AntSaint

Damnuscript

Writer's Word of the Day: Damnuscript

Damnuscript: Noun. The unsatisfactory pile of shite that mimics a manuscript and represents a damn waste of large amounts of time. Synonyms include: rough draft, bird cage liner, kindling.

Meat: Confessions of a Butcher by John Smith

Ah, meat. So delicious. So versatile. And, oy, so expensive.

If you don't know what to look for.

John Smith (all-about-meat.com) has been there — but on the other side of the counter. He's been the smiling face chopping up chops and selling you cut after cut of often the priciest stuff. But "after 31 years of fleecing the public," he says, tongue in cheek, "I wish to come clean."

And he does. John's slim, 107-page book "Confessions of a Butcher: Eat Steak on a Hamburger Budget and Save $$$" gives you the lowdown not only on different cuts of beef, pork, lamb and poultry, it also explains the cheaper cuts to order instead.

The key to saving on meat purchases at the grocery store or butcher shop is to understand the basics of the different cuts — and what happens once merchandising comes into play. For example, John explains how the humble T-bone steak became so much more:

"The butchers of old would simply grab a short loin (the primal where T-bone steaks come from) and cut T-bone steaks and price them all the same. Then some overachieving butcher came up with the bright idea of calling the first four steaks off the short loin porterhouses instead of T-bones and charging more for them."

I've flipped through John's book numerous times now, and learn something new every time. Above all, though, I've learned how to save at the butcher shop we buy from.

John's book and companion site will be a big help to anyone looking to not only to understand their meat better, but to also understand how to save on meat purchases while still getting quality cuts.

Website: Info on Meat - all-about-meat.com

Book: Meat Savings Book - Confessions Of A Butcher by John Smith

How to Turn Beer Labels into New Beer

As a homebrewer, I often beg for request empty bottles from friends and local bars. While cleaning up and de-labeling a haul from the Bier Stein, an obvious idea hit me:

Read the labels before scraping them off. You just might get ideas for beers you want to drink.

From just one batch of bottles, this simple insight has yielded 6 beers I want to try:

• Double Dragon, Felinfoel Brewery, "The National Ale of Wales"
• Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, "Bavarian style"
• Biere De Miele, Rabbit's Foot Meadery, "Golden Ale Fermented with Honey"
• Paulaner Salvator Double Bock
• Bavarian-Weissbier Hefeweisse
• Diabhal, Rabbit's Foot Meadery

A rack of clean bottles and 6 leads for new beers? Sounds good.

Eugene, Where Has the Poetry Gone?

Eugene has long some renown as a poetry scene. From what I gather the renown is still there, but the scene is more decentralized than it once was. Here are some leads and events you can check into if you're looking for some verse and spoken word here in Eugene (thanks to Serena from the R-G for the tips!):

• Tsunami Books, 25th and willamette. Email Scott Landfield at tsunami1@opusnet.com
• Knight Library, University of Oregon. Check the Oregon Life section in the Register-Guard (in print on Sundays)
• Poetry slam? Word is mixed on poetry slams in Eugene. Check the Eugene Poetry Slam's My Space page for info.

Know of Eugene/Springfield poetry events? Let us know in the comments section below.

New, Larger Pizza Research Institute Opening Soon

The new PRI, on Blair between 5th and 6th, opens soon!

Business: Home | "Pizza eatery expands" | The Register-Guard.

Pizza Research Institute — the non�traditional pizza restaurant with an equally nontraditional business plan — is moving from its longtime home in the Jefferson neighborhood to Whiteaker’s growing retail district. The move on May 1, from 1328 Lawrence St., to 520-530 Blair Blvd., will more than triple the vegan-vegetarian restaurant’s space and seating capacity, owners Will and Usha Boise said.