A Dragon Lives Forever, But Not So Gentle Legends

Today, January 7th, 2025, Peter Yarrow passed away.

Peter had an amazing life, including being the “Peter” in Peter, Paul, and Mary - the folk music group.

As a group and individually, Peter, Paul, and Mary participated in numerous social activism efforts, including marching with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma.

Additionally, and more personally, they wrote one of my favorite songs; Puff, the Magic Dragon.

If you haven’t heard the song, take a few minutes to listen:

Every time, and I mean every single time I hear this song it makes me cry - sometimes even just the thought of it tears me up. No other song or piece of media has this effect on me at all.

The topic of the song always gets to me, and it also reminds me of my childhood as my dad would always sing this song to me. Growing up is hard and reflecting on it is emotional; friends who are no longer friends, “good old times” disappearing seemingly overnight, toys and stuffed animals lost to time…

Movies That Make You Think

These are all movies I have watched recently, from Netflix, that really make you think - about all kinds of things and how they relate to society and even politics/similar things. I highly recommend each of them!

The Discovery

A scientist whose proof of an afterlife caused a rash of suicides forges ahead with his research, while his disapproving son falls for a troubled woman.

I Care A Lot

In this darkly comedic thriller, a scammer exploiting the legal system to defraud older adults targets a woman with dangerous connections.

Anon

In a future where technology has rendered privacy obsolete, a detective investigates a serial assassin who has been deleted from all visual records.

In The Shadow Of The Moon

A Philadelphia detective slowly unravels as he nurses a lifelong obsession with an enigmatic female serial killer whose crimes defy explanation.

Fortune a Day - Recap - Week 1

Here’s my week 1 recap of my Fortune A Day project. I missed a few for New Years, but we have a great collection so far!

To stay on top of these daily, follow Fortune a Day on Bluesky

Making My Pasta Sauce

I recently made my marinara meat sauce. In this post I’ll share the recipe for fun.

I will say a few things first:

1. This is not meant to be traditional in any way, shape or form! If that is what you like, this is not gonna work for you!
2. I love onions. I use more onions than probably any recipe online. You can reduce the amount to your taste if you wish of course.

Ingredients

• 1 - Pound of ground beef (can change out for other ground meat you prefer)
• 2 - Cans of crushed tomato (can use whole peeled tomatoes and manually crush)
• 3 - Large yellow onion
• 2 - Cups of red wine
• 4 - Extra generous tablespoons of minced garlic
• 1 - Teaspoon of oregano (sometimes I use “Italian seasoning”)
• 3 - Tablespoons of salt
• 3 - Tablespoons of pepper
• 5 - Tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 - Tablespoon of crushed red pepper

The process

First thing I always do is chop up my onions:

I like them a bit larger than normal - here they all are all chopped up:

My second step is opening up the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes. This time, I don’t have the absolute best brands — however these will do:

And then pour them into the pan, with 3 tablespoon of olive oil:

At this point, turn on the stove top at the lowest setting, and throw in the 1 cup of red wine:

Next, add in about:

• 2/3rds of the chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of pepper
• 2 generous tablespoons of the minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of oregano

and then stir the sauce.

Keep that burner on and now move onto the ground beef.

• Put your ground beef in a frying pan

• Add in the rest of your:

  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Onions
  • Minced garlic
  • Red wine

Break up the beef and cook until the meat is cooked.

Drain the contents using a strainer and put it into the sauce…

and then stir the meat into the sauce:

I usually leave this cooking, stirring occasionally, for at least another hour after this but it can keep cooking for a while.

This type of meat sauce, in my opinion, goes the best with spaghetti. Normal or thick spaghetti, by the way, not angel hair or thin spaghetti.

Here is the final spaghetti in a bowl with some cheese.