Food, Literature and Music!NOTE: Profile Photo of Roberto by Nancy SJ at Lightning Horse Photography
Musicians and vegetarian natural-food cooks and chefs, other old hippies, people with interesting thoughts and ideas.I am NOT interested in meeting young bimbos, penis enlargement, checking out your nude pictures, viagra (I am just fine, thank you), a fake Rolex, prescription medicines, wasting my time chatting with air heads, buying (or selling) anything. If you're looking for a boyfriend, chat partner or other meaningless nonsense, please look somewhere else.If you are a rap, hip hop, death metal (or any other metal) group, please don't send a friendship request. No offense but I am just not interested. If you send me a friendship request you have not read my site or you would know that.If you truly want to talk to me about food (I've a million recipes), politics, vegetarianism, music (see music- give me a good argument if you disagree with me), literature (one of my favorites), movies, spiritual quests, the legalization of marijuana, use of hemp, environmental issues, peace movement, in other words- anything interesting, feel free to contact me.Here's a recipe I like a lot that you might want to try: Thai Peanut Satay with Noodles (Serves 4)1 package rice, soba (buckwheat) or udon (wheat) Asian-style noodles 1 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil 1/3 cup sliced mushrooms (shiitake, crimini or button work well) 2-4 cloves garlic, minced 1 14 oz. can coconut milk 1/3 cup smooth or creamy natural peanut butter 2 Tbsp. tamari (wheat-free) or shoyu (contains wheat) soy sauce Note: if peanut butter is salted, only use 1 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger juice (see below) Pinch of cayenne (optional) Pinch of lemon-grass Juice of 1 lime 3-4 scallions, diced 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely minced 4 sprigs fresh cilantro for garnish (optional) 4 lime wheels for garnish (optional, see below)Cook noodles according to package directions.Meanwhile, Heat coconut and sesame oil over medium-high flame in a wok, heavy skillet or pan, add mushrooms and garlic and saute’ about 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Add coconut milk and peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger juice, cayenne, lime juice and lemon grass. Stir together well and heat through. Add scallions and cilantro and continue to cook another five minutes. Serve over noodles, garnished with a lime wheel and a sprig of cilantro. Enjoy!Note: For fresh ginger juice, grate unpeeled fresh ginger root on the small grate of a hand grater and squeeze the pulp by hand to get the desired amount of juice. Discard the pulp.Note: For lime (or other citrus) wheels, slice the fruit fairly thinly but not to where it won’t hold its shape (about ¼â€). With a paring knife cut once from the center of the wheel to the outside perimeter and twist.Variations: Add other veggies as desired for a more substantial dish. Zucchini or other summer squash, onions or shallots, bok choy or julienned bell peppers all work well. Vegetarian meat substitutes are available that mimic chicken, pork or beef for a different flavor or texture. Tofu, tempeh or seitan are also nice addition and add protein and other nutrients. For the more adventurous spirits you might want to have chili sauce or other hot condiments for the individual to add.Let me know what you think.
Personal:I am a practicing (and I'll keep practicing until I get it right) musician (guitar and harmonica) and singer, playing at local coffee houses and small venues, solo and with other musicians, especially my partner and Soul-Mate, Donna Baker. When we play as a duet we are known as BabaDona. When we play with a band (myself and Donna with Dave Irwin, Ron, Medvescek, and Kevin McCalix) we are known as Rob da Donkey.Question: How can a guitar player end up with a million bucks? Answer: Start with two million!When Donna and I first began to write each other on the internet (I was living in Tucson and she was living in Bloomington, Indiana) I sent her a cassette tape of some of my music and she listened to it and began singing along (she has a wonderful voice and does great harmonies) so that when we actually met in real life and went to parties we began singing together as though we had been doing it for years! Of course, now we have been singing together for years, a blessing I am very, very thankful for.Our sound is, essentially, folk and Americana, with a little blues and rock thrown in. I am working on a couple of band sites but they are not ready yet so, to hear us, you need to come to Tucson. (Check, also, the BabaDona site in "friends," below to the right.) We play a dozen or so originals and lots of covers of Dylan, Stones, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Steve Earle, Robert Earl Keene, Greg Brown and the like. Our main focus, as a duet or with a band, seems to be sweet harmonies in songs that tell poignant stories we can all relate to. I play guitar and Donna plays a hand drum (djembe) and percussion. Our friends play an assortment of instruments, including guitar, mandolin, keyboards, bass and harmonica. Every now and then we're lucky enough to get Mark Holdaway to join us on kalimba, a rare but treasured experience. Donna and I know a lot of songs and play the basics and when we play with friends they add all the pretty little frills and make it sound nice. Someone once asked me what I called my style of guitar playing and I answered "primitive minimalist." I interpret that as "I know a few chords and play them badly."Ongoing: Open-mic every Wednesday at El Ojito Springs (sign-up at 7 pm, starts at 7:30)- free!, song circle the last Sunday of every month from 2:30 until 5 pm- free!NOTE: I'd really like to find a mandolin player, accordion player, a fiddler and possibly a bass player to form a group to play for fun. If you think you might be interested and live in the Tucson area, contact me.Favorite genres: Acoustic folk, Americana or alt-country, acoustic and electric blues, classic rock, rock and roll, rockabilly, jazz, bluegrass, classical, chamber music, soul and old R&B, reggae, ska, funk, traditional country music (like Willie and Waylon and Merle), Gospel, Cuban and Latin jazz, punk and cow-punk. I do NOT care for disco, hip-hop or rap, most techno or ambient (or anything done on "machines"), heavy metal, thrash metal, hair metal or any other "metal," new age (except ethnic), Motown (especially as opposed to "Soul"- watch Dreamgirls to see the difference), Christian rock ("Mixing religion with rock and roll doesn't make religion better, it makes rock and roll worse"- Hank Hill) or modern country music (like Alan Jackson, Toby Keith or George Strait), though there are exceptions I do like, like the Beastie Boys, Disposable Heroes of the Hiphoprisy, Arrested Development and Gil Scot Heron and the Last Poets, Travis Tritt, Ottmar Liebert.Question: What do you get when you play New Age Music backwards? Answer: New Age Music!Favorite artists: As you can see, my tastes are very eclectic, but then the music I DON'T like is also pretty diverse. My favorite musical influences are Bob Dylan, Townes van Zandt, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Robert Earl Keene, Steve Earle, Phil Crawford, Red Mollies, Tom Waits, Frank Zappa, Rolling Stones (especially the early stuff), Jim White, Beatles, Country Joe and the Fish, Early Pink Floyd (with Syd Barrett), Todd Snider, Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, Ramsey Lewis Trio, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Krishna Das, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Johnny Cash, Phil Ochs, Bonnie Raitt, Allison Krauss and Union Station, Nancy Griffith, Cindy Lauper, Simply Red, Joan Baez, John Hammond, Bobby Bare, Jerry Jeff Walker, Slim Harpo, John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Willie McTell, George Gershwin, Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, The Chieftans, Odetta, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Cisco Houston, The Weavers, Rambling Jack Elliot, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Son House, Memphis Minnie, Sublime, Mark O'Connor, Sam Bush, Yo Yo Ma, Paul Butterfield, James Cotton, Tracy Chapman, War, Thunderclap Newman, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, ? and the Mysterians, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Allman Brothers, R.L. Burnside, Charlie Patton, Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, B-52's, Neko Case, Alicia Keyes, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Iron and Wine, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes, Mott the Hoople, Humble Pie, Small Faces/Faces/Early Rod Stewart, Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley, Long John Baldry, Early Elton John, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Alexis Koerner, Lonnie Donigan, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, 4-Tops, Sam and Dave, Early BeeGees (pre-disco), Stevie Wonder, Blue Oyster Cult, The Ramones, New York Dolls, David Johansen, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Wilco, Billy Bragg, Captain Beefheart, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Lou Reed, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Peter Green, Cream, The Animals, Dave Clark Five, Johnny Clegg and Suvuku, Outback, Deep Purple, Ian Gillan, Led Zeppelin, Yardbirds, The Who, Mamas and the Papas, Lovin' Spoonfull, The Kinks, Jethro Tull, Homer and Jethro, Flatt and Scruggs, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Velvet Underground, Everly Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Junior Walker, Guy Clark, Elliot Smith, Was (Not Was), Los Lonely Boys, Pat Metheny, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mark Knopfler, Chris Isaak, Natalie Merchant, Suzanne Vega, Beth Orton, Bobbie McFerrin, kd lang, Bruce Springsteen, The Wallflowers, Randy Newman, David Bromberg, Blind Faith, Early R.E.M., Early U2, Bjork, Leo Kottke, Hot Tuna, Phish, Dave Alvin, The Blasters, The Searchers, Traffic, Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams 1 and 3 (but NOT Junior), Elvis Costello, Black Flag, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, White Stripes, Loretta Lynn, Laurie Anderson, Sex Pistols, Afro-Cuban All-Stars, Buena Vista Social Club, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Dizzie Gillespie, Louis Jordan, Lalo Guerrero, Willie Dixon, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Billie Holiday, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Keb' Mo', Taj Mahal, Robert Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Louden Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Kate and Anne McGarrigle, Kate Wolf, The Roches, Prince, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Beethoven, Mozart, Sinead O'Connor, Son Seals, The Pretenders, John Fahey, Joe Jackson, Morphine, Pinetop Perkins, Scott Huckabay, Etta James, Living Colour, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Lightning Hopkins, Dead Can Dance, Burning Spear, Leonard Cohen, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Marianne Faithfull, Lulu, Sly and the Family Stone, Dion and the Belmonts, Bobby Darin, Dionne Farris, Jackson Browne, Bach, Berlioz, Segovia, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (and Neil Young solo or with Crazy Horse or with anyone), Buffalo Springfield, The Band, the Byrds, Benny Goodman, Jefferson Airplane and early Jefferson Starship (not Starship), Aphrodite's Child, Spirit, Sade, Laura Nyro, Minnie Ripperton, Janis Ian, Steve Goodman, Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins, Van Morrison, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, The Specials, Jane's Addiction, The Clash, Bare Naked Ladies, Louis Armstrong (the old pothead), Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Asleep at the Wheel, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, Grateful Dead, Old and in the Way, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Riders in the Sky, Gene Autrey, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, Roy Orbison, Les Paul (and Mary Ford), Tennessee Ernie Ford, Harry Chapin, Desmond Decker, Jimmy Cliff, Big Mama Thornton, Bessie Smith, Ruth Brown, Alberta Hunter, Hoyt Axton, James McMurtry (author Larry McMurtry's son), Buddy Holly, Chambers Brothers, Jimmie Rodgers, Norah Jones, Victoria Williams, Donovan, Patti Smith, Klezmatics, Tenacious D, Beasty Boys, Gil Scott Heron and the Last Poets, Arrested Development, Travis Tritt, Ottmar Leibert, Mahalia Jackson, Andre' Crouch, Gypsy Kings, Alejandro Escaveda, The Doors, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dixie Chicks, Saffire, Jean Luc Ponty, Michelle Shocked, Bill Withers, Dr. John, Phoebe Snow, John Hiatt, Mose Allison, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, The Pines (with ex-Tucsonan David Huckfelt- I gave him a job at the Co-op once and played guitar with him on stage!), The Meters, Tom Rush, The Carter Family, Porter Waggoner, Dolly Parton, George Jones, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson, Nick Drake, Jerry Lee Lewis, EARLY Elvis (the first 2 or 3 albums), Carl Perkins, The Neville Brothers, Warren Zevon, Ralph Stanley, Doc (and Merle) Watson, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli and many, many more. Did I miss anyone? Check back as I add artists often.Okay, for those with a short attention span, here are my 22 all-time favorite musicians, in order of preference (kind of, it changes): Bob Dylan, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Greg Brown, Tom Waits, Steve Earle, Nick Cave, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, Warren Zevon, Frank Zappa, Neil Young, Jim White, Woodie Guthrie, Robert Earl Keene, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Captain Beefheart, Gram Parsons, and Django Reinhardt."There are three kinds of people in this world, those who can count and those who can't."-Zerbo BoillengerQuestion: How do you turn a duck into a soul singer? Answer: Put it in a microwave until it's bill withers.Question: How long does it take to tune a twelve string guitar? Answer: Nobody Knows.Artists I REALLY DON'T LIKE: The Supremes, Michael Jackson, Enya, Abba, Toby Keith (the epitome of redneck ignorance), Village People or any disco, most "new" music (i.e. James Blunt, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Christina, Madonna, etc.), Barry Manilow, Helen Reddy, Petula Clark, Andre Rieu, Lawrence Welk, disco-era BeeGees, Elton John, Billy Joel, Partridge Family, most Eagles, Steely Dan, Alan Jackson . Basically I don't like "POP" music, i.e., music that is sappy, cheesy or simply made to cash in on a trend. I especially don't like "supermarket music." (I have to listen to it all day at my job!) See also, types of music I don't like (above)Favorite songwriters: Bob Dylan, Townes van Zandt, John Prine, Steve Earle, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Warren Zevon, Greg Brown, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Ray Davies and Nick Cave.Favorite Local Musicians (Tucson)(in no particular order): Donna Baker, of course, Mark Holdaway, Samson III, Woman Song, Rainer, Dave Macomber, Tim Weed, Mitzi Cowell, Wayback Machine, Ernie Votto, Kevin McCalix, Dave Irwin, Kevin Pakulis, Linda Ronstadt (the second best Tucson female vocalist, right behind Donna Baker), The Wyatts, Sam Taylor, Bad News Blues Band, Arthur Migliazza, Debi Luna, Gabriel Ayala, the whole Redhouse Family, Amo Chip Dabney, Cortex Bomb, Mark Gordon Allen, The Mollies, Carnivaleros, Namoli Brennet, Spurloafers, Stefan George, 4 Corners, Lisa Otey, Cactus Dan Oved and the Blue Prairie Dogs, Around the House, The Determined Luddites, Dennis Pepe, Cheryl Craddock, Pete Seidl, String Figures (or any group with Greg Morton or Mark Robertson-Tessi), Howe Gelb, Calexico, Sand Rubies, R. Carlos Nakai, Dan Dorsey, Dean Maier (though he's moved to Albuquerque), Phil Borzillo, Carl Gregory, Chris Gregory, John Holmes, Tom Walbank, Brad and Gail, Bob Log III and Doo Rag (moved to Australia, but I still love him), Molehill Orkestra, Al Perry, Al Foul and the Shakes and many, many more. "God respects me when I work, but loves me when I sing"- Tagore"Music attracts the angels of the universe"- Bob Dylan
I like science fiction and comedy, documentaries and drama. My favorite movies are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Raging Bull, Fantasia, 300, Apocalypse Now, The Natural, King Kong (both), Shaun of the Dead, A Mighty Wind, Napoleon Dynamite, Spinal Tap (or anything by Christopher Guest), any Monty Python (but especially Holy Grail), Wallace and Gromit (and any Aardvark animation), The Princess Bride, Alien and Aliens, Airplane, Some Like it Hot, Grapes of Wrath (book was better), Vertigo, Lord of the Rings, Baron Von Munchhausen, Once Upon a Time in America, Millions, In America, Amelie, Wings of Desire (but NOT the stupid American remake- City of Angels), The Incredibles, Shakespeare in Love, Talk to Her, Roger Rabbit, The Last Waltz, Don't Look Back, No Direction Home, Into the West, Secret of Roan Inish, The Exorcist, Taxi Driver, The Graduate, Pirates of the Carribean (all), Red River, The Searchers, The Quiet Man, The Unforgiven, Triplets of Belleville, Dumbo, Silverado, Prairie Home Companion, Repo Man, The Forbidden Planet, Like Water for Chocolate, Chocolat, first three Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mean Streets, High Noon, Vera Cruz, On the Waterfront, South Park Movie, The Departed, Being John Malkovich, A Fish Called Wanda, Sideways, Being There, Young Frankenstein, Dr. Strangelove, Titus, MacBeth (Olivier), Hamlet (Kevin Kline), Taming of the Shrew, (Taylor and Burton), Giant, Be Here to Love Me (Townes van Zandt documentary), Bananas, Zelig, The Three Burials of Maquiades Estrada, Walk the Line, Finding Neverland, Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou, Treasure of the Sierra Madre.9/22/07 Just saw Once and Stardust. Both are great movies and I give them both big thumbs up!- RobertoMy favorite directors include Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola, Pedro Almodovar, Peter Jackson, Alfred Hitchcock.My favorite actors include Robert Deniro, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Robert Duvall, Christopher Walken, Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Daniel Day Lewis, Johnny Depp, Burt Lancaster, Humphrey Bogart, Laurence Olivier, Gary Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline, Peter Sellars, Henry Fonda, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Orson Welles, Viggo Mortensen, Slim Pickens, James Stewart, Marlon Brando, (more later) .
The Simpsons, PBS (Antique Roadshow, Nova, Mystery, Saturday Night "Brit-coms"), documentaries (especially nature and history) and movies, South Park, don't have cable or there might be more."TV may be bad but bad TV is even worse."- Zerbo BoillengerActually, I prefer playing Second Life online.
I'm an avid reader. I have a degree in English education and a correspondence school diploma in writing for children. My favorite courses in college were in literature- Shakespeare, Sir Gawain and the Green Night, Chaucer, Spenser, Beowulf, novels (Catch 22, Native Son, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.), poetry and the bible as literature.Favorite authors (not in any particular order): James Michener, Ann Rice, Terry Pratchett, Mark Twain, Kahlil Gibran, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Lemony Snickett, Jasper Fforde, Larry McMurtrey, Tom Robbins, Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Heinlein, Richard Brautigan, JK Rowling, Tony Hillerman, Dan Brown, Barbara Kingsolver, William Shakespeare, Arthur C. Clarke, John Steinbeck, Alan Watts, Baba Ram Dass, Dalai Lama, Kinky Friedman, Phillip Pullman, David Eddings, Katherine Kurtz, J.R.R.Tolkein, C.S.Lewis, Walt Whitman, Carl Sandberg, Robert Frost, E.E. Cummings, Allen Ginsberg, Madeline L'Engal, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Don Miguel Ruiz, Herman Hesse, Neale Donald Walsch, Richard Bach, John Kennedy Toole, Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl, John Nichols, Tom Wolfe, Douglas Adams, Sherman Alexie, Richard Wright, Malcolm X, Garrison Keillor, Rumi, Pablo Neruda, David Brin, Neil Gaiman, Hugh Prather, J.D. Salinger, Ken Kesey, George Carlin, Peter Matthiessen, Edward Abbey and A.A.Milne.The two best American writers, past and present? John Steinbeck and Larry McMurtry, respectively. The two best books ever written in the English language? East of Eden and Lonesome Dove, undoubtedly.Have written: 4 vegetarian cookbooks- Flavors of the Southwest, Chili!, Munchie Madness (with two other chefs) and Smoothie Power! Hundreds of newsletter articles, magazine articles and restaurant reviews.Favorite magazines- Rolling Stone, National Geographic, Vegetarian Times, Mother Jones, Entertainment Weekly (I like to keep up with books and movies).
Bob Dylan, Sacajawea, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi, The Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth (but not the fictional Christian icon), Dalai Lama, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, Crazy Horse of the Sioux, Rumi, John Trudell, John Prine, Ernest Shackleton, Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo(still thinking, still adding).