The road

In writing, the road is a symbol for journey, and I've been thinking a lot about journeys lately. A road to Canterbury is what structured Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and the theme extends all the way to the trip to the beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine. It's a framing device, tapping that story-telling subconscious that we all have, that we understand. It's the road in the parable of the Good Samaritan or the path to enlightenment, the symbol of change but also of commitment. I could muse on this all day, but it would be better to read Joseph Campbell.

In short, sometimes you don't know where you're going, you just can see the road to get there, and your job is to just get on the path. Recently, when I interviewed Doug Klesch for Go Triad about his project, 99 Americans, he talked about looking for something, and hoping to find it on the road.

The road frames Klesch's project both literally and creatively, and it extends farther beyond the horizon than he once could even conceive. And if we really commit to the road, all our journeys will take us places that would not even be imaginable at the start. I'll see you on the road ...

Yes, I have a difficult job. No, really

I am running about Charleston, sampling culinary delights. Here are my thoughts from the first day of the BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival:

http://www.charlestonscene.com/news/2011/mar/05/thoughts-first-day-wine-food/

A beautiful day in the neighborhood = barbecue

It's going to be a beautiful weekend in Charleston, and not just because of the weather. The delectable scent of perfectly seasoned barbecue will be wafting from Marion Square, cooked up by pitmaster Jimmy Hagood and his Big Red Rig team.

It's part of the SEWE celebration, and Jimmy's teaching some of his tasty techniques in a new class he's calling "'Cue Camp." I learned all about it for my article in today's Post and Courier, which continues my always tasty journey to write about food. I haven't met a barbecue style I don't like (thank goodness for running shoes!), so I was excited to interview him again. I'd spoken to him a few years ago for a Lowcountry Living profile, and he was just as gracious as ever.

He's already been on the Today show and is featured in this month's Garden & Gun, so catch his camp while you can. I bet he's about to be even more busy than he already is ...

Up next for me -- The BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival. Better go for that run!

Shout out

Thanks for the mention, E-S Guthrie! We'll see you next time in Charleston ...

http://www.esguthrie.com/news/2010/12/18/go-triad-featured-me-for-my-show-with-paleface-at-the-garage.html

Blantant plug for new music

OK -- it's the weepy, cold-for-days time of winter when we're all tired of the gray and the coats and the wind. I know, I know. I live in Charleston, so therefore I should be thankful I'm not having a snow-for-days kind of winter. But, hey, it's still winter. And I'm still tired of it.

Here is the music you need to listen to now. Now, Now (the band). They're from Minnesota, so they understand this whole "winter" concept. And you will want to listen to them even when the weather gets warmer.

I have been fortunate as of late to interview a lot of musicians, and I have heard some wonderful music. But Now, Now is a band I consider a discovery. I didn't know about them, and now I do. And now I listen to them. And they have an album in vinyl (just in case you're interested, Sean).

I know I'm being didactic, but so it is. Read the article, and then, perhaps, give Now, Now a listen.

Some people are just so cool.

You know someone named Billie Feather is going to be cool, even before you ever talk with her. And boy was she was ever. And she was nice. Knowledgeable. Motivated. Oh, and she writes music for and fronts a punk band. So yes, super cool.

Made my job of writing this article for Go Triad easy. Follow the link to listen to some of her tunes. As she says, "there's no indifference in punk."

A worthy new online magazine

You gotta love a southern food magazine if its name is OKRA. And this one is.

Launched by the Southern Food and Beverage Museum last month, OKRA is an online magazine that explores the bood, beverage and related culture of the American South. I am truly honored to be included in the first issue, which is an ambitious jump out of the gate by editor Stephanie Carter.

Read my interview with cookbook author Holly Herrick, and spend some time clicking around the magazine. There are vintage menus, discussions of libations and much more to woo you away from work on a dreary winter's afternoon.




Look for me again in OKRA in the coming months -- I am sending more ideas Carter's way and hope she likes what she reads!