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chantal's Discussions

A bold new era for Duke City Fix
21 Replies

Started this discussion. Last reply by Julie H. Jul 23, 2012.

Problems with email notifications - it's not you, it's Ning

Started May 24, 2012

Breaking Bad tour of Albuquerque?

Started Nov 30, 2011

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Chantal Forster

Profile Information

Where I Live:: Fringecrest | SE Heights

About Me:: In early 2005, I created Duke City Fix as the evolution of my personal blog, Quirky Burque. In 2012, I sold Duke City Fix to Marketplace Media, a local company.

I love Albuquerque's long history and rough edges -- the chaos, the culture, the hole-in-the-wall eateries. I also love supposedly "bad" neighborhoods and anything off the menu that people call "strange."

In real life, I'm a web architect. I help build teams and create strategy for large scale websites. After hours, I'm a hobbyist beekeeper.

Favorite Thing(s) About Albuquerque:: Alleyway murals, Talin internation market, State Fair, Sandia mountains, Day of the Dead parade

My Website:: http://www.fostermilo.com

Oh yeah, I also keep bees near Nob Hill.

And the brood is on!

Hands down, the best beekeeping book for beginners

Using a stethoscope to “hear” if your bee hive is alive

Deep Freeze: Will my bees survive?

Bee Queen for Halloween

Winter is coming

Fried honeybees on a stick? Bees at the NM State Fair

The Pollen Files: Deploying the Ground Troops

Save Your Wine Corks for the Bees

Meet the Millennium Park Beekeeper, Chicago

More…

Chantal's Blog

Hug a Honeybee, Albuquerque. It's Pollinator Week!

Posted on June 21, 2010 at 7:30am 19 Comments 1 Like

Whether you're a chile farmer or chile lover... Whether you're a backyard gardener or a local fruit connoiseur, this week is for you. It's time to go hug a honeybee for National Pollinator Week.

Councilor O'Malley donned a bee veil last week to learn about local beekeeping efforts and came on down to the hives I manage as a volunteer for… Continue

Dear Reader: Farewell

Posted on November 18, 2008 at 7:00am 68 Comments 1 Like

What a wild unexpected ride it's been! After five years as a local blogger including four at the helm of Duke City Fix, I'm retiring from blogging and officially turning over management of this site to Sophie Martin who's been running things on a day-to-day level for several months now... and swimmingly so.

UPDATE 3/20/2011: Sophie has moved onto other…

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Get your parade on! Día de los Muertos TODAY.

Posted on November 2, 2008 at 8:30am 2 Comments 0 Likes

The Marigold Parade today celebrating Día des Muertos in Albuquerque's South Valley is one of the year's best events. I hope you'll go check it out if you've never been!

The parade begins at 4:00 at Central Familiar and Isleta and continues north on Isleta to the Westside Community Center. The celebration will feature music, food, altars, videos, and mumerous art vendors until 8pm. Free to the public. Suitable for all ages.…

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The Gnome, The Monsignor, and other delights of Albuquerque's Halloween Bike Ride

Posted on November 1, 2008 at 11:00am 4 Comments 0 Likes

Bicycling 11 miles with a wig and face paint is far better if you're not alone. Last night, at least 50 cyclists gathered like a freak show at Triangle Park for a Halloween joy ride through Albuquerque. From Nob Hill to downtown and Old Town, we cruised with only minimal incident -- a lost pink wing, a showdown with a muscle truck. Final stop: Marble… Continue

"Route 66 is Main Street and we don't want this billionaire bailout"

Posted on September 27, 2008 at 1:30pm 19 Comments 0 Likes

People are gathered right now in Albuquerque to protest the Wall Street bailout.

"Route 66 is the Mother Road. Route 66 IS Main Street," a man with a megaphone shouts, "And we don't want this billionaire bailout."…

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In case of scurvy, eat your cactus

Posted on September 24, 2008 at 9:30am 15 Comments 0 Likes

In times of drought and depression, my money's on the prickly pear cactus.

All over Albuquerque right now, vitamin C laden cactus fruit are ripening to a deep eggplant purple. They're called "tuna" or "cactus apple" and they taste like blackberry and melon which, when cooked up with citrus and sugar, taste even better.

I've been experimenting for years with this unusual fruit and here's my favorite recipe, given to me by a… Continue

Mid-week geekery @ O'Niells

Posted on September 17, 2008 at 10:00pm 14 Comments 0 Likes

And here we all thought we were solo. With forty+ devotees, this month's web geeks happy hour was rockin' proof that the web scene in Albuquerque is strong and getting stronger. From hardcore Plone geeks to the inventors of ChessPark, Stupid Filter, and… Continue

Facebook snatches up local web geek

Posted on September 9, 2008 at 11:30am 0 Comments 0 Likes

Oops! By request, this post has been removed to protect the innocent. You'll just have to ponder the possibilities;-)

Winners of Poetry on the Bus

Posted on August 28, 2008 at 3:30pm 7 Comments 0 Likes

Jordan Martinez, with his poem for Poetry on the Bus

Big love to all the winners of this year's Poetry on the Bus program! I just returned minutes ago from the opening reception to share some snapshots with you.

The downtown venue was packed and the scene was groovin'. Apparently poetry events are a prime place to meet people too as I connected with a foxy engineer from Intel who was there to support Jordan (shown… Continue

Zombie Crawl Albuquerque

Posted on August 8, 2008 at 1:31pm 6 Comments 0 Likes

The Alibi posts video from its Nob Hill zombie crawl this past May. Where you there? And who's in for the next… Continue

What does Albuquerque sound like?

Posted on July 9, 2008 at 7:30pm 16 Comments 0 Likes

Baseball and mockingbirds if you ask the FreeSoundProject where I recently downloaded all my ringtones. Surely, we can round out the project database with a few more recordings of fair Burque. You know, local aural phenomena such as:

That Olympia Cafe guy…

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What does Albuquerque taste like?

Posted on July 5, 2008 at 1:30pm 16 Comments 0 Likes

To some it's a chili-laden hot dog from The Dog House. To others, it's anything covered in chopped green from Frontier or a bowl… Continue

Apricot overload in the 'hood

Posted on June 30, 2008 at 10:00am 17 Comments 0 Likes

It's apricot season in Albuquerque. Whether it's you, your neighbor, or your friend, chances are there's an apricot tree in your life laden with overripe fruit this week. Now.

I've tried (and failed) at plenty of canning endeavors. This is the best apricot preserves recipe I've… Continue

Fixed gear madness in Albuquerque

Posted on June 19, 2008 at 8:30am 9 Comments 0 Likes

The lack of gears and brakes is not stopping plenty of Burque kids from enjoying the pleasures of the fixie. Here's a slideshow and story about the fixie craze in Albuquerque put together by a… Continue

Tomás, The BioPark Beekeeper

Posted on June 16, 2008 at 10:00am 5 Comments 0 Likes

If you've ever ridden the zoo train past the BioPark's big red barn, Tomás is the guy in a mesh hat waving at you with a comb of honeybees in his hand.

Back behind the Heritage Farm at the Albuquerque Botanic… Continue

Put your poetry on Albuquerque buses (and win a laptop while you're at it)

Posted on June 16, 2008 at 7:30am 7 Comments 0 Likes

I love poetry. And I love public transportation.

The two are forming a happy union this summer as part of ABQ RIDE's "Poetry on the Bus" program, so the long-time local poet Mikaela Renz-Whitmore and I have decided to support the cause on Duke City Fix.

Are you a poet?

Whether you're published or… Continue

Freak show @ Petroglyph National Monument

Posted on June 14, 2008 at 9:00pm 8 Comments 0 Likes

Of all the freak shows on earth, one of the strangest occurs quite regularly at the Albuquerque Volcanoes. It's the cyclical flux of bugs that make their appearance throughout the Petroglyph National Monument on Albuquerque's west side.

Over numerous hikes at the Albuquerque Volcanoes, I've witnessed oddities such as: giant furry red ants, strange swarms of caterpillars, and ground burrowing… Continue

Who finished the 2008 Albuquerque Century?

Posted on June 9, 2008 at 5:30pm 11 Comments 0 Likes

2wheelz sponsored the bagpipers and dozens of local photographers played witness to New Mexico's biggest urban cycling event this past weekend, The Albuquerque Century.

Were you there? Did you finish? I can't find… Continue

Our Mountain... The Sandias

Posted on June 7, 2008 at 1:30pm 2 Comments 0 Likes

Pink -- Albuquerque Skyline, Snowstorm 2006

Killing time in the airport yesterday, I stumbled upon this stunning video about the Sandias. Pour a cold one, kick back, and meditate on the majesty. Some days, in the fray and the flux, it's hard even to notice their existence.…

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Floating down the Rio Grande

Posted on June 3, 2008 at 12:20pm 17 Comments 0 Likes

As if the Rio Grande's not already swollen. This weekend, hundreds of river-mad people will launch canoes, kayaks, and homemade floating devices as part of the Great Race.

Last weekend before the crowds surged, my friend and I did a bit of river reconnaissance just to, you know, ensure the scene was safe and all.

We put in at Alameda and "put out" (as I mistakenly referred… Continue

Comment Wall (156 comments)

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At 9:44am on December 18, 2011, Douglas Aurand said…: I've got another spammer/scammer

http://www.dukecityfix.com/profiles/comment/list?attachedToType=User&attachedTo=3s24aan5kvi7c&commentId=1233957%3AComment%3A709030&xgsi=1&xg_source=msg_com_profile

At 8:57pm on May 3, 2011, Krista said…: Thanks for the tip and for constantly keeping the Fix fresh and new! One of my favorite websites!

At 5:34am on October 26, 2010, James Harris said…: You had a Launch Party for SRD's book. Are there signed copies IF he was there??

At 2:44pm on August 19, 2010, Benny the Icepick said…: Hey, Beekeeper Lady! Look what I found!

At 5:37pm on August 2, 2010, herk Rodriguez said…: I live in the old town area. I have a small fruit orchard and a couple of acres down by the river. The plums are ready, the peaches are almost ready, apples are further away. I have too much for me. Or if anyone wants or needs the fruit for feed it is available for free. I have commercial grade double wall clear 16mm polycarbonate panels available (by the foot 4 x whatever) for greenhouse application? Herk 907-2713

At 9:42am on June 23, 2010, cc said…: Hi Chantal,
Just saw the Channel 7 youtube version of last night's Channel 7 newscast.

Would you mind me asking you how you arranged it to get on Youtube?
That station and Melissa Montoya have reported on our community mosaic twice, but neither time have they posted the coverage on their website. Their putting it on their website, I have found out the hard way, is the only way you can then link to other places.

Since they didn't post either of their mural segments, we paid 70 bucks to transfer it from video to dvd. Got it all ready to post to Youtube, but then found out that they won't let us because they never posted it to their own site.

Did you ask them from the gitgo to make sure they put it on their website or did you just get lucky?
Thanks for your time.
cc aka cirrelda

At 1:03pm on March 12, 2010, Dianne Valdez said…: Hi Chantal,

I love your name, also my middle daughter's name!! Can you please put me on the 2010 list to get a hive. Thank you, Dianne Valdez 505-304-0195

At 10:16am on March 5, 2010, Benny the Icepick said…: //What should we do for St. Patrick's Day happy hour?//
You imply there's some answer other than "drinking heavily until we puke green."