I had mentioned I worked for an underground dining operation. Here are some examples of dishes for which I served as prep cook and/or line cook. All photos by Lorenzo Tassone. Gunthorp duck breast in a vanilla-ponzu marinade, duck heart and celeriac puree, duck cracklin', jus, cherry sauce (continued after the break) Cobia—Creole dry rub, … Continue reading Examples of work
My work
New direction
Something from Bonsoiree. Yes, I know that not giving an excruciatingly detailed description is a mortal sin in the food world, but let's face it: whatever this is will taste better simply because it looks so awesome. I had dinner at Bonsoiree on Thursday. (Creative Commons photo by Flickr's ewwhite) I'm planning to start blogging … Continue reading New direction
Mobile tech + democracy = awesomeness
So I'm in this class called mobile journalism, and we're doing a lot of cool stuff. Liveblogging Arianna Huffington was only the beginning—we've Skype'd with people in Africa and Japan on the same day about how they use their phones, Skype'd with Kevin Thau, a VP of Twitter about (what else?) the future of Twitter, … Continue reading Mobile tech + democracy = awesomeness
Header change
The dining room of Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House, Springfield, Ohio. As was Wright's custom, he designed the furniture in the house as well as the structure. This table with integrated electric lighting was re-created in the early 2000's from Wright's drawings. (Photo by me) I decided to flip the header today, simply because I … Continue reading Header change
Poem my MFA friends are proud of
I'm usually pretty self-conscious about my creative writing. Unless it gets published I usually only share it with good friends. Except with this most recent poem. My friends who have—or are just about to receive—Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing like it. Ergo, here I am, showing you. Scab Scratching Like spread-eagle in snow … Continue reading Poem my MFA friends are proud of
iPad commentary
Ello, love! My article on the iPad for the Columbia Chronicle was just released. Take a look! My audience? Students at my arts and media college in metro Chicago. I also wrote a completely different version for a much older demographic, published in the Wilmington (Ohio) News Journal. See here
Green campaign at my former school
A prefab modular home with LEED Platinum certification. Chicago should have its first Platinum-certified prefab residence in 2011. (Flickr photo from Heather Lucille. CC.) Here are some links to my 2009 project to reduce Cedarville University's environmental impact. I was collaborating with school administration to implement the project when I moved to Chicago to attend … Continue reading Green campaign at my former school
Fridge project, follow me elsewhere
The inside of my fridge, shot with my cell phone. For Mobile Journalism class I'm embarking on a project to photograph my fridge at least 3 times a week. It was inspired by a similar project in Orion Magazine. Find my work at fridge.posterous.com. Also, a warning: I don't often update brandonsmith.com, as you know. … Continue reading Fridge project, follow me elsewhere
Developments: Arianna and iPad
Arianna Huffington, right, has some mobile fun with a Columbia College Chicago student following her student-only conversation with us Wednesday, prior to her official speech. Huffington is the proprietor of Huffington Post, one of the biggest media brands on the Internet. (The photo's by Columbia's PR staff, but if they sue a student for the … Continue reading Developments: Arianna and iPad
xkcd faves
Long live the nerd! Computer engineers played by actors fawn over Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of USB, in this hilarious commercial for Intel. T-minus 18 days until school starts again. Man, I need a job. Otherwise I spend all day, as I have the past few, reading. Thoreau usually tops my list, but this time it's … Continue reading xkcd faves
Speaking of Columbia College…
A screenshot from "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," the most complex and realistic modern battle video game to date. (Creative Commons photo from the Flikr account of bigdigo) Have you heard about the $1.6 million the Pentagon is giving us to develop, essentially, a video game to train infantry? Two media outlets have reported … Continue reading Speaking of Columbia College…
Blog stats
A graph of traffic to this site by month, starting in April 2009. I switched domains from greenletters.wordpress.com to brandonsmith.com in late October, which seems to have helped marginally. The monthly peak was November, with 456 hits. Was reviewing the statistics on this site today, and thought I'd quickly share my findings with you. While … Continue reading Blog stats
Clandestino
Lamb stew with microgreens over a root-vegetable gratin. Lamb by the Carr family, whose Mint Creek Farm is outside Chicago. Cell phone flash by Mariely Santiesteban, Clandestino staff. Photo by Brandon Smith. The end of the semester has been upon me. Super-crunch time. But now it's over until Jan. 20 or so, and I'm happy … Continue reading Clandestino
Jeffrey Hollender, you rock my socks
Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation (Creative Commons photo from the Flickr account of dreamymo) Note: This post is continued from Thursday's post. I suggest you start there. Hollender attended a conference by Business for Social Responsibility and blatantly asked the question, "Will this conference make business more responsible?" It's a good question to ask … Continue reading Jeffrey Hollender, you rock my socks
Pyramid schemes help to alleviate Chicago unemployment
So my second satire piece was published today on The Daily Blank. Once again, I'll repost the entire article here because their license allows it. But check 'em out some time—whether you live in Chicago or not, there's something there for you. Pyramid schemes help to alleviate Chicago unemployment Bars, movie theaters, grocery stores, … Continue reading Pyramid schemes help to alleviate Chicago unemployment
First Daily Blank piece
Today I was published at The Daily Blank, Chicago's only satire site that focuses on local issues. For your enjoyment I'll paste the entire article below, because their licensing allows it. Enjoy! ...And I have one more piece in the queue, so look out. Daley to 'pull an Obama' to fund CPS In two about-face … Continue reading First Daily Blank piece
Whole-tree construction
Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House, built in 1904 in Springfield, Ohio (Photo by Brandon Smith) Here's an update on me: two pieces of mine are sitting in a queue to get onto a local satire site; I'm looking for a writing or researching or restaurant job; I'm waiting for my student loan to come in … Continue reading Whole-tree construction
Grilled cheese-tasting
Goat cheese, fresh basil and tomatoes grilled on sourdough (Creative Commons-licensed photo from the Flickr account of nasunto) Last night I mentioned on Facebook the recipe I usually use for grilled cheese—lots of Jarlesberg, a few dashes of cayenne pepper, multi-grain bread and a slow cooking time following an initial braise. An old friend of … Continue reading Grilled cheese-tasting
Italian torture conviction to have no effect
A demonstration of waterboarding at Coney Island. [Creative Commons-licensed photo from the Flickr account of Salim Virji] The New York Times reported this morning on the conviction of 23 Americans in a case involving the practice of rendition, "in which terrorism suspects are captured in one country and taken for questioning in another, presumably one … Continue reading Italian torture conviction to have no effect
Restaurant dreams
I owe it to you to explain why most of the past couple weeks' posts spoke only of food. I have been thinking of starting an underground restaurant.
Brandon Smith 