The Entrance to the Swap Shop. There’s a drive-in theater, the only one in good repair within several miles that I know about.  Despite the incoming vehicles, it wasn’t uncomfortably crowded.

To market, to market… There was a lot of West Indian food available… Got some curry, but left the gum arabic, cheese balls and spicy dried chick peas for another day. (By the way, the Bin Laden / Gum Arabic connection seems to be false.)  This was my last spot to visit for ingredients for

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Coconut Curry Tofu.

2 bunches green onions
1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chile paste
1 pound firm tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
4 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 cups chopped bok choy
salt to taste

Remove white parts of green onions, and finely chop. Chop greens into 2 inch pieces.

In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, mix coconut milk, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, curry powder, ginger, and chile paste. Bring to a boil.

Stir tofu, tomatoes, yellow pepper, mushrooms, and finely chopped green onions into the skillet. Cover, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in basil and bok choy. Season with salt and remaining soy sauce. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender but crisp. Garnish with remaining green onion.

Makes 6 servings

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Yum… row after row of fresh veggies. Man, pineapple was expensive, though everything else was very reasonable. The row behind this one was fresh flowers. Bright, tropical orchids seem to be the flavor of the day. Prices were good and I was tempted to get some. If I wasn’t limited by two arms to carry, I would’ve picked some up for the office. There was a guy with a grinder for sugarcane juice, but I have no idea how many points that’d be worth on WW.

The folks shopping (as well as selling) were primarily black (generally Haitian) or Hispanic.I don’t know why there are so few white folk shopping for fresh produce…I think it’s so much better than packaged stuff at Publix. You can inspect the food more readily, it’s cheaper, and so many more varieties to choose from. Maybe folks from other countries are more used to open air markets, and city-types aren’t into venturing far from the florescent lighting.

The closer you get to the building proper, there’s a tent city full of sales-folk offering all kinds of wares. Shoes, watches, towels and perfume seemed to take up the largest share. As usual, everything is marked in at least three languages. There was a “martial arts weapon” store, that had a huge sign forbidding sales to anyone under 18… I suspect that anyone over 18 buying a Rambo knife or throwing stars might be more dangerous than any kid doing so.

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After getting past the tents and pushcarts, it was time to enter a region built out of concrete and steel, rather than canvas and wood.

Lit stairs leading up to the arcade, and indoor go-cart track. (electric…but they’re fast.) It was a lot darker, but the camera compensated for me by leaving the shutter open. There was a lot of space inside, but it was cluttered and chaotic. I can only imagine how hard it’d have been on my father, who lacked depth perception. One odd thing about my pop was that he couldn’t appreciate 3-D movies or the Viewmaster I had as a kid.

Seriously… look at this. That’s just a random shot I took because I was shocked by just how convoluted everything was.There were more mirrored columns, neon and little round light bulbs to be found than the South Florida fair. I look forward to hitting the Seminole Casino later on to compare and contrast. I suspect the casino will be a little more “tasteful”, as far as that word can apply to Casino/Circus-type decor.

For comparison – Blues Brothers – taken with flash, regular shutter. I really should reread my manual again to see what cool built-in stuff I’m not using. What I really need is to make a bottle-cap monopod, to help me take steady shots.

Taken with no flash – Shutter auto-opened for compensation. I’ve been seeing Jake a lot lately. Last weekend at Riverwalk in a car, and now up the road. I wonder how many castings of these guys have been made? I’ve heard it said that things come in threes… I wonder where or if he’ll pop up next weekend?

Frozen Band Clowns. Presumably waiting in suspended animation to be batter-fried and served up as carnival food…or maybe to come to life after the building closes down, to hunt lost little kids (or any Coulrophobes left behind to fend for themselves). Why do clowns and machetes go so well together?

I wonder if anyone has used the term coulrophage yet, to describe a clown-eater? I may be the first… it’s not coming up on google, m-w, or anywhere else I’ve chosen to look so far. Considering the root word koulon also means limb, it might be too general. A person who likes drumsticks off the chicken might not like eating Bozo the clown… and vice versa.

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On another note, I’m curious about the Marianist (Society of Mary) beliefs. That’s the doctrine of the school where Danny teaches. I oversimplify, but it seems to me that to most Christians, Mary’s position is sort of secondary to either that of the creator or Jesus. Most versions of Christianity that I know of view Mary seems to be more of a delivery system for Jesus, rather than someone to focus on instead… The Marianists don’t seem to deify her, but instead she is used as an example of how to live in faith.

In my mind, the closest analogy is that of God being a fire-fighter, Mary’s the Bucket, and Jesus is the water. Marianists want people to learn how to be better buckets. (Yeah, that’s much better than my first thought, of a God : policeman, Mary : .38 special, Jesus : Bullet.)

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The Justice League seems to be doing ok with the 30 minute format… I liked the Hawk and Dove episode, and I think that Ditko wouldn’t mind the treatment of the characters. The “Wonder Woman in her civvies” was nice to see, too, but does every gal have to wear belly-shirts? I don’t really mind much, but a little variety would be nice… and cloaked shuttle looks like her transparent plane.

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I didn’t realize that the Hero that’s being released in theaters is the same Hero I’ve had on DVD for over a year. (Thanks for pointing it out, Kevin.) I don’t think it needs to be recut or remixed at all… so I think that I’ll just kick back, and enjoy the original in the comfort of my own home. Thank goodness for the local Chinese market! I honestly thought it was a coincidence in name. So many tales with Hero/Hiro in the title, and I don’t normally follow Miramax Drama.

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Jaws in 30 Seconds (and Re-enacted by bunnies)

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This guy playing doom 3 sounds like some kind of spastic howler monkey. I’m going to feel bad for laughing if it turns out this kid has some sort of mental disorder, instead of just being a Scandinavian. (windows media file, about 7.5 meg)

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The Lj-crush meme makes me nuts. (only because I don’t know who they are, or how they personally define crush.)

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Munch’s `The Scream,’ `Madonna’ Stolen at Oslo Museum

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) — Two Edvard Munch paintings including the masterpiece “The Scream” were stolen at gunpoint from an Oslo museum, the second time in a decade the artist’s work has been taken from the Norwegian capital.

As many as three men took the works from the Munch Museum around 11:10 a.m. local time, said Hilde Walsoe, head of operations with the Oslo police. The thieves threatened a female security guard before leaving with the painting and another titled “Madonna.”

Another version of the famous `Scream” work was stolen from Norway’s national gallery in 1994 during the Winter Olympics. The painting was recovered in three months, after a sting operation including police from Norway and the U.K.

“The Scream has come more and more to be accepted as Edvard Munch’s most significant motif,” according to the Munch Museum’s Web site. The work “depicts the symbol of modern man, for whom god is dead and for whom materialism provides no solace.”

There are five separate versions of “Madonna” painted by Munch between 1893 and 1894. Munch was born in 1863 and died in 1944.

No shots were fired in the theft today. The criminals were last seen leaving in a Black Audi A6, Walsoe said. Police are searching the capital for the suspects.

Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was stolen in Paris in 1911 and lost for two years, according to the British Broadcasting Corp. Other famous art thefts include 20 Van Gogh paintings, worth $10 million each, taken in Amsterdam in 1991, and paintings by Rembrandt and Renoir in Stockholm in 2000.

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Caught up with James Dawsey’s mom online. Apparently, James stays busy working in a Dive shop, and doing his art. Jeremy works for Target (unhappily) and a guitar shop (happily, but only 1 day a week), but is looking to open a “Fantastic, Mystic & Celtic” shop somewhere in Helen, GA, perhaps with James selling his art there, too. I was beginning to wonder, considering that his Shadowchasers site hasn’t been updated in over a year. Dr. D sounds quite happy, now that he’s retired from medicine.