Heck Of A Guy

A pastiche of posts, featuring song, dance, snappy chatter plus notes on prose, poesy, love, lust, life, and beyond

Heck Of A Guy random header image

A Short Subject Before The Next Episode Of The Anjani Chronicles

January 19th, 2008 · No Comments · Anjani Chronicles, Anjani Thomas

Coming Attractions and Special Features from The Anjani Chronicles Director’s Cut

The next episode of The Anjani Chronicles1 requires only a final cut and buffing before it goes online, an event now tentatively scheduled for the first of next week.

In acknowledgment of the long wait between episodes and as an aperitif prior to the publication of the next chapter, today’s post offers a few Anjani factoids that are not recorded elsewhere (or if they have been published, they have escaped my notice). This batch comes from a few of our email exchanges that produced data I don’t expect to use in The Anjani Chronicles.


Cute and Cats


DrHGuy
: A blogger’s note read in part, “They [Leonard Cohen and Anjani] are too cute for words. I wish they’d come over for dinner. I wonder if they like cats.” So, do you like cats? (Puppies? Cockatoos? Lizards? …) … As for “too cute for words,” I must admit that “cute” is not the first characterization that comes to my mind but maybe I’ve overlooked something. Do you, for example, dot your i’s with little hearts?”

Anjani:

We are dog people but we can’t have pets because we travel so much. so we lavish love on Lorca’s two: Nova and Toast. They are nicer than most people and a lot handsomer too.No hearts on the i’s. I’m more wicked than cute … ask Leonard.2

Work Habits

Anjani (written in an extended response to a query on another subject):

I’m a procrastinator. Unlike Leonard, who diligently sits and writes/draws/composes every day, I’ll do anything to avoid work. Then, when the deadline looms — or worse — has passed, I go into a frenzied state of action and if I’m lucky, I pull a rabbit or two out of the hat. It never ceases to amaze me how slothful I am, and how productive only when I need to be.On the other hand, I make a kickass carrot cake and I know my way around a garden3

Church

DrHGuy: Were you raised in a church environment? If so, what kind? Did you sing Campbellite hymns, gospel songs, Gregorian Chant, or whatever in the choir?

Anjani:

Well, sorta. They didn’t attend services themselves but my parents sent us kids to a Presbyterian Sunday school. I loved going because I got to sing my little soprano heart out in the choir.

Tattoos

DrHGuy: Do you have a tattoo. If so, where, what, when … ? If not, would you like one? (Christmas, after all, is just around the corner)

Anjani:

Nope. I’ve never thought of doing it although I once had a dream where there was a line of pyramids and the words HERU OR wrapped around my upper arm. Freaked me out when I woke up. Anyway, I have enough distinguishing marks as it is … like I’ve got absolutely HUGE hands. And my feet are size 9.5 — as big as Leonard’s — that’s why I get to wear his old Loro Piana cashmere slippers.

Veggies and Sweets

DrHGuy: I found a blog written by a guy who is very serious about cooking and very hot on Leonard Cohen so he asked the obvious question, “If Leonard Cohen were a vegetable, which vegetable would he be?”

I’m thinking something on the lines of asparagus, but you, no doubt, have a more interesting response.

Anjani:

Definitely a cabbage. First of all, it looks like a brain. Second, it’s got substantial weight, and when you cut it open it has those labyrinthine channels and layers tightly packed together. His mind is like that, his work is like that. And third, coleslaw is his favorite salad.4

DrHGuy: Extrapolating from the veggie quandary, my next question is, of course, “If Anjani were a candy bar, which candy bar would she be?”

Anjani:

Can I be a piece of cake instead? Because I’m not much of a candy eater but I am very big on cake. All kinds, as long as it is great. I won’t sully my love for it by eating less than great cake. I’d have a tough time choosing between fresh strawberry shortcake with whipped crème or the classic chocolate layer with an ice cold glass of milk. And another thing: I had to give up refined white sugar recently, (and this is more information than you asked for, I know) so ideally it should be made with half the amount of Rapadura sugar and with organic ingredients. But in a pinch, if someone’s mother has made it, I’ll just say a prayer and indulge.

I happen to have the easiest recipe for a shortbread that is so divine I had to stop baking it because I will eat half a batch before I can even think of sharing it. So if I were a cookie it would be this one. And just so you don’t wonder the rest of your life what it is, here ya go:

KICKASS SHORTBREAD
2 c. room temperature butter
2 c. sifted powdered sugar (I cut this to 1 1/4 cup)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2c flour

Cream butter and sugar.
Sift other dry ingredients and add to mixture.
Roll into 1” balls and flatten.
Bake at 325 degrees for 10 min.
Sift powdered sugar over them if you like.

And don’t blame me if you eat them all.

Links to all currently published posts of The Anjani Chronicles can be found at

The Anjani Chronicles – Posts Published


_____________________
  1. As ongoing readers know, the Heck Of A Guy Blog recently began publishing The Anjani Chronicles, a sequence of posts based on the content of my recent interviews with Anjani Thomas (“Anjani” and “Anjani Thomas” are, for the purposes of The Anjani Chronicles and the Heck of a Guy blog, synonymous names), the exquisite singer and keyboardist best known for her Blue Alert CD and her professional and romantic relationships with Leonard Cohen. A comprehensive introduction to The Anjani Chronicles is available at The Anjani Chronicles – Introduction. All published Anjani Chronicles posts can be found by clicking on Anjani Chronicles in the links listed under “Categories.” []
  2. This response was posted as a comment on the original blog, which is, I suspect, too obscure to have been read by many folks. Also, I admit that I had hoped for an answer that would have allowed me write something on the lines of “Anjani and Leonard report that cats are perfectly nice although they prefer pumas or puffer fish.” []
  3. The penchant for procrastination has been described before. As far as I know the carrot cake, kickass or otherwise, has not been []
  4. A portion of this was published in The Leonard Cohen Food Files []

Tags: ·

No Comments so far ↓

Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.