz

Sushi: UR Doing It Wrong (Sushi Etiquette)

The first time I had sashimi, on our honeymoon, I was afraid I would commit some terrible culinary faux pas. Turns out I was right…I’ve been a sushi blunderer all my life. Via Swiss Miss (view their comments for more etiquette tips!)

RIP Art Clokey, Gumby’s Dad

I had the pleasure of meeting Art Cloakey quite a few years ago. He denied that Gumby advocated LSD and he seemed genuinely hurt by Eddie Murphy’s Saturday Night Live portrayal of the little clayboy. “Gumby is an ambassador for all that is good and innocent in the world,” Cloakey said. While Gumby himself brims

Hot Around the Collar: Tools for Walking Dogs

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I’m hoping Moose will be a good trail dog someday. But first I have to figure out how to take him for a walk, without him walking me. Here’s what happens: Moose is pretty dialed in with having me as his pack leader. But on walks he becomes very focused on what’s ahead. He starts

2010 Goes to the Dogs

Suddenly all my plans for 2010 have changed. I’ve been gifted a monstrous dog, that I’m calling Moose, a one year old puppy. the dog is a mix of German Shepherd and we’re not sure what…something that was brindle in color and rather big. Possibly greyhound, possibly Great Dane. We’ll see. Moose has a good

Vermont Darn Tough Sock

Socks That Last Forever

Usually I don’t like to use the words “darn” and “socks” together in a sentence, but “Darn Tough” is how Ric Cabot describes the socks his family has been making for over 30 years. Outside Blog has just endorsed Darn Tough in their Gear Army section. I like the fact that these socks are made

Hope Without Soap

Could you go for 130 days without soap…washing your body with just water? Richard Nikoley gave up soap and shampoo about six months ago and reports that the results are amazing. His skin and hair are soft and silky. His wife comments that he smells good! Nikoley’s post begs some questions. 1. What is Soap

2010: The Year of Weird Expeditions

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. That’s how Hunter Thompson put it. My plan for 2010 is to see how many destinations I can reach that are listed in Weird California: Your Travel Guide to California’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets

Redecorating with Jesus

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If I’ve harped on this before, someone should hit me over the head with a sack of oranges. I continue to have the feeling that there should be some kind of way to organize my life so that it wouldn’t be such a horrorshow. One central focus that brings everything together. You know what I’m

It Is Finished.

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As of 11 PM last night I became the proud owner of a 50,123 word steaming slag heap of a first draft novel. Yipee. So ends my NaNoWriMo adventure. What am I left with? Let’s call it the Winchester Mystery House of bad literature…hundreds of passages leading nowhere. I do have to say that this

Swoop, Bang and Grope

I’m on the road again. The road to hell, good intentions to blog my NaNoWriMo novel-writing experiment are lying like dead soldiers on the roadway. Early on I was going to post about Banging vs. Swooping. Kurt Vonnegut once said (and I swear I heard this on a public radio interview, though I can’t find

All Hallow’s Eve (with Zombies)

Here it is, the eve before National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo,) sort of an ongoing joke started by Chris Baty where tens of thousands (150,000+ this year) of people line up like entrants of the Bay to Breakers marathon, and pound out 50,000 words of prose. This month I throw my hat in the ring,

Minivans – the Number One Choice of Bears Everywhere

The number one choice of discriminating bruins? According to the LA Times black bears in Yosemite have come to think of minivans as their own personal “meals on wheels.” Minivans roll into the park wafting the aroma of spilled Cheerios and milk, and the bears seem to have learned that the classic Mom-missile is your