Mental Brew

Cooking with Coolio - My New Favorite Show

2009-08-20T01:17:00.007-05:00

So, I went to the Iowa State Fair on Monday, and Coolio was playing on one of the free stages. Yes, that Coolio. Interestingly enough, the theatre I'm working at now performed one of their kids shows on the same stage earlier that afternoon. So you had this at 1:

And this around 9:

And yes, the stage does say "Ridiculously High Standards" on it.

But thrilled as we all were to hear Gangsta's Paradise, there was one question on everyone's mind - Coolio is playing the free stage at the Iowa State Fair? Huh?

Well, my favorite cross-dressing cow seemed to stumble upon the answer for us - Tommy discovered that Coolio is coming out with a cookbook. Not only that, but he's been hosting his own cooking show - Cooking with Coolio - online.

So here, friends, is what is labeled "Cooking With Coolio #1 - Coolio Caprese Salad. I dare you to not be enthralled, because I certainly was. In fact, my words fail me right about here.

I can't even decide what my favorite part of this is. The repetition of the ingredients behind him, the packets he carries his salt, pepper and herbs in, the catch phrases, the massive knife he uses, or the fact that I totally want to eat that salad.

Shaka Zulu, indeed, Coolio. Now please excuse me while I go watch Cooking with Coolio #2 - Coolio Fork Steak and pre-order my book on Amazon.

You call that a zucchini?

2009-06-12T18:07:00.003-05:00

People, I have grown the Biggest. Zucchini. Ever. Seriously. It is bigger than a bottle of beer! Bigger than my shoe! Bigger than a breadbox! (Assuming said bread box is under 13 inches long.) And what are my gardening secrets, you ask? How did I grow such a mammoth zucchini? Good topsoil, some compost, a nice spot, and lots of positive thinking. From inside the house. I weeded twice, which did about nothing. Sometimes I remembered to water the plants when it didn't rain for a few days. And when the Big Daddy Zucchini was just a baby zucchini, I looked at it and said "awwww." I guess that was all the motivation it needed.

I didn't even know that my zucchini were ready for harvest, but I walked by my little garden patch today and wham! There it was. Now, I don't know if a zucchini that big is still good eats or if I let it grow too long. It feels like a fine zucchini. But if anyone out there does know about these things, I'd appreciate your input. Also, your zucchini recipes, because that was just my first one and I have three zucchini plants.

Baby's First 5K

2009-03-24T01:00:00.008-05:00

I know all (three) of you have been waiting breathlessly to hear about the 5K. So, let me explain...no, let me sum up - it was totally awesome.

Okay, first of all, check out all the free stuff I got in the pre-race package:

Yeah, that's right, I got free socks! No one else I have consulted with who have previously run marathons (Tafee and Will) have EVER gotten free socks! Plus my free shirt is all green and shamrocky, plus it's TECHNICAL and MOISTURE WICKING. And little sample packets of icy-hot and sunscreen. Plus some coupons for area merchants. But mostly, FREE SOCKS.

The morning of the race dawned, no, wait, we were totally up pre-freaking-dawn because they plan these races for un-Godly hours. So the race day pre-dawned cold and raining. It was somewhere between 40 degrees and 45. And did I mention it was raining? So we both dressed in layers.

Look, I'm all ready to go!

So we eat our piece of bread with peanut butter (it's Tafee's pre-race ritual) and walk down to the center of Atlantic Station, where everyone is meeting in the underground parking garage because of the rain. The rain! There were all sorts of fellow crazy people jogging around, warming up, stretching. Plus kids and parents with strollers and dogs and men in kilts, which is really how all 5Ks should be, in my opinion. Plus tables full of bananas and bagels for when we were done! And an Irish band setting up. And then it was time to start.

The run itself was, well, cold and wet and had a distinct lack of running on my part. I mean, yeah, I broke out into a jog here and there, but there was a kid that completely out paced me. My outer pair of pants (I was wearing two) were cotton and too long for me and got completely soaked at the bottom, so much so that one leg ended up completely engulfing my shoe. So about half way through, when I was warmer and the rain had lessened up a bit, I pulled over to the side to strip my pants off, getting a joking admonishment from the nearby traffic cop. Yes, I stripped in the middle of my first 5K. That's how I roll.

I have to give a big ol' thanks to the water station people, who not only gave us water, but constant encouragement, and there was a group of people with cowbells cheering us on! 'Cause we all got a fever for some more cowbell in our lives!

I ended up finishing 416 out of 494, with a total time of 45:02 and a pace time of 14:32, which was exactly where I wanted to be, so I was happy. And not only did I get my free banana afterwards, but:
That's right! A free Waffle House water bottle! Damn, free socks AND a Waffle House water bottle?! Best. 5K. Ever.

And here is the obligatory action shot (pre-pants stripping)
We're looking to run another 5K in St. Louis in April!

This dream is up for interpretation

2009-03-12T12:51:00.004-05:00

I had a rough night sleeping last night. It seemed that the first four hours were spent almost falling asleep, having some brief disturbing dream, and waking up. Then, when I finally did fall asleep for reals, this is what I dreamt:

I'm downstairs at some restaurant and about to leave to meet my ride upstairs, when who should I almost literally bump into but B-Side! Having obsessed about him as he obsessed about celebrities, I recognize him immediately, despite the fact that he had frosted his hair and looked like the love child of Jay Manuel and Susan Powter. You know, if they were the the last people on Earth. And got really drunk. And used artificial insemination. Anyway:
+

=

(Sorry, my photoshop skills are rudimentary at best, but I couldn't allow this image* to live in my head alone. And my apologies, B-Side, for taking liberties with the color/pattern of your wall, but I had to make the hair show up! (Because if you google your name as much as I hope you do, you may actually read this post some day.))

Anyway, I immediately gasp and say "you're B-Side!" And he sneers at me. Yup, SNEERS. One would hope he wouldn't actually do that in real life, but maybe I caught him on an off day. So he sits down at a table with his friends and ignores me, and because I'm overwhelmed but not wanting to be too obnoxious, I tell him how much I love him and that I'm sorry to have bothered him and I will take my leave. But then one of his friends (who looked a lot like Seth Green, but wasn't actually Seth Green) starts asking me questions and basically invites me to hang out and join them. (B-Side doesn't appear too pleased by this development. What up, Dream B-Side? You don't know me! Maybe I'm that friend you always longed for in your heart but didn't realize why your life felt so empty.) And though I long to, I explain that I was actually about to leave on a tour and the bus was waiting upstairs for me. And then I say "I can't believe I've been here for three months, hoping to see you, and I run into you on my last day here!" And where was the "here" that for some reason not only was I spending three months there but the B-Side was supposed to be for a length of time also?

New Jersey.

Yeah, I definitely don't get that part, either.

*For those of you only reading this as an imported note in the Facebook, you can see the pics if you visit my blog proper. Plus then it would give StatCounter something to log other than people clicking pictures of marmots.

Countdown to the 5K

2009-03-11T22:15:00.004-05:00

Okay, peeps, my Very First 5K is in 4 days! I'm very excited and slightly nervous. Tomorrow Tafee and I are going to pick up our event packets which will include a Technical Moisture Wicking t-shirt! I am quite excited by that. I'm also excited about carbing up the night before the run, although Tafee has already vetoed my plan, which included several Krispy Kreme donuts. (sad horns) And to allay some of my nervousness, I looked up the results from last year to make sure I wouldn't be THE slowest runner there. It looks hopeful for me that I might finish ahead of some of the 10 year olds!

I have discovered in the past couple of days that visualization does nothing for me - trying to amp myself up to run by picturing myself running only makes me tired and want to skip to the after-run refreshment. And imagining Others right behind me does not help me sprint the last 20 feet before the corner. Yesterday when I ran, it was really hot and sunny, and so I ran a little slower than usual and not as far as I have before, which meant I got no encouragement from either Lance Armstrong or Joan Benoit Samuelson on my iPod. It was pretty disappointing. But I did pass one lady who said something to me that I couldn't make out (as I had my tunes on, like you do) but I imagined it was something to the effect of "you're running so well!" (Though it was more likely "crazy white girl, put on some sunscreen!") So, dear readers, do me one favor, and if you're out and about on your errands, and you see someone jogging past, be sure to smile and maybe say "you're doing great!" to them. Even if they can't hear you over their iPod, it will brighten their entire workout.

I've become one of Those people

2009-03-02T15:50:00.005-06:00

Let me start by saying that I love graphs. Graphs, charts, spreadsheets...templates get me all a twitter! I'm a stage manager, I organize, it's what I do. True, I mostly use spreadsheets and templates, not much call for graphing in my line of business, but there is a time in everyone's life where a good graph just puts things into perspective.

So that's what this is all about, really, the graphs.

Okay, I've starting Running. Or, at this early point, walking a lot and occasionally breaking into a jog for a short period of time before slowing down and gasping a lot. I've always been in the "you should never run unless you're being chased by a psycho" school of thought, but I've been lured over to the dark side. Because of a graph.

This all began with the Nike+iPod thingamajig. See, it tracks your runs, gives you encouragement via the voices of Lance Armstrong and other athletes, and then logs onto the Nike+ website for you and GRAPHS YOUR RUNS! In fact, you may now see my graphs as well, over to the right there.

The downside is, like all runners will tell you, it is actually addictive. I'm actually enjoying the being outside and running part (gag) now! And, with the help and encouragement of one of my actresses, I'm training for a 5K in Atlanta in March. (It's the ShamROCK N ROLL 5K. I'm hoping they'll have Guinness at the finish line.)

Anyway, for those of you interested, the Nike+ thing is pretty freaking awesome. I don't have Nike+ shoes, but I did get a little pouch to attach to my shoelaces from target.com. I've even figured out how to listen to podcasts during my runs instead of music.

And though all this running nonsense initially started while I was in Fort Lauderdale (and who doesn't want to be outside when it's sunny and 70 degrees in January?!) today I found myself jogging in Atlanta with the temperature in the 30's and ice on portions of the sidewalk.

I hope you'll be understanding, and that we can still be friends.

Yays and Nays

2008-11-19T23:23:00.005-06:00

It's kind of like my "thoughts on a whatever night" except I'm sober!

Yay to Will Smith, who made a personal appearance at the free advance screening of Seven Pounds I got to go to tonight (yay Tom Clyde!) Will Smith spent a lot of time shaking hands, signing autographs and high-fiving in the crowd, which is very cool. They had the St. Louis Food Bank there, and he made a big point of encouraging people to help their neighbors out. Plus he was funny and seemed nice. And the movie was really not bad. A little schmaltzy, but not too much so, and it kind of makes you concentrate, they didn't dumb it down or spell things out overmuch for most of the movie. I felt a little Eternal Sunshiney at the beginning, but I enjoyed it. (on a side note, spellcheck totally accepts "schmaltzy.") And Will really showed off his acting skills. He wasn't entirely sympathetic for the whole movie, which I appreciated. I probably wouldn't have bought a ticket to it on my own, but it was worth a cold night out. Oh, and they used a Nick Drake song in the movie!

Nay to the stupid teenage girls that sat next to me in the movie. First of all, there were two empty seats in the row in front of me, but they decided to share a seat next to me instead. Which meant that one of them invaded my personal space and kept elbowing me. They had no idea what was going on for a long time, and had no qualms in saying so. Several times. And then the second the movie showed Will shirtless, even though you could only see down to his collar bone, they pointed at the screen and made groaning noises. They also loudly slurped their empty soda cup, and "head banged" with one song in the movie, making my seat shake. I felt like B-Side at a Big Brother experience. Ridiculous.

Yay to me for bowling a 198 this week! It's my highest score ever. My delight was slightly tempered by knowing that I was 2 little pins away from bowling a 200, but I managed to enjoy it nontheless. Especially because now I get to be on the leader board of our bowling league! And yay to Will for buying me a beer to celebrate.

And a big ol' nay NAY to Bennigan's and the American people for letting Bennigan's fall into a state where they had to declare bankruptcy. People, where else do you expect to get your Monte Cristo sandwiches? I'm pretty sure that is the manna from heaven that God rained upon the Israelites in the desert. Shame on you, America!

Finally, the biggest of all Yays for Top Chef being back and Daddy Tom being back on my tv.

That's what I'm talking about.

the most adorable thing i've ever seen

2008-09-07T02:04:00.003-05:00

courtesy floridapfe's flicker site

It is a baby Fennec fox, which is a small fox that lives in the Sahara Desert, AND it is considered the only species of fox that can be kept as a pet. Which translates into - I totally want one! And Wikipedia says there is an established community of owners and breeders in the US. Hey, my birthday is coming up...

If you must see Mama Mia

2008-08-27T22:25:00.003-05:00

be sure to bring along your iPod, so that every time Pierce Brosnan opens his mouth to sing, you can protect yourself.

Seriously, love Pierce, love my Remington Steele, but man should not be allowed to sing. Ever.

As Sean has been saying since he saw the movie "that's the best they could make him sound. After all the time and technology they had in the studio, that's the best they could do." And yet I went to the movie anyway, thinking "it can't be that bad!"

It was.

Letter to the London Olympic Committee

2008-08-10T02:42:00.002-05:00

Dear London 2012 Olympic Committee,

It is obvious from the Beijing Opening Games that the gauntlet has been thrown down and you are screwed, unless you do a "sun never sets on the British Empire" theme and steal other country's heritages. Thus, I have some suggestions for your opening games.

1. Dancing Stonehenge. Ala Dr. Who and the Stones of Blood, I'm thinking some human sized sponge-like creatures who throb with an inner red pulse and, well, dance.

2. Copious beer drinking and pub songs. Lucky you have some Irish and Scottish claim, for they have some great drinking songs! One whole program can be inspired from Robert Burns' John Barleycorn poem. Dancing sheaves of wheat? Go for it! I've done an interpretive dance for far less.

3. Go Green. It's all the rage, and it means you can scale things down, way down, and then say "it's for the environment!" Who can possibly criticize that?

Good luck, London! I'll keep you updated if any other brilliant ideas hit me! A "thank you" is all I ask. And a nominal fee. In Olympic terms.

Love,
Emily

P.S. - To Russia,
Next year, don't steal Hungary's dresses to make shirts out of and perform The Music Man in. Not really Opening Ceremony appropriate.

VPL? VPP!

2008-07-26T19:08:00.002-05:00

Visible Panty Lines have been quite the fashion faux paus since the popularity of tight pants. But ladies, I can do you one better. Today I saw a Villiage Person's Package. All too uncomfortably close and in living color. We went to see Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Sondheim Center in Fairfield, with the original Cowboy Villiage Person Randy Jones as the Pharoah. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, the Pharoah is portrayed as Elvis. So Randy was done up in the quintessential white jumpsuit. In boxer briefs underneath. And no support whatsoever. As one of my theatre going companions put it - "you could clearly see he is uncircumsized." I don't know from that, but it was incredibly distracting. And disturbing. Added to that the she-man intern who was "Cher" for the "Go-go-go Joseph" number, and I'm having nightmares for the next week.

The phrase for the week? Dance belt. Dance belt!

a house divided

2008-06-25T03:24:00.002-05:00

I'm living in theatre housing right now that is pretty much divided along two lines - the cheerful, positive, friendly line versus the bitter, angry, unfriendly, isolationist line. And honestly, I can fit into either camp well. I have my moments of both, and don't begrudge either camp their moments at all. Depending on what moment you get me, I'm either "this glass is half full!" or "get your fucking hands away from my glass, asshole." The problem is, while the cheerful half doesn't seem to mind me mixing with the other half, the angry half definitely seems to hold it against me that I don't mind the happy half. But I'm not satisfied eschewing either half, because sometimes I need to be full of angst, and sometimes I need you to quit your bitching. So it's a little damned if I do, damned if I don't, which seems rather fitting with both halves, but leaves me, well, damned. And to think that I actually thought I left this ridiculousness behind me in college. Oh theatre, why are you so full of drama?

ps to those thoughts

2008-06-17T02:13:00.002-05:00

I love Designing Women. And it was nothing after Delta Burke left. NOTHING.

thoughts on a Monday night

2008-06-17T02:05:00.003-05:00

My doctor has today confirmed that I am, indeed, allergic to the state of Iowa.

The song on Bones tonight, where the car is blowing up, I will always associate with Trainspotting. I love that movie. "It's such a perfect day..."

I was going to review Bohemian Highway Cabernet Sauvignon, but that was two bottles ago, and all I can say is that it's light and slightly fruity, but not too fruity. What kind of fruit, I cannot say. But it was good!

Now we're on Tapena Tempranillo (it's Spanish.) It's spicy, but not too bold. And also slightly sweet, but not too sweet. I get black cherries. And it goes down very smoothly. Yes, I might be a wee bit tipsy right now, but I highly recommend it. Thanks, Schnucks Wine Guy!

Gerard Butler is seriously attractive.

Seriously, look at that. He may pick shitty movies, but he is actually very talented. And very, very attractive. (But his talent does make him more attractive. Except for that one really, really shitty movie he was in. Yes, Shattered, I'm talking to you.)

Whole Foods should charge a tax on anyone who drives an SUV to the store. Doesn't that just seem wrong? Although it does make me totally feel hippier than thou in my tiny high mileage Fit.

Whole Foods carries St. Andre Triple Cream Brie cheaper than your regular grocery store. Worth the trip, seriously. Also, you can get Wensleydale with cranberries. I love cheese.

This flood in Iowa is seriously cramping my Netflix style. Mama needs her DVDs.

Omg, seriously, I believe that red grapefruit juice lowers your cholesterol. I'm too lazy to link to the real studies right now, but Google it, you will see. My cholesterol dropped 31 points and all I changed was I started eating oatmeal in the mornings and drinking grapefruit juice. And it didn't even raise my blood sugar. 100% grapefruit juice, by the way, no sugar added. And it was raisin, walnut and date oatmeal. Made with 1% milk. It's actually yummy.

Hey, Dave? Thanks for being a close friend even though I'm a really shitty friend sometimes. You are totally Shupershtore.

I am so glad I'm not in Iowa right now.

Stan Winston, we salute thee

2008-06-16T18:23:00.002-05:00

Stan Winston, creator of the creatures from Alien, Predator, Terminator, Jurassic Park and Congo passed away yesterday. I admired the man greatly, and not just because he had a hand in The Star Wars Holiday Special, but also because he went to UVA. The first Virginia Film Festival that I took part in had Stan Winston as a guest, and I will never forget sitting up in the booth and watching him introduce a movie. He talked about how he used the scare the crap out of his kids when they were little, because he would test his creations on them.

Interesting Wikipedia fact - Stan Winston was the second special effects artist to receive a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. (Dennis Muren was the first. Shout out for the original Battlestar Galactica and Willow!)

And...What the heck?! Are you freaking kidding me?! Stan Winston sculpting the head of Davros of the Daleks from Doctor Who?! My first and all time favorite science fiction television show?! Are there even enough question marks and exclamation points in the world to express the awesomeness of this?!

So Stan, I raise my glass to you. Thanks for all the nightmares!

um, what, Netflix?

2008-06-08T02:28:00.004-05:00

I love my Netflix. And usually, when I add one thing to my Netflix, I will spend the next many minutes following it from suggestion to suggestion and adding several other things to my Netflix. Sometimes, it suggests things that I've already seen and I go ahead and rate them accordingly. Sometimes, I log onto the Netflix just to rate things! I love the entire process. But it threw me for a loop tonight. Because I loved Amadeus, Fargo and Moonstruck, it thinks I will love To Kill a Mockingbird.

Um, how does that logic go?

Yes, I do love to Kill a Mockingbird. My all time favorite book and one of my favorite movies, yes. Stuck on a desert island? Give me Mockingbird! In fact, that book inspired by adolescent short stories, my desire to write, and my fascination with Southern Gothic anything. But to follow Fargo and Moonstruck there? I'm a bit confused. Moonstruck is a romantic comedy. Yeah, it has dark moments, why do you think I love it? But Mockingbird - there ain't no romantic comedy there. Amusing moments, yes, but Atticus and Miss Maudie don't bump into each other fighting over a taxi cab and follow it up with dinner, do they? And Fargo? Fargo is, well...it isn't related to Mockingbird in any sense. Boo Radley never chopped anyone up in the wood chipper, now, did he?

Here's the thing, though - their logic doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but they are right. I DO love me some To Kill a Mockingbird.

Oh, you!! (insert wagging my finger at Netflix in a bemused manner.)

Dave made my day

2008-06-06T00:25:00.002-05:00

Technically, Dave made my day yesterday. Yesterday was a long, not so great day. And while I am not prone to watching you tube videos, even when sent to me by reliable sources, when Dave says "hammock up!" and sends you this, you go.

The first time I was introduced to the Bananaphone song, it was sung by little cartoon critters. Little skunks or gophers or something. Marmots, mayhaps. Anyhoo, Dave knows how much I love the bananas. They are natural antidepressants, they help relieve muscle soreness if you eat them before or after working out, they help prevent charlie horses, and they help lower your blood pressure. Plus they are yellow. And, let's face it, phallic. Anyhow, love bananas, love the song. And apparently avid you tubers have placed many a video to this song. There are at least two Harry Potter versions, one of which is awesome just because they have Dumbledore going "boop boop be doop."

But thank you, Dave. Not least of all because I am in the Middle-of-nowhere, Iowa and have no air conditioning at the moment. I needed that.

best google ever

2008-05-27T23:25:00.002-05:00

Beth is clearly the Google queen of Blogger, but I've gotten my fair share of hits from the Google. (By the way, spell check on Blogger takes capitalized Google but not lower case Google. Clever spell check...) Most of my hits are from the Rojo Mojo wine review or my multiple Gordon Ramsey posts, and I've gotten a few random Monk hits, but that's pretty much it. Surprisingly enough, no chicken pot pie Googles, go figure. And I clearly don't post enough on cheese! But I digress. Thanks to Beth and the good folks at Stat Counter, I got my best Google hit ever today. "Marmots human killers." Now, as I said, marmots may have carried the Black Plague, but, awww, they're so chubby and cute! Anyway, my "marmots human killer" Googler, I hope you found what you were looking for. And feel free to use me as a citation on your term paper.

To Jude

2008-05-17T03:32:00.004-05:00

Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you...

I love that song. Time After Time. The summer before I was a freshman in high school, my family moved to a new city in a new state. And Strictly Ballroom came out in theatres, and my mother was kind enough to take me. From that first scene, with the ballroom dancing and the interviews, I thought, "I love this movie. And my mother is not enjoying this." My mother did end up enjoying the movie (just not the beginning,) and I of course ended up loving it. To the point that it is One of my Favorite Movies of All Time. And, of course, I love the scene where Time After Time plays, and Scott takes off Fran's glasses and Scott's dad dances. (the "all girls are more attractive after you take their glasses off" post is for another time.)

One of the first CDs I was given was the Strictly Ballroom CD, courtesy of my sister. Freshman year of college, my friend Pete would sing Time After Time to me. I loved Pete, as a dear, dear friend. And that song, however it was meant at the time, took on a new meaning for me, as he went off for his Mission the following year.

And then, then there was Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. And, in the dream ballet of every plain girl or gay boy in high school, there was the awesome dance sequence at the reunion to Time After Time. That movie means a lot to me. Mainly because some of my friends love it as much as I do, but also because, hello, I was Romy. Or Michelle.

Anyway, I love that song. That song means a lot to me. A lot of memories, a lot of happiness, of feelings of happiness. But also, that song is what my best friends mean to me. "If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me; time after time." It goes both ways. To my friends who are patient enough to last through the dry spells with me, I am always yours. "If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting; time after time." I've had friends catch me in my free fall too many times to not feel that lyric deep within. And I want to be the one who catches them.

And "the drum beats out of time" belongs with one of my posts about lyrics about rhyming and how deeply they resonate with me. But that's a post for another time...

But it's a rare while when an entire song hits me where I say "Yes. I identify with this." Time After Time, stereotypical and retro as it may be, is one.

Suitcases of memories...

the road taken

2008-05-13T22:41:00.001-05:00

two roads diverged in the iowa night, and i
i took the one that lay straight ahead.
and had to sit at the railroad tracks for five minutes to let the train pass by.

Making the Impossible Possible

2008-05-05T01:52:00.002-05:00

You think that there's no way you can love Chef Tom Collichio more. You think there's no way Chef Tom can be hotter.

But then the geniuses at Top Chef throw children into the mix. And if you realize that a regular man becomes 10 times more attractive when he is being adorable with a child, then you must realize that now Daddy Tom almost makes my heart explode with his awesomeness.

I mean, he asked a little girl if she made the onions sweat by putting them on a treadmill! Adorable chef humor!

Oh, Daddy Tom. You make my onions sweat just by looking at them.

Iowa is fubar

2008-04-14T18:30:00.002-05:00

March 28th - Snow flurries.

April 5th - Gorgeous day, sunny, had to open the window at the rehearsal hall.

April 8th - Snow flurries.

April 10th - Tornadoes!

April 12th - Snow flurries. SNOW FLURRIES.

Today - Gorgeous. Open windows. T-shirt.

And I keep seeing, on the eight tv channels we have, commercials for AT&T. More bars anywhere. Except Iowa.

Hello, lovah

2008-04-05T17:43:00.006-05:00

For all you fellow shirtless Gordon Ramsay fans out there.

Thoughts on a Friday night

2008-04-05T00:24:00.005-05:00

1. I am so naming my first baby after Gordon Ramsay. If it's a girl, we'll call her Gordie.

2. I wonder how much money I could get if I auctioned my name on eBay.

3. I am currently working in the Middle-of-nowhere, Iowa. Near where the baseball field from Field of Dreams is. Which raises the question - what's more scary - the children or Ray Liotta in the corn?

4. Pshaw.

5. I lied on Beth's blog. My panties are only 94% cotton. 6% spandex. And damn comfortable, thankyouverymuch.

6. Hold on, gotta pee.

7. Holy cow, reduced fat Cheez-Its are good when drunk.

8. American Kitchen Nightmares is lamer than Real Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon, why you no yell so much? Viewer discretion so not needed!

9. It's okay, I will still name my first child after him.

10. Super Target is my new favorite store.

11. And apparently Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon is awesome wine.

12. Willy nilly!

13. Yes, it's still funny.

14. Oh my gosh, Beth/Wahooty is one of my favorite people in the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD. That include Gordon Ramsay. (I had to say "one of" because of my boyfriend.) She completes me.

15. I am totally the inspiration.

16. "I was thinking about Cheyenne's legs and then a fork fell on the floor." - Sara Bickwheat

I am a marmot

2008-03-30T02:20:00.004-05:00

Wahooty and I decided tonight that I'm a marmot. A rodent, a "ground squirrel," but with a cuter name. See how adorable:
It all started because of my sleep cycle. As it gets later at night, I get more awake, so Wahooty suggested I might be a rodent of some type. I started to protest, but then agreed because I do like to nest. Plus I like cheese. And they hibernate, which I totally would, if I didn't have to have a job and earn money and watch TV. Marmots eat mostly greens, and I like greens. We couldn't think of many super-hero powers I would have as a marmot, except that my voice can get pretty shrill when I'm excited, so possibly I could temporarily deafen (or at least startle) my enemies. And Wahooty said that I could wiggle my nose cutely and charm men. We're ground dwelling creatures, though, so we don't fly. I'd make a good super-hero on The Tick, with my limited abilities. Emmarmot, Wahooty named me.

Wikipedia says that some historians believe that marmots, rather than rats, were the primary carriers of the Bubonic plague, which makes marmots second to mosquitoes as human killers. Always the bridesmaid...

They are of the tribe "Marmotini," which I think would be vodka mixed with some elderflower syrup and shaken with ice.

And if this isn't me after eating dinner and settling down to watch some Gordon Ramsay, I don't know what is.

Marmots totally love Gordon Ramsay.

Cats Eating Things

2008-03-07T12:38:00.002-06:00

Cat Eating Corn on the Cob

Cat Eating a Melon

Cat Eating Lettuce

Cat Eating Pancakes

Cat Eating a Banana

My cat won't even eat tuna half the time. Maybe I should make her fruit salad, instead.

How do I love thee, Gordon Ramsay?

2008-02-27T21:09:00.007-06:00

I caught my inside-my-head voice speaking like Gordon Ramsay today while I was looking for an envelope. I've been watching a lot of the BBC's Kitchen Nightmares since I discovered the joys of the Gordon Ramsay a couple of months ago, so it's understandable that my inundated brain is getting a bit...enamoured. But how could I not love Gordon Ramsay? Let us count the ways...

1. Gordon Ramsay takes his shirt off in every episode of Kitchen Nightmares that I've ever seen. Sure, he has to change into his chef's jacket (with apparently no undershirt,) but he makes sure the camera gets a nice shot of his bare chest while doing so. The funny thing is, though, that on one episode, he changed into his chef's jacket twice, but the second time, we got no chest shot. It's like during the Dick Van Dyke show and Mary Tyler Moore was only allowed to wear her tight pants once every episode so as not to offend the censors.

2. Gordon Ramsay encourages young chefs. The Boyfriend and I always joke about his boy crush for each episode, because he does tend to take a young man (or "big boy") under his wing, so to speak. And there is often hair ruffling and and horseplay and a little winkwinknudgenudge going on. But, although Gordon doesn't hold back when listing their faults, he also gives them chances to show their stuff and plenty of encouragement when he thinks they have promise. And he hardly ever poaches them from the restaurant. Hey, he apologized for that!

3. Gordon Ramsay is not afraid to carry a fat french woman into the ocean whilst he is fully clothed.

4. Gordon Ramsay knows that there is no #4.

5. Gordon Ramsay looks adorable with baby sheep. And then he makes them delicious.

6. Gordon Ramsay doesn't bullshit. You know he revels in a good fight (and I'm not ashamed to admit that it gets me kind of hot when he gets into a shouting match,) and he doesn't pull any punches, but he makes good points, and he takes pleasure in things going well. I always root for the restaurant to turn things around, because it really makes me happy when Gordon goes back and enjoys his meal. He gets a big smile on his face and congratulates everyone. Hey, the fighting and insulting makes for great tv, but the pride makes for warm and fuzzy tv, and then we all win.

7. Gordon Ramsay promotes local products. Local produce, local seafood, local meats. It's not just a good marketing plan and a cost saving deal for the restaurant, and it doesn't just help the local community, it helps the whole PLANET. That's right, Gordon Ramsay loves our planet. Gordon Ramsay and Phillipe Cousteau. Mmm...Phillipe Cousteau...

8. Gordon Ramsay makes me want to run a restaurant. And he makes me think I can do it. I can't, of course, let's not be ridiculous. But I look at some of those idiots and think, hell, I can do better than that. I can at least make creme brulee that doesn't look like baby vomit. That's all I'm sayin'.

Yes, I love me some Gordon Ramsay I only regret that it took me so long to discover this love. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have three seasons of Hell's Kitchen to catch up on.

Childhood Heroes

2008-02-25T22:16:00.003-06:00

For as long as I can remember, Ozzie Smith has been one of my all-time biggest heroes. When I was a child, my favorite day of baseball season was Opening Day, when Ozzie would do his trademark backflip when he took the field. I'm still bitter about the day in middle school that my mother did not let me skip class to meet Ozzie at the sports store he was signing autographs at during school hours. And I still have the piece of paper I did finally get his autograph on at a game the next year. For most of my pre-adolescent and adolescent years, I had a poster of Ozzie hanging above my bed. I collected every card I could find of him, especially one special purchase of his Padres rookie card. And I still have them all. And of course I read his auto-biography! And this is one childhood hero that has not diminished in my mind. One of the coolest things about living in St. Louis now is that the theatre I've been working at is in the same complex as Ozzie's restaurant. And he's there sometimes. I've seen him a couple of times, and I totally got excited the day he said hi to me. Well, today I got to let him into the theatre to look around. And I felt like a giddy little girl again when he looked at me, smiled and said hi. And can I say that he is just the most adorable man ever?

So here's to childhood heroes that remain on their pedestals!

Happiness is

2008-02-21T00:51:00.004-06:00

My first summer stage managing at summer stock, one of my shows was You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. It was a fun show, great experience, taught me a lot, etc, etc. But when I moved away from home, what I remembered most was the silly song Happiness Is. It's the finale of the show, filled with what makes the Peanuts' gang happy. You know, eating an ice cream, catching a firefly, setting it freeeeeee. Anyway, when I moved away from home, and I got scared and depressed, I would write a "Happiness Is" entry in my journal. The only rule was that it had to be something that happened to me or I did in the past few days, because if you're grasping at happiness straws from a couple of weeks ago, then you need to do something to correct that ASAP. I've had a real rough couple of days, so, without further ado, my first Happiness Is blog:

Happiness is...

1. Gordon Ramsey. He has to take his shirt off on camera at least once every episode. Do you think it's written in his contract?

2. Drinking whiskey with a good friend. Even when someone else joins you and you don't get to whine about what you wanted to whine about. Especially when you end up not paying.

3.
Like, seriously? I will keep this episode of Lost on my DVR for as long as I possibly can. Technically, it was 6 days ago that this Sayid-centric episode was delivered to me, but as I watched it again today, it totally gets counted as a Happiness Is for today.

Mmmmm...

4. There is no number 4.

5. Cold Brewed Green Tea. Thank you, Beth.

6. Yummy frozen pizza. Thank you, Kashi.

7. New, seriously comfortable socks. Thank you, Adidas.

8. Someone telling me they love me. Thank you, Beth and my sister.

9. My cat, Suki, who will generally come when called, even when she was comfortable, and will stay put when you pet her.

10. Did I mention

11. Bacon. Happiness is definitely bacon.

It'll Only Hurt for a Minute

2008-02-05T00:13:00.000-06:00

I have been unemployed since December 30th. This is not easy for me, being unemployed. I won't lie to you - I'd love to be independently wealthy and not have to work for a living, but since I'm not, I'd rather be productive than not. My previous unemployment periods have been few and far between and brief, and right now it's even worse, since I'm in a relationship. How can I hold my own in this relationship when I can't pay for nights out, can't ask for nights out because of my guilt for being unable to pay, and can't even pay rent at the moment? Lucky I can cook, or I'd wonder what I'm even offering this relationship right now. My days recently have been filled with pajama wearing, tv watching, sorry feeling (for myself) patheticness. But I am sending my resume out! (The above actions are not listed amongst my "Skills," but I am awfully good at them. You need five hours of Murder, She Wrote and Good Eats watched straight through? I'm your girl!)

At any rate, that's not what this post is about. For those of you (Beth) that I have not been ashamed to talk to lately, you know where I've been. This post is about the light at the end of the tunnel. I commiserated tonight with my bowling partner and former assistant stage manager, who is in somewhat the same situation as I (though not as bad, because he has good non-theatre experience and opportunities) and he likened this time period to getting a shot at the Doctor's office. And what does the Dr. always say? "This will only hurt for a minute." In the vast span of my life (hopefully,) this period of unemployment despair will end up being but a pinprick. And as much as I should know that anyway, hearing someone else tell me that, with conviction, makes all the difference. I've never thought I would not get another job in my chosen field, but some times are harder than others, and I do tend to get bogged down, like Atreyu in The Never Ending Story. But I will become a productive member of society again (hopefully sooner, rather than later.) And I am determined to remember that now.

Now, if you'll excuse me, Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares is on. And I've only seen this episode once (this week.)

Pomegranate Vinaigrette Recipe Addendum

2008-01-13T23:41:00.000-06:00

Funny how you can't really have a vinaigrette without some vinegar, eh? In my recipe recap, I left out that I also used some pomegranate red wine vinegar. Shall we try it again?

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1/2 Cup Pomegranate juice reduced with 1 tablespoon sugar
A couple tablespoons pomegranate red wine vinegar
A couple tablespoons olive oil
The juice of one lime

Shake well.

All measurements are approximate and adjustable to taste!

Pip, Pip, Hooray!

2008-01-11T00:09:00.000-06:00

I was first introduced to the pomegranate in the Ray Stevens' song "Ahab the Arab" in which we find Fatima laying on a zebra skin and nibbling on raisins, grapes, apricots, a pomegranate, bowl of chitlins, two bananas, three candy bars and sipping on a coca cola. Shortly thereafter, my then best friend Suzanne introduced me to an actual pomegranate. I have very fond memories of sitting on the wood floor in her upstairs bedroom of her parent's lake cabin in Alabama, playing with our Polly Pockets and our Barbies and painstakingly pulling out each pomegranate pip, popping them in our mouths, sucking the juice out and then swallowing the seed whole. The pomegranate was this magical fruit, the likes of which I had never seen before, only made more mystical by the story of Persephone and how Hades kidnapped her and she ate four pomegranate pips while she was down there, and so she has to return for four months every year and Demeter makes it winter because she is so sad. My mother was good enough to purchase a pomegranate for me when I came home from that first weekend praising its glories, but it never became a staple of our household. And then we moved away from Atlanta and I was separated from my source, and thus began years of estrangement between the pomegranate and me.

This year the parents drove 14 hours to spend Christmas with the Boyfriend and me, and I took planning Christmas dinner very seriously. I wanted a couple of the holiday staples, but I also wanted to utilize winter produce, and my choices were brussels sprouts and pomegranates. Brussels sprouts I have cooked many a time in my adulthood, and I've even got my niece loving them, but picking up a pomegranate was like running into an old friend, and you have that conversation where you say fancy meeting them here, and how great the other person looks, and find out what each other has been up to and see if you still want to hang out together after all those years. Well pomegranate, you are definitely welcome to drop by my house anytime!

First up was Roast Duck with Pomegranate Glaze courtesy Whole Foods. I'm a big fan of duck, especially for the holidays. Normally I do a sherry glazed duck, but Mom can't do alcohol, so this was a perfect excuse for pomegranate use! It turned out pretty lip-smacking delicious, but I'd like to find a way to make the skin a little crispier and rend the fat more. And I had one 7 pound duckling as opposed to two little ducklings. Here is the Boyfriend doing his manly carving thing. I wish I had remembered to take a better picture of the duck, but after cooking for many an hour, and trying to get everything on the table at the right time, one tends to forget to photo-journal everything.

The other use of the pomegranate for Christmas was a really lovely romaine salad with a pomegranate vinaigrette. Take one head of romaine lettuce and chop it up with half a red onion throw in a tub of goat cheese. Mmm...goat cheese... And some pomegranate pips, of course. For the vinaigrette, reduce some pomegranate juice with some sugar, I think I used about half a cup and a tablespoon, respectively. Add some dollops of olive oil (I don't measure much, sorry) and the juice of half a lime, shake the dressing to blend, toss all together thoroughly and enjoy the best salad you will ever have!

At the moment, I am enjoying my most recently discovered use of the pomegranate pip, thanks to Wahooty - a glass of bubbly with several pips dropped in. Wahooty calls it a little alcoholic lava lamp, but I think it's more like an ever changing rorschach test. Very artsy. And VERY tasty, not to mention full of healthy anti-oxidants! Cheers, Blogoworld! (And a special thanks to Dave for helping me through the gauntlet of posting photos.)

So we'll take one more look back in time, and I'll leave you with Ray Stevens non-PC pomegranate. Enjoy!

A Fundamental Truth

2007-12-14T02:42:00.000-06:00

I blame other people for not posting on their blogs more than I accept responsibility for not posting on my blog.

Thoughts on tonight's episode of Monk

2007-12-08T02:42:00.000-06:00

I love Monk. I've loved Monk for a good long while now. It's a great, fresh, funny show.

Not that I haven't had my fair share of criticisms for Monk. I mean, lately, I've found it pretty easy to pick out the murderer, the method and the motive early on ('cause come on, who didn't know this was going to be about the diamond the first time Julie popped up to mention it?), but I do still enjoy watching the process.

So tonight, after weeks and weeks of withdrawal, we get the Christmas episode of Monk! I love USA. I love that Monk comes on with new episodes when I'm stuck with reruns for all my other shows. (For the record, I love Psych, too. Way to go, USA!)

Monk tends to make me feel awkward during episodes. I mean, seriously, why couldn't Monk have legitimately won that basketball trophy? He deserved a damn trophy! Oh, and when Monk got to play with Willie Nelson, but he couldn't play the instrument 'cause someone else had used it? So not fair! But I digress. These are thoughts on tonight's episode.

1. I love Larry Miller. LOVE him. And I love that Larry Miller is reguesting on this episode. But, seriously? Even when you are innocent, you don't want Larry Miller as your lawyer. BAD idea. And Captain Stottlemeyer, I am surprised at you, calling Larry Miller to be Monk's lawyer when you really must've known how incompetent he must be.

2. Leland Stottlemeyer, I am surprised at you again for even appearing to doubt Monk's side of the story! How many times have you doubted Monk, have you thought that he was having some sort of episode, only to be shown, in the end, that Monk was right? It always reminds me of that episode of Simon and Simon (and dear Lord, I LOVE Simon and Simon, why does no one rerun that show anymore?) where Jamison Parker (I mean AJ) was on vacation and saw a murder and no one believed him. I mean, even Rick thought that he imagined it. Jessica has had that happen to her a few times too, and even Doogie Howser had it happen to him on an episode of Murder, She Wrote! Um, anyway, my point is, whatever Monk says, is kosher with me.

3. The interview was live? Really? I find that VERY hard to believe.

5. Okay, so the old woman gets attacked by a thug, knocks him down with her canvas bag (I am always prepared to do that) and sprays the shit out of him with her pepper spray. And then Santa comes up and she's all "oh, thank goodness, he has a knife!" like she's suddenly a big victim? I'd be all "back the fuck away, Santa! I'm on a roll!"

6. San Francisco is so fickle. How many times has Monk saved YOUR ass, SF?!?!

7. Just on a side note, 'cause I was actually thinking about this in the shower today, but I like Natalie more than Sharona. I liked Sharona a lot, and when she left, I was really dreading what was going to happen. And at first look, Natalie parallels Sharona a lot, single mom, one kid, etc. But maybe they really wanted a single mom as his assistant. And Natalie's awesome. And Julie is totally more awesome than Benji was (sorry Benji.) But yeah, I find myself liking Natalie more than Sharona.

8. Ooo, Monk just figured it out! (I totally caught the one walkie talkie thing when Disher first mentioned it, too.) I LOVE it when Monk figures it out! Even if I have already figured it out. Not that I'm bragging, it's just that I've watched a lot of Murder, She Wrote in my day. A LOT. I know the signs.)

9. "I'm feeling something."
"It's joy, you're feeling some joy!"
"I don't like it."

Aww, but at the end of the day, Monk makes me smile.

Ooo, and not only do I now get to watch the Christmas episode of Psych, but I get the promise of new episodes of Monk in January!!

Merrrrrrrry Christmas!

I will buy a Jeep

2007-10-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, my friend Tom showed me this Jeep commercial on Youtube.

I am what Beth calls "an advertisers dream" because I believe in rewarding good advertisement. After all, that's what their job is, and I believe rewarding a job well done. Of course, I've always wanted a Jeep anyway, so it's no stretch for me to say that if I could, I'd buy a Jeep right now. And since I don't have the means to buy a Jeep right now, it's kind of a moot point anyway. But it's a darn cute commercial! Good job, Jeep advertising people!

News of the Day

2007-10-10T13:30:00.000-05:00

Say It Ain't So!
According to the CDC, there's been a salmonella outbreak caused by Banquet POT PIES. I'm fairly certain that this is one of the signs of the apocalypse. Some of you may be aware of my love for pot pies, chicken in particular. Come on, the food even has it's own theme song.

Jimmy Pardo has a great stand up routine about pot pies, in which he confirms that "chicken" is the correct answer. He might love pot pies as much as I do. Go listen to it now. Make sure you wait a minute for the page to load. Go on, I'll wait.

Brilliant, wasn't it?! God Bless that Jimmy Pardo.

Luckily I've always been a Swanson girl. In fact, I've got one in my freezer right now!

Justice Wins Again
An Indiana court awarded worker's comp to a stripper who injured herself pole dancing. That's just awesome. I mean, logically looking at it, it's nothing spectacular. A woman injuring herself at work in the course of duty should get worker's comp. But it involves a stripper, which makes it just plain awesome.

Manna from heaven

2007-10-04T23:12:00.000-05:00

I usually reserve the term "manna from heaven" for cheese related items, but something new passed between my lips today. Something sweet, something crunchy, something chocolatey... Normally I'm not such a big fan of chocolate, either. I mean, it's alright, and I've even been known to crave it once in a while (particularly during That Time,) but I've been known to pass on chocolate on many an occasion. But The Powers That Know What I Like have taken my favorite That Time chocolate crave - the Nestle Crunch bar, and added WAFERS (and I DO love wafers!) and creme, and now we have...

The Nestle Crunch Crisp Bar!

I am telling you, people, if you like chocolate or Nestle crunch or wafers, then this is the bar for you! In fact, even if you're just so-so on chocolate, this is still the bar for you! The really great thing that Nestle has done here is make the chocolate coating on the bar not too thick. I don't like thick chocolate coating. But the coating is nice and thin on the sides and bottom, and a little thicker on top, but that's only because of the puffed rice for the crunch bar part! And then a few thin layers of wafer with a few thin layers of creme sandwiched in between. I mean, it's perfect. Which probably means it will be discontinued soon.

I should totally get paid for this. Nestle, feel free to send me some Crunch Crisp bars as compensation.

Wine Review: Rojo Mojo Shiraz

2007-09-29T23:15:00.000-05:00

I had a glass of the Rojo Mojo Shiraz at Riddle's the other week, and was pleasantly surprised at how light it was. I was even more pleasantly surprised to see it for $8 at my neighborhood Schnucks. I highly recommend this wine as an "everyday red." It's particularly nice during these days where it might be a bit cooler, but it's not full fall weather yet, so if you want red wine, you need a summer red. It's a beautiful crimson color, and the nose is not overwhelming. The official tasting notes say the nose is "intensely stewed cherry and blackberry fruit characters followed by tobacco, cinnamon, black pepper and cloves." The fruit is definitely there, and I get a hint of the tobacco, but I don't particularly like peppery reds, and I didn't sense any here. The palate notes say "A full bodied expansive wine providing a big fruit blast with firm yet friendly tannins," but I feel that's over blowing it a bit. I feel it's more medium bodied, for a red, and it doesn't "blast" fruit as much as infuses your mouth with a flow of dark fruit. Blackberry, cherry, and I want to say the slightest hint of pomegranate, and I do again get a hint of tobacco, but it's not spicy. It's got a soft finish, with just the memory of the first taste lingering on your tongue, whispering sweet nothings to your taste buds. The tannins are definitely friendly, and it's very slightly dry. I definitely agree with the "pleasant and satisfying finish" in the notes. A quick Google search will reveal that it scores highly and is repeatedly recommended as a "refrigerator wine" and a bargain buy.

Rojo Mojo is grown in the Villarobledo region in La Mancha in Spain by a fourth generation family winery and was harvested the week before my birthday in 2005. Grape yield was 30% smaller than the previous year, leading to a higher quality wine for this vintage. It's 100% shiraz and aged 100% in stainless steel.

I recommend pairing it with cheese.

Cheers!

One of the many reasons I love Murder, She Wrote

2007-09-28T01:08:00.000-05:00

Uncle Jesse from the Dukes of Hazzard is playing Megan Mullally's (Karen from Will & Grace) grandfather.

I swan, I could watch this show all day.

Oh, wait, I do. :-)

And speaking of Sean and Emma

2007-09-22T02:12:00.000-05:00

How fantastic is it when Emma hugs Sean at the courthouse before his hearing and he sighs "mmm...vanilla" right after Petertheassholepunk had complained about her vanilla shampoo. Emma is such a dolt for not believing Sean right away, but I forgive her because I do so love Sean and Emma together. Even through all of her mistakes, I still love Sean and Emma.

And Marco. Ooo, I love Marco.

To Everything, There is a Season

2007-09-22T00:09:00.000-05:00

So, I'll be 30 in less than 36 hours. I've always made light of the idea of having an existential crisis because of a birthday, but I suddenly find myself in that state. The only difference between today and two days from now is that, on some questionnaires, I'll be checking a different age bracket box. But suddenly I find myself thinking of all the goals that I have, over the years, set to "do before I turn 30." Sure, some of them I've reached, I did finally sing "Living On a Prayer" at karaoke. But I feel like I've wasted my time and that I should be in a different place than I am now. I should be more settled, more stable, more sure of things. It's as if, by turning one significant day older, suddenly all these opportunities have past that I will never have another chance at seizing and I should be acting like a real adult. It's ridiculous, of course. I can apply for grad school just as easily at 30 as I could have at 29. Being in debt for one more year isn't the end of the world, especially considering some of the unexpected expenses that came up this past year, and I am chipping away at it. Staying up late and sleeping in late is acceptable behavior when one is in theatre. And I have new goals, long and short term, that I'm happy with. But, damn, turning 30 sucks. And thinking it through logically really doesn't help my emotional upheaval.

Though part of the problem is that sometimes I still feel and act like I'm much younger. I mean, I am sitting here watching reruns of Degrassi: The Next Generation, crying over JT's death and giddy that Sean and Emma are together, for this episode, at least.

If only people would stop saying "oh, you have a BIG birthday coming up!"

Fallen Heroes

2007-09-20T15:36:00.000-05:00

So, there I am, watching Good Eats (I do love the Good Eats) and Alton is doing lobster. And he straight up says that a 3 oz serving of lobster has the same amount of, or less, cholesterol than a 3 oz serving of chicken breast, which normally I would file away under "now isn't that interesting," but this particular tidbit of information at that particular time triggered a "now wait a minute" in my brain. Didn't Brian get called out by Chef Tom for using lobster when he was supposed to be making a low cholesterol dish on Top Chef? No, I must be remembering it wrong because it can't be possible that Daddy Tom and Alton Brown were saying two different things. But sure enough, I watched the repeat of Family Favorites and everyone, including Chef Tom, berated Brian for choosing such a high cholesterol protein. I googled it immediately, not because I don't believe every single word that comes out of Alton's mouth (because I do,) but because I wanted to see what websites had to say. And of course Alton was right, but this meant that Daddy Tom was...wrong. I love Chef Tom. Adore him. His low voice, his incredulous looks at the poor choices the chefs make, his propensity to call anything "the worst dish in Top Chef history." How can you not love that man? And, well, he's a chef. Shouldn't they have a general idea of the cholesterol content of lobster? It was just...devastating. It would be like finding out that Shel Silverstein plagiarized The Giving Tree or that Ralphie really did say "fudge." But I suppose that we're all human. And I suppose that I should cut Daddy Tom a little slack. I suppose that I'll have to stop saying "you were wrong about the lobster! How could you be wrong about the lobster? Why, Daddy Tom, why?" at the t.v. whenever he appears. I suppose I should accept the fact that every once in a while, one of my heroes might slip on their pedestals.

But, to be clear, that doesn't apply to Alton. He's never wrong.

Addendum to post:
Praise be to Ted Allen for realizing their mistake and, of course, blogging on it.

Delilah After Dark

2007-09-16T01:18:00.000-05:00

My friend Molly loves Delilah, and I have to admit that I do, too. It's not one of those things one would normally admit in mixed company, but when I found myself in the car tonight thinking "ooo, Delilah's on!" I decided that it was time for me to come clean about it. When I've had a long day, and things have been loud and busy, and I'm driving home at night, sometimes it's nice to listen to something a little mellow. Something about the dark night with scattered stars of headlights and street lamps just calls for the dulcet tones of Delilah sometimes. Often, the music is too sappy, and not anything to which I would normally listen, but damn if Delilah doesn't make you say "yeah, this is all right."

I had such a day and such a night last week, and stumbled upon Delilah while flipping stations futilely looking for something that didn't make me restless. A lady called in and, as they are wont to do, shared a long story with Delilah about her husband and how they met. But what made this particular story memorable is that her husband proposed to her in a graveyard. I think that's pretty awesome, and wouldn't mind that scenario myself, but wouldn't think there are too many average women who would agree. Delilah was a bit taken aback herself, in her mellow, loving way. The lady's husband-to-be told her that he wanted their marriage to start there because that's where he wanted it to end. And though my knee jerk reaction is to make a joke and say something like "and then, after 10 years of marriage, he poisoned her tea," it also makes me pause and think "gosh, that's sweet." And then it made me tear up a little bit, because that's the way I roll.

It's just nice to be reminded sometimes, as we all struggle through this world with and without relationships, that there are success stories out there. And that they call into syndicated radio shows.

And that proposing in a graveyard is an awesome idea.

I like to create blogs

2007-09-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

I like to create blogs.

I started one a few years ago on live journal, but I lost interest pretty quickly. Only about 3 people read it, and I didn't tell anyone else about it because I spent too much time whining. Whining and quizzes; that's basically what it was all about. And it was very plain.

My blog on myspace last a good bit longer. But myspace is a pain to log onto; it's always very slow for me. The last time I tried to blog on it, myspace wouldn't recognize any of my 'i's. Every time I typed an 'i', it gave me 3 periods instead. Blogs are not much fun when the end result looks l...ke th...s.

I started a blog dedicated to my pirate puppet, Black Bart. I intended to take him various places and take photos of him and post them, and review or share any pirate related potpourri - movies, festivals, holidays etc. But I kept forgetting to take him on trips. And let's face it, a pirate blog is very limiting.

I like commenting on blogs. I like commenting on wahooty's blog. I like commenting on her blog so much that my comments on her blog became more of a my blog than my other blogs.

So here we go! Fifth time's the charm, right?