Love the windows of Cass Art on Berwick Street. Makes me want to buy...which I guess is the point!
Christmas Gift Ideas
Every year I toil away at my computer, trying to find ways to entertain you. And yet, none of you ever send me any gifts come Christmas time. That is ridiculous. I expect that will change this year. You feel bad that you have not bought me anything and want to make up for it. The only one of you that is exempt from this is Michelle since she bought me the first four Sookie Stackhouse books for my birthday (I think she may have mentioned how I should read them every time I wrote something about True Blood). Here are a few ideas for you:
DVDs
At some point in life I will buy either a PS3 or a BluRay player, therefore I have been cutting back on the number of DVDs I purchase. That being said, I would love it if someone bought me the first season of Community. I hear it is quite hilarious.
Books
I actually would prefer if no one bought me any books for awhile. I am quite behind on my reading list. I have the Wheel of Time, the Sookie books, a few other random ones sitting there screaming my name. It is just too much.
Comics
If one of you would be so kind as to head to the Comic Swap in State College and pick up my subscription list, that would be much appreciated. Thanks.
See folks, I do not ask for much. Now get out there and get these simple things done.
DVDs
At some point in life I will buy either a PS3 or a BluRay player, therefore I have been cutting back on the number of DVDs I purchase. That being said, I would love it if someone bought me the first season of Community. I hear it is quite hilarious.
Books
I actually would prefer if no one bought me any books for awhile. I am quite behind on my reading list. I have the Wheel of Time, the Sookie books, a few other random ones sitting there screaming my name. It is just too much.
Comics
If one of you would be so kind as to head to the Comic Swap in State College and pick up my subscription list, that would be much appreciated. Thanks.
See folks, I do not ask for much. Now get out there and get these simple things done.
Lantana
The man and me finally got round to sampling a delicious brunch at Lantana, in Fitzrovia. Deliciousness consisting of baked eggs with chorizo (him) and stacked corn fritters with crispy bacon and chilli jam (me), just so incredibly yummy! The menu is a must read! The interior has real character with little quirky touches (i love the random animal heads and obscure polaroids) and a wonderful illustration on the far wall. This place has a great vibe and whilst i loved relaxing over a lazy Sunday brunch, I'm really looking forward to popping in for a weekday lunch treat.
Love the efficiency of the separate 'eat in' and 'take away' entrances...
Winter is Coming Soon!!!
Here is the first full preview of HBOs newest show Game of Thrones. Needless to say, I am extremely excited about this show. It feels like the books, if that makes sense.
More Star Wars Insanity
I realize my last post was about Star Wars, but blame SpikeTV--they are showing the originals today. Anyways, I just watched one of my favorite parts, the above video includes the part where Vader chokes the nonbeliever. It then got me thinking...
-Everything Obi-Wan tells Luke is basically a lie. I know, he says that it is the truth from a certain point of view, but does this seem like good Jedi behavior? When I met your father, he was already one of the best star pilots in the galaxy...ummm when you met his father, he was a little boy. I highly doubt he was that great of a pilot.
-Your uncle did not want your father to get involved. Uncle Owen did not really know Anakin, and he most certainly had no say whether Anakin was involved.
-Obi-Wan does not remember R2D2? I guess senility is also a major Jedi trait.
-Vader's great speech about how the power to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force. Ummm, really? Have we ever witnessed anything that would lead us to believe that the Force can do anything close to this?
-Obi-Wan says that he has not gone by that name since before Luke was born...did anyone at the end of Revenge of the Sith call him Ben? I do not remember that.
-How shitty of a protocol droid is C-3PO? I get that his mind must have been wiped a few times, but he does not know that Jawas are from Tatooine?
-In Return of the Jedi, Luke is escorted to the Emperor with handcuffs on. The Emperor then releases them with the Force. Why would they even bother putting them on a Jedi?
-Also, when the Emperor is taunting Luke by saying that he should just reach out and take the lightsaber and strike him down, why doesn't Luke just use the force to slowly turn it around and flip the switch on so it stabs the Emperor? There are plenty of places in these films where we see Jedi use their power for something mundane (Obi-Wan is way too lazy to shut doors by hitting a button), but they fail to use it for something useful (why not use it to flip the off-switch on a lightsaber during a battle). Am I the only one who thinks of this stuff?
Okay, I promise that I am done with this now.
Star Wars Stupidity
I am sitting here right now watching Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace on SpikeTV (I watched the last half of Episode III) and it occurred to me there are plenty of idiotic things about these films when compared to the originals. I am sure people have pointed these things out before or found explanations, but it is still fun to make fun.
-If you are trying to hide Anakin Skywalker's children, why would you take one of them to Tattooine: the place where Anakin was born?
-Also, why the hell would you keep his last name as Skywalker? Did Luke ever have to register his T-16? I am sure the Imperial DMV would have Skywalker on file. Darth Vader and the Emperor did not keep a search program running to alert them if that name ever came up?
-Why does the Emperor refer to Luke as the son of Skywalker when talking to Vader? Why not just say "your son cannot become a Jedi." I guess that would have killed the big shock ending.
-Allow me to get this straight, Yoda and Obi-Wan escape from the Emperor and Vader and go into hiding. What was their master plan? Never train either child and just hope that the two bad guys die of old age? Why not move to the farthest corner of the galaxy (I am guessing Tattoine) and train both of them both to be Jedi Knights. Also, why wouldn't they both be out searching for other surviving Jedi? Instead they just wait for them all to be killed or later hunted down by Vader. Great plan.
-How does Princess Leia tell Luke that she remembers her mother as being very sad. Padme dies when they are born. Sorry, she loses the will to live. Apparently that is a diagnosis in that universe. I wonder what House would say? He would definitely want an autopsy.
-Yoda and Chewbacca were good friends. I somehow find it hard to believe that Luke and Chewie never have that discussion. I am sure that Han would ask Luke where he learned how to be so badass and Luke would be like "oh, this old Jedi Master, Yoda trained me." Or could Han have mentioned the weird ramblings from Luke to Chewie after Hoth? I am almost certain one of these conversations had to happen. Maybe Luke and Chewie once drank some beers and lamented over their dead friend.
-I always forget that Anakin is like Jesus. He has no human father. Quite creepy. I wonder what Jesus' midichlorian count would have been?
-If you are trying to hide Anakin Skywalker's children, why would you take one of them to Tattooine: the place where Anakin was born?
-Also, why the hell would you keep his last name as Skywalker? Did Luke ever have to register his T-16? I am sure the Imperial DMV would have Skywalker on file. Darth Vader and the Emperor did not keep a search program running to alert them if that name ever came up?
-Why does the Emperor refer to Luke as the son of Skywalker when talking to Vader? Why not just say "your son cannot become a Jedi." I guess that would have killed the big shock ending.
-Allow me to get this straight, Yoda and Obi-Wan escape from the Emperor and Vader and go into hiding. What was their master plan? Never train either child and just hope that the two bad guys die of old age? Why not move to the farthest corner of the galaxy (I am guessing Tattoine) and train both of them both to be Jedi Knights. Also, why wouldn't they both be out searching for other surviving Jedi? Instead they just wait for them all to be killed or later hunted down by Vader. Great plan.
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| One of my favorite posters from the prequels |
-Yoda and Chewbacca were good friends. I somehow find it hard to believe that Luke and Chewie never have that discussion. I am sure that Han would ask Luke where he learned how to be so badass and Luke would be like "oh, this old Jedi Master, Yoda trained me." Or could Han have mentioned the weird ramblings from Luke to Chewie after Hoth? I am almost certain one of these conversations had to happen. Maybe Luke and Chewie once drank some beers and lamented over their dead friend.
-I always forget that Anakin is like Jesus. He has no human father. Quite creepy. I wonder what Jesus' midichlorian count would have been?
Ginger Beer Can Chicken
- I admit “ginger beer can chicken” is something of a misnomer, since ginger beer normally comes in a bottle. There are several reasons why I think putting the bottle inside the chicken would not be a good idea, so we’ll be pouring our ginger beer into an empty soda or beer can.
- It’s possible to purchase a beer can chicken rack to hold both the can and the chicken in place during cooking. This is probably a good idea if you’re cooking it on a grille but, as you can see from the top photo, it’s not necessary for an oven recipe.
- Be sure to handle the chicken using all the usual safe hygiene practices.
Roasting a chicken is likely to be the last thing on anyone’s mind while we’re still trying to figure out what to do with all that leftover turkey, so my timing for this post could probably have been better.
Still, wanting to do something different with this fun and interesting cooking method, I made “Ginger Beer Can Chicken.” Not ginger beer can chicken, mind you, but ginger beer can chicken. It uses the classic beer can chicken approach of baking a chicken with spice rub on its outside and a beverage can in its body cavity to provide a moist, flavorful inside, but replaces the beer with ginger beer and uses a spice rub combination that’s compatible with that.Ginger beer, for anyone not familiar with it, is a soft drink that’s something like ginger ale but with a much stronger bite and more complex taste and color. (The original ginger beer was an alcoholic beverage, and if you look hard you can still find that, but the soft drink kind is by far the most common now.) Not every store carries it, but finding one that does is worth the effort. I found mine through an on-line search that indicated it’s available in my area at many 24-hour bodega type stores and at Trader Joe’s.
Some general notes before beginning:
This is an easy and fun method for cooking a delicious, moist chicken. And it may even start some very entertaining dinner table conversations among your family or guests.
Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. (Be sure the oven rack is low enough to allow the chicken to stand on end while baking.) While the oven is preheating, rinse a four to five pound chicken, inside and out, with cold water, and dry using paper towels.Prepare a spice rub by combining the following: 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dried parsley. Rub half of the spice rub under the skin onto the chicken breast meat, then rub the other half inside the chicken’s body cavity. Once that’s done, coat the skin of the chicken with olive oil.Put 8 ounces of ginger beer into an empty 12 ounce soda can. Cover the outside of the soda can with foil and punch two or three extra holes in the top using a can opener. Insert the can into the cavity (as shown in the top photo) and place the chicken, standing up, in a pie pan (serving as a drip pan) on a baking sheet, using the drumsticks to support the chicken.Bake the chicken for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 and bake until the internal temperature in the thigh meat is at least 180 degrees (about 90 minutes), basting every 20 minutes or so. After that, remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for about ten minutes.After the chicken has rested, carefully extract and discard the soda can. While the logistics of removing a hot can from inside a hot, oiled chicken without tearing the chicken and/or spilling the can’s contents into the chicken are often the most challenging part of making any form of beer can chicken, I found a way to make it easy. All that’s required is to punch a small hole in the bottom of the soda can and let the contents drain out. Once the hot liquid is drained, the can becomes much easier to remove using tongs.
Want a notebook-ready, cookbook-style copy of this recipe? No problem! Just let me know in a comment or an e-mail and I'll get it right out to you.
I hope to see you again next week. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)
Bubble Prints
So, I am not quite sure of the actual name for this technique, but I used to love doing this at school! Watching school kids create them at the Thames London Festival a few months ago, gave me loads of inspiration and I couldn't help but join in (cue weird stares from the Mums & Dads!). I love the random colours and prints you can make and the fact that no two pieces are the same. Think these could make some lovely prints for scarves and accessories...one of my up-coming projects.
Girlfriend of the Week
This weeks GOTW is a dedication to a beautiful Native American woman: Charisma Carpenter. I did not know she was party NA until about eight minutes ago, but that is good enough for me. You may remember her from Buffy and Angel or whatever else she has been in. Apparently there is a big uproar about rebooting Buffy, check it out if you want a good laugh.
Decadence in a (giant) bottle
I didn’t think it was possible for Chanel No5 to become any more decadent. That was until I saw this giant £3000 bottle, currently in the windows of Harrods (and yes, it does hold the actual perfume!). Thinking about the logistical problems of buying/ owning a bottle of this size blows my mind. But I guess when you have money to buy a £3000 bottle of perfume, you can pay people to solve that for you!
Couldn’t resist including the Chanel No5 advert with Audrey Tautou…i just love it…and her...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Vacation Planning
We then discussed going to a beach. She said she wanted to go to a beach where they have the huts. We looked it up and we found that on the Cook Islands, you can stay in a beach hut for pretty cheap. In fact (if my New Zealand dollar exchange rate is correct), it would be about $56 a night. Unfortunately, a plane ticket might be a little bit ridiculous.
Also, I think the beach hut thing would be cool at some point. Judging by the pictures, it looks like you are out in your beach hut. It does not look like your typical tourist trap. That definitely appeals to me.
Then we talked about the idea of going to a resort. I guess they are a great deal if you do the all inclusive. The first one we looked at was the new Sandals Resort in the Bahamas.
The place looks amazing. Then I started reading about it on their website. Apparently this is where many of the world's top CEOs, such as Steve Jobs, like to go. Something tells me this might be out of our price range.
Holy shit! I am thinking you can probably buy a house on one of these islands for about $32,000. The cheapest room option would be just under $10,000. I doubt this is the destination in our future.
Lindsey then said that she did the resort thing before with her family and that she really wanted to do a cruise. If you remember, I had an awesome time on a cruise. So, that is what we have decided, we want to take one of the longer cruises (preferably a seven day) to some part of the Caribbean. Ideally, we would leave from Baltimore, that way we do not need to book a flight. Sadly, it seems the Baltimore cruises are either really short, or past ten days (we only get ten days for vacation).
So, I am inviting all of you to think about joining us on a cruise. I know that many of you will read this and go "oh, that does not mean me" and if you think that, you are an idiot. This is an invitation to anyone and everyone. If you are interested, leave me a comment and I will begin looking into group rates if we can get enough people.
Baseball Predictions: How Did I Do?
I think the title explains this post, right? Unless you are an idiot...anyways, let us get started.
NL East
Okay, I got this division completely right from top to bottom. The Phillies stumbled at times, but honestly, with that lineup and that pitching staff who could stop them? My IDP about Josh Johnson was completely wrong, in fact he tried to make me look like an idiot.
NL Central
I at least got the third place team right. The Reds came out of nowhere. At the beginning of the year, the Astros were just as bad as the Pirates, who knew they would start winning and the Pirates would never win again. Life is pretty unfair at times. Homer Bailey almost made my IDP come true on May 12th. He did not throw a no-hitter, but instead he shut-out the Pirates at home and only gave up four hits. Also, he did not go 9-11, but instead 4-3 (nothing spectacular).
NL West
Wow, I got this one completely wrong. I guess I did not take into consideration how good Buster Posey and Aubrey Huff were going to be. That is actually pretty impressive to be that wrong. Shows you that baseball is completely unpredictable. Wow, I barely got this IDP right: Adrian Gonzalez hit 31 home runs this year and obviously did not get traded. Woo-hoo, 2 out of 3 on the IDPs.
AL East
At least I got the Red Sox right (oh and apparently Adrian Beltre was the answer, since he had a monster season). I knew that the Rays and Yankees would be the top two and one of them would be the wild card. I just got it backwards. Sue me. Also, I believe at some point I heard a rumor that the Red Sox were thinking about Garrett Jones (until Ortiz started crushing the ball and Jones showed that he was human). So I will give the IDP a push.
AL Central
Another one where I got nothing right. Wow, I really sucked this year. My IDP about Bonderman was completely wrong. He did not get traded, did not strike out a ton of guys, nor did he really get hurt. Hell, he started 29 games...his most since 2006.
AL West
And absolutely none right again! Woo-hoo! I rock and roll. My IDP about Ian Snell did not happen, but he did at least suck out there in Seattle. I guess that was something I got a bit right.
Playoffs
I at least had the Yankees and Phillies in their respective championship games, unfortunately they played the wrong teams. I cannot imagine many people predicted this years World Series. Again, this is the beauty of baseball, the teams that everyone expected to win it, did not. Cool.
Awards
I did get the two Cy Young winners right, which I think is pretty damn awesome. This may have been my worst prediction year ever, but predicting two of the award winners is pretty damn impressive. I realize plenty of people might disagree with King Felix winning, but if you look past the record, he was much better than the others. Also pretty cool that I said Halladay would win over twenty games.
Since I am still not sure whether or not Escobar was eligible (not that he would have won this year), but my secondary pick was Heyward, who finished second. So since I put him second, I will pretend that is what I meant.
I did not realize Neftali Feliz was still rookie eligible, but again, I cannot complain, my AL ROY finished second in the voting. Pretty cool when you consider how many rookies are potentially out there and how it seems every spring you hear about someone and then they fizzle out. Heyward/Jackson/Feliz all delivered this year. I honestly did not think the Giants would bring Posey up this year, or maybe not until late in the year.
If you told me that Carlos Ruiz would have 12 more votes for NL MVP than Chase Utley, I would have called you mentally challenged. Well, I would have been the one looking pretty dumb. Joey Votto wins the award. At least Pujols got second place.
I at least got the AL MVP correct!!! Oh, umm, back in 2009. Look, my predictive powers do not know the limitations of the earthly concept of time. At least Longoria finished sixth in the voting. I did not really see Jose Bautista or Paul Konerko jumping into the top five.
As for the Royals, I was only eight games off with that one. Umm, unfortunately, none of us were even close with the Pirates. 57-105. Goddamn that is a terrible record. I look forward to next season, and not just because I get excited about the prospect of making insanely bad predictions...
Okay, I got this division completely right from top to bottom. The Phillies stumbled at times, but honestly, with that lineup and that pitching staff who could stop them? My IDP about Josh Johnson was completely wrong, in fact he tried to make me look like an idiot.
NL Central
I at least got the third place team right. The Reds came out of nowhere. At the beginning of the year, the Astros were just as bad as the Pirates, who knew they would start winning and the Pirates would never win again. Life is pretty unfair at times. Homer Bailey almost made my IDP come true on May 12th. He did not throw a no-hitter, but instead he shut-out the Pirates at home and only gave up four hits. Also, he did not go 9-11, but instead 4-3 (nothing spectacular).
NL West
AL East
At least I got the Red Sox right (oh and apparently Adrian Beltre was the answer, since he had a monster season). I knew that the Rays and Yankees would be the top two and one of them would be the wild card. I just got it backwards. Sue me. Also, I believe at some point I heard a rumor that the Red Sox were thinking about Garrett Jones (until Ortiz started crushing the ball and Jones showed that he was human). So I will give the IDP a push.
AL Central
Another one where I got nothing right. Wow, I really sucked this year. My IDP about Bonderman was completely wrong. He did not get traded, did not strike out a ton of guys, nor did he really get hurt. Hell, he started 29 games...his most since 2006.
AL West
And absolutely none right again! Woo-hoo! I rock and roll. My IDP about Ian Snell did not happen, but he did at least suck out there in Seattle. I guess that was something I got a bit right.
Playoffs
I at least had the Yankees and Phillies in their respective championship games, unfortunately they played the wrong teams. I cannot imagine many people predicted this years World Series. Again, this is the beauty of baseball, the teams that everyone expected to win it, did not. Cool.
I did get the two Cy Young winners right, which I think is pretty damn awesome. This may have been my worst prediction year ever, but predicting two of the award winners is pretty damn impressive. I realize plenty of people might disagree with King Felix winning, but if you look past the record, he was much better than the others. Also pretty cool that I said Halladay would win over twenty games.
Since I am still not sure whether or not Escobar was eligible (not that he would have won this year), but my secondary pick was Heyward, who finished second. So since I put him second, I will pretend that is what I meant.
I did not realize Neftali Feliz was still rookie eligible, but again, I cannot complain, my AL ROY finished second in the voting. Pretty cool when you consider how many rookies are potentially out there and how it seems every spring you hear about someone and then they fizzle out. Heyward/Jackson/Feliz all delivered this year. I honestly did not think the Giants would bring Posey up this year, or maybe not until late in the year.If you told me that Carlos Ruiz would have 12 more votes for NL MVP than Chase Utley, I would have called you mentally challenged. Well, I would have been the one looking pretty dumb. Joey Votto wins the award. At least Pujols got second place.
I at least got the AL MVP correct!!! Oh, umm, back in 2009. Look, my predictive powers do not know the limitations of the earthly concept of time. At least Longoria finished sixth in the voting. I did not really see Jose Bautista or Paul Konerko jumping into the top five.As for the Royals, I was only eight games off with that one. Umm, unfortunately, none of us were even close with the Pirates. 57-105. Goddamn that is a terrible record. I look forward to next season, and not just because I get excited about the prospect of making insanely bad predictions...
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