Movie Review: Inception

Alright, I was wrong about "Inception". My typical disdain for Leonardo DiCaprio movies kept me from seeing this one in the theater, even though Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors and Ellen Page is one of the best young actresses in Hollywood. My disdain for DiCaprio started with "Romeo and Juliet" and has just continued to fester...and that festering nearly stopped me from seeing a really good movie on a really big screen.

Enter my friend Chad...he of the 110", 7.1 or 9.1 surround sound home theater. Last night, we had movie night at Chad's house, and "Inception" was the feature. This is one you want to see on as big of a screen as possible. The effects are amazing. I would definitely recommend Blu-ray for this show.

The premise is kinda cool. DiCaprio is Dom Cobb, a man who makes his living sharing dreams with people and then stealing their most intimate secrets from the dream. He is recruited by a rich industrialist to plant an idea in his rival's head (i.e. inception). Cobb recruits a team of other dream warriors and they set a plan in motion to jump into this man's dreams and plant the seeds of an idea that will grow to meet the master plan of the rich industrialist who is paying the bills. Think a sci-fi version of "Ocean's Eleven" meets "James Bond".

Overall, this is a 4 star movie. I still don't like Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor, but I was able to get past that for "Inception." The rest of the cast, including Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Ken Wattanabe, Michael Caine and Tom Berenger helped overcome my dislike for DiCaprio. And, Nolan's directing was top notch once again. The action and effects were really good, and the story kept you guessing until the very end. You really have to pay attention to this one. And the ending...well, it keeps you guessing a little more.

TV Series Review: Psych, Season 5

"If you watch only one show...on Wednesday night...around 10 pm, make it this one!"

Yes, we are now 5 seasons into one of the greatest TV series in the history of TV..."Psych". Our heroes, fake psychic Shawn Spencer and his sidekick Burton Guster are back for more crime solving hysteria, only this time, they decided to throw in a few more serious Shawn moments.

Overall, I loved this season, though I found there were more "clunker" episodes than in past seasons. There were also some significant high points, such as the return of Cary Elwes as the uber thief Pierre Despereaux and the season's greatest episode, "Not Even Close Encounters" guest starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as a gigantic nerd. Also, in continuing to pay homage to the 80's and 90's, the writers brought in spoof episodes of "Twin Peaks" and "Police Academy." Overall, lots of good stuff, making this another 5 star season.

I do have to admit that I'm starting to get concerned. I don't see how they can keep this going for more than another season or 2. Some of the episodes were starting to seem like a reach. But, there were enough good shows to keep me wanting more, so I guess season 5 was a success. Can't wait for season 6 to start next summer.

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

This is starting to become a food blog. I've recently subscribed to allrecipes.com, and after what shall forever be known as the chili cooking disaster of 2010, I went in search of a chili recipe. My wife really likes turkey chili and we both like black beans, so I was looking for something that used ground turkey and could easily accept black beans. I found it in this recipe!

I did modify it slightly, and I cooked it in the crockpot for about 6 hours. I fed 7 people (5 adults) and there wasn't a drop of chili left when we were done.

Here's the recipe with my modifications:

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned black beans - drained and rinsed
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilis
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Emeril's Southwest Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Brown the turkey in a skillet with the olive oil. Once browned, add the onion and cook until tender.

Transfer the meat and onions to the crockpot and add all the other ingredients. Stir and cook on HI for 2 hours. Then lower the temperature to LO and let it cook for another 4 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese.

This is a fairly mild chili, which was really appreciated by my wife. I added more pepper at the table to take the heat up a little bit. Some additional cayenne pepper would also work nicely in this recipe to take the heat up a bit. We will definitely be making this one again at our house.

Blu-ray vs. DVD

Now that I have a Blu-ray (according to Google, Blu-ray is the proper spelling) player and have watched some Blu-ray discs on it, I think I am qualified to give a review of Blu-ray. For the official record, I have watched "Despicable Me", "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Sky High" on Blu-ray disc. I have also watched the opening few minutes of "Fellowship of the Ring" on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray is better than DVD...but, it's not so much better that everyone is going to run right out and replace all their DVDs with Blu-rays. The Blu-ray picture and sound experience (even with TV speakers) is better than DVD. Some of the scenes are so clear that you feel like you could walk right into them. But, I think the up-converting DVD players do a great job in approximating true HD.

So, while I'm thrilled that I have a Blu-ray player, and I will definitely buy some movies in Blu-ray, I'm not in a rush to replace my DVD collection just yet.

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I'm 2 days late, but it's still the Christmas Season on the Catholic liturgical calendar, so I think I'm good. This could be quite a long post, so please forgive any typos.

Our family had a very nice Christmas. I'd been struggling all through advent to get in the Christmas spirit, but on Christmas eve, in the midst of 10 inches of snow, the Christmas spirit hit me. I think it was when I started doing some cooking for the Christmas meal, or maybe it was just the preparation my wife and I were doing around the house, or maybe it was the snow. As it was, by the time I headed for the church at 3 pm, I was in full Christmas mode. I played piano at the 4 pm mass at my church...we have two 4 pm masses, one in the main church and one downstairs. The downstairs filled up at 3:45 pm...the main church was packed by 3:30 pm. If only we could get that kind of attendance every week. It seems like, at least for one night, everyone remembers the reason for the season.

I've always loved playing piano at church on Christmas, so that really helped get the joy going. Christmas mass or service is always a highlight for me. I get chills when the Angel appears to the Shepard's every year. It's so amazing that God chose to take the form of man, and Christmas reminds us of that. After mass, I went to mass again at 6 pm. My 10 year old, David, was playing his trombone as part of the prelude to mass. He did great. I was so nervous for him, but he nailed it. I don't know how my parents sat through all my piano recitals throughout my childhood and never threw up...seriously, my stomach was not settled at all until he was done.

My parents and brother visited us for Christmas. After mass, we came home and had some chili. I tried a new chili recipe, and it turned out really well. I'll try to share the recipe at some point this week, since I'm off work and have time to blog. After supper, the kids went to bed, and despite their worries, they were able to go to sleep, which was good, because Santa can't visit if they don't sleep.

Christmas morning, the kids were up at 6:00 am, but waited until 7:00 like we asked them to do, and then they did a great job taking their time with presents. We finished at about 8:30. People were so thoughtful this Christmas.

The highlight of Christmas day for me was cooking...yes cooking. I learned that it is a ton of work to get a big dinner on the table, and luckily I had my mom here to help me. My wife was not feeling all that well, so my mom pitched in and helped. I made the Good Eats Roast Turkey recipe that Alton Brown put out there like 10 years ago. It was a delicious turkey, one of the best I've ever eaten. With the exception of the potatoes, everything turned out pretty well, and everyone ate too much.

After that, we had a quiet afternoon, and then watched some movies as a family. We watched "Despicable Me" on Bluray and then "Sorcerer's Apprentice" on Bluray. I'll post a review of Bluray this week sometime as well.

On Sunday morning, my family left. I am so thankful that they were able to visit this Christmas. We've had very few Christmas's together in the last 10 years, so it was nice to have a bigger family celebration.

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas as well and are looking forward to a Blessed New Year!

Book Review: Crucial Conversations

One of my goals at work this year was to read the book, "Crucial Conversations" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler. "Crucial Conversations" tackles the topic of how to maintain your cool and progress through meaningful dialogue when the stakes are high and emotions are running higher. This is definitely a talent I could use, and I understand why my boss gave me this goal.

I thought this was a good book, though it did take me more than a month to get through. As with any non-fun book, it read a lot slower than "Harry Potter" or "Percy Jackson." And...well...I didn't read it for 2-3 hours every night like I would those type of books. But, it was good reading. I learned a lot, and I think I picked up some good strategies that I can apply. In fact, I think that I will have to use some of these strategies to get through some difficult meetings when work resumes on January 4th. Yes, that's right, I'm off work until January 4th...woohoo. I've already successfully applied some of these strategies in conversations with my wife, and these conversations went significantly better than history would indicate they should have gone.

If you think you need to work on your conversation skills because you find you struggle to get your meaning on the table when emotions run high, or you tend to lose control when the stakes rise, I think "Crucial Conversations" would help you. I'm going to get made fun of by a lot of the people I work with who read this blog, but I'm really glad I got assigned this book as a goal.

Movie Review: Avalon High

I have a weak spot for many things in my life. Buffalo Wings, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and lightweight golf shirts...to name just three. Well, a couple of other weaknesses are Cheesy Feel Good Disney Movies and King Arthur stories. Add to that, the fact that I thought the Patriots/Packers game last night would be a blow out, I wanted to try out the Netflix streaming on my new TV now that I have 3 Mbps speed at home and the fact that I was feeling ultra lazy...well let's just say we had the perfect storm of circumstances to prompt me to watch Disney's "Avalon High."

Frankly, this was just an average Disney movie, so I won't spend much time on it. The story was a bit weak, though it did throw two plot twists at me, and I really only saw one of them coming. The lead actress was actually pretty good, but the rest of the cast was just average, which was surprising considering Molly Quinn, from "Castle" was part of that cast. I guess it just wasn't a great role for her. Overall, "Avalon High" is a 3 star movie...maybe trending towards 2.8.

The Netflix streaming, on the other hand, was terrific. I experienced near HD quality from my streaming video. Everything loaded up very quickly and it was extremely easy to use. This is going to be a great way to take better advantage of my Netflix subscription. Oh, and the Patriots/Packers game ended up being a nail biter. The Patriots won 31-27...guess maybe I should have watched that...or, you know, done something productive with my life.

TV Series Review: Castle, Season 2

My wife and I slowly made our way through the 5 discs of season 2 of "Castle". We finished last night. We kept each disc for about a week, which is why there haven't been any movie or TV reviews lately. Though, with my new TV and the Netflix app on the TV, I see more reviews in the future.

"Castle" is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows. In fact, I'm debating whether it is better than "Psych", but right now, I think it's a close second to "Psych". "Castle" stars Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a mystery writer who is following NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) around, because she is the muse for his new book series. With the success of the first book, Castle is back with Beckett for another season of solving murders and playful banter.

The cast of "Castle" is just terrific. Nathan Fillion is one of my favorite TV actors, ever since "Firefly." Stana Katic, who I'd only seen in a "Librarian" movie before this is really good as Detective Beckett. At home for Castle is his teenage daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn) and his sometimes live-in mother Martha (Susan Sullivan). They add a nice dimension to the show without overwhelming it.

Each episode is interesting, but usually either my wife or I has pegged the murderer by the end, so it can be somewhat predictable. What keeps the show good is the banter between Castle and Beckett and the side story that is usually going on in the Castle home. The semi-predictability of the plot doesn't ruin it is my point.

This is just a really good TV show...5 stars! I can't wait to watch season 3...and the best part is, I have 10 episodes of season 3 waiting on the DVR.

Banishment!

Our first Christmas as a married couple was an exciting one. We had been married almost 12 months, and we were expecting our first child in early December. Around Thanksgiving that year, my wife and I went to K-Mart in Brookings, SD to purchase a small Christmas tree, some lights and some basic ornaments. We were unable to go visit family because my wife was due in about 2 weeks. At K-Mart, we bought a Denver Broncos tree ornament, among other things, that I have proudly hung on our tree for the last 10 years.

This year, I banished that ornament. I find that I am so disappointed by the Denver Broncos organization that I couldn't bring myself to put it up. It's not just that they are losing, but it's the way the organization has conducted itself since the firing of Mike Shanahan. Bad decisions, bad examples on the field, and a cheating scandal off of it. I thought there was nothing that could ever taint my love for my team, but it's tainted this year. I still care, but I find that they are just disappointing me too much, so I have sort of shut down so as not to open myself up to further hurt, shame and disappointment.

I know, I know, some of you are saying, "Jake, you told me you were working on caring less about sports," which is totally true. I didn't cry or curl up in the fetal position or anything. I just made a rational decision to banish the ornament for this Christmas. I do sincerely hope that the Denver Broncos get their act together and earn my trust again. When they do that, the ornament will return to my tree. Until then, it will remain in a cardboard box in my cold garage.

The Art of Scrambled Eggs

Who knew I had been making scrambled eggs wrong my entire life? Today we had another family over after church for brunch. The husband/father of this family is one of my chief mentors in cooking. In fact, my father-in-law getting me hooked on Food Network, and this friend's cooking are probably the 2 biggest influences in me wanting to cook more.

So, for today's meal, my wife made a French Toast Casserole, which was awesome, by the way. I was in charge of eggs and bacon...pretty easy stuff. So, I was mixing the eggs for the scrambled eggs like I always do, and my friend said that I needed to me more aggressive. He then took the bowl and the whisk and demonstrated for me. The point of the more aggressive whisking is to get air into the eggs, making them more light and fluffy. He actually tilted the bowl and created an egg whisking vortex. It was magical! Who knew there was such an art to this stuff?

For the 2nd batch of eggs, I applied this method (not nearly as well), and they were the best scrambled eggs I had ever made. They were light and fluffy, and the most yellow scrambled eggs I had ever made...apparently I had never gotten them really well mixed before.

I know this friend reads my blog sometime, so thanks for the continued tips and techniques in cooking.

Life is Good

Why you may ask? Well, because today, my mother-in-law bought us a 42" LG LED-LCD TV. With 1080p capability and a 120 Hz refresh rate, this TV is everything I've ever wanted in a television. I finished hooking it up, and the picture is fantastic. I also picked up an LG BluRay DVD player...didn't buy any BluRay discs though. But, I put in a normal DVD and the picture was outstanding.

The only thing that I haven't been thrilled with so far is the Internet connectivity. I can't get the wireless Internet to connect to it, and I don't have a cable in my living room that I can run to it. I will be calling the Geek Squad about that, because the TV is Netflix capable, so once I get the Internet connected, we can watch Netflix movies on live streaming.

I went with LG because my younger brother has an LG TV that he said he loves, and a coworker recently got an LG TV that he swears by. Plus, it seemed to have the best picture of the 42" TVs on the Wall o' TVs at Best Buy. I'm very happy with this TV and looking forward to years of viewing in full 1080p.

Another Coach Fired

I know that most people who read this blog don't care about sports or the Denver Broncos, so, you can stop reading now if you don't care. Please return for my next post though.

Today my favorite NFL team, the Denver Broncos fired 2nd year head coach Josh McDaniels, with 4 games left this season. McDaniels was 11-17 in 2 years, but started 6-0 last season, so if you do the math, he has won only 5 of his last 22 games. That won't git 'r done.

On top of this, McDaniels has made several personnel blunders, and had an embarrassing video scandal, in which his lead video man was caught video taping the San Francisco 49ers practice. McDaniels claims he never watched the video, but he also didn't report the incident. All of this added up to Broncos owner Pat Bowlen firing McDaniels today, even though McDaniels is owed $7 million more, and Bowlen still owes previous coach Mike Shanahan some money too.

This is an expensive decision for the Broncos, but one that had to be made. As much as I hate to see a guy lose his job, McDaniels had to go. He wasn't winning football games, sure, but it wasn't just that. He is hated in Denver for his perceived arrogance and his personnel decisions. He traded away fan favorite Peyton Hillis, who is now having a Pro Bowl season with the Cleveland Browns. In fact, he's gotten rid of most of Mike Shanahan's players, in favor of "his type of guys." McDaniels has made wrong move after wrong move, and it caught up with him today.

Josh McDaniels is a young man at 34. He was in way over his head. I'm sure he'll get another job as a position coach or coordinator somewhere. With more maturity, he may even get another head coaching job. His fiery attitude would actually be perfect for the college game. Basically, the man will be ok.

The Broncos, on the other hand, are another story. The team lost a lot of good will with its fan base over the last 2 seasons. They are depleted in talent, to the point where I don't think they can be successful for 3 to 4 more seasons, which is an eternity in today's NFL. This season is a complete loss, and whoever the coach is next season has a daunting task. Luckily, it's just a game and life moves on.

Beyond My Comprehension

I heard on the radio news that a far left political group called The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is going to be running an ad in Iowa, attacking President Obama as weak on taxes because he may compromise on repealing the Bush tax rates for all Americans, including "wealthy" American families making over $250,000 a year. Yes, I called them tax rates...they've been in effect long enough that they are now the tax rates, and not maintaining these rates is a tax increase. Just owning the argument...that's all.

As an interesting side note, the Pelosi followers in the House of Representatives passed a bill extending the Bush tax rates for the middle class, but implementing hikes back to the confiscatory Clinton era levels for single people making more than $200,000 and married couples making $250,000. House Republicans have already said that this bill has no chance of passing the Senate, so it's a purely politically ideological move by the people who were soundly defeated in the elections 1 month ago.

Anyway, back to my point. I can't understand the motivation of people who are so bent on taking other people's money that they would invest their own money to run ads that advocate the taking of other people's money. To me, that's what this ad by The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is doing. It's dividing America along economic lines and demanding that certain people pay more! Why would anyone ever think this is right or good?

I have theories. One theory is that these people simply hate people who have been successful because they believe they must have cheated their way to it. Another is that these lefties think that the job of the Government is to somehow force fairness in economics. Still another theory is that they feel that they are owed something by the government and to get what they are owed somebody has to pay the price. These are all my theories, but frankly I can't understand how anybody could possibly think this way.

Personally, I believe people are entitled to do with their money what they please. I think that some level of taxation is necessary, but I believe our government is bloated and spends too much, so I would never advocate tax increases until the government stops spending. I believe in helping my fellow man, but I believe in doing it on my terms, not on terms set by people in Washington. And, I believe hard work that leads to success should be rewarded, not despised.

The truth is, most of the people who we are talking about increasing taxes on, worked hard to get where they are. They are good at what they do because they take pride in their work and this has driven them to do better than others. They should not be punished or made the villain in this story. They should be held up as examples of what all Americans can be with just a little hard work and a lot of perseverance.

That's what I think anyway...maybe I need to run an ad.

"Surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious...and don't call me Shirley." - Dr. Rumack, "Airplane"

If you are my age, or around my age, or older, or a fan of really good movies, then you know that quote. You know it's from the classic spoof film "Airplane", and you know it was uttered by one of the greatest comedic actors of our generation, Leslie Nielsen. Leslie Nielsen died yesterday at the age of 84. For many, Nielsen will be remembered as Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad in the "Naked Gun" movies, or as Dr. Rumack in "Airplane". What many don't know is he started his career as a leading man in many more serious roles. If you read his bio on IMDB, you'll see that the man literally had a part in making well over 100 movies and TV shows.

"It's true what they say: Cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of Drano; sure, it'll clean you out, but it'll leave you hollow inside." - Lt. Frank Drebin, "Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad"

In his later years, following the "Naked Gun" movies, Nielsen made several more spoof films. While I never enjoyed them as much as I did "Airplane" and "Naked Gun", Leslie Nielsen was always great, even in lesser roles. Today this world is a much more serious place with the passing of Leslie Nielsen. Fortunately, his deadpan humor will live on forever in the movies he made and the fans he picked up along the way.

"I just want to tell you both good luck, we're all counting on you." - Dr. Rumack, "Airplane" and President Harris, "Scary Movie 3"

November Golf

I just played 9 holes of golf. It's November 28th, making this the latest I've ever gotten to play since moving to Iowa. Who says there's no upside to Global Warming?

Frowning Frosty!

I'm just in a random mood today, and apparently semi-sappy based on the content of this blog. Last Friday, my wife and kids met me for lunch. We met at Wendy's because the kids like that, and it's one of the few fast food places that my wife and I can both eat. We can't eat McDonald's and Burger King like we used to.

Anyway, we were having a good old time. Both of my boys got Frosties with their meals. On the french fry containers, and on the drink cups, it said "It's impossible to frown while eating a frosty." So, I issued the challenge to my kids to try to frown while eating their frosties.

What followed was shear hilariousness as they would attempt to frown, laugh at each other, and then try again. After about 5 minutes, my older son, David, managed to sustain a frown while eating his frosty. At that, Nicholas decided he had to go tell the manager about their false advertising. Fortunately, Wendy's was really busy, so he didn't get to talk to the manager, and was actually really good about just letting it go.

That's a great memory, and I'll keep it with me for a long time. I'm really glad I decided to go to lunch with my family...something I rarely do during the work week, because I'm always "too busy." I guess the lesson for me here is to try my best to never be too busy for family time...I might miss something good along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

In a conversation I had with Nuke earlier this week, I learned that Thanksgiving, and generally this whole week is his favorite of the year. I too enjoy this week, and especially today.

We started our Thanksgiving Day by going to Mass. We like to do this...after all, it's God that we have to thank for our blessings, so going to Mass seems very appropriate on Thanksgiving. During the Homily, our Priest mentioned that one of the things he is thankful for is his struggles. That's something I've struggled with all day (no pun intended). It's easy to be thankful for the our abundance, but for the things in life we struggle with? Not so much. I think that's something I'm going to have to work on going forward. I don't really have any profound thoughts on this topic, I was just struck by the idea.

The rest of our day was a quiet one. It was just the 4 of us this year, so we didn't go the turkey route. Instead, I made a chicken, that was excellent. You can find the recipe that I followed at allrecipes.com. I did deviate a little...I mixed the herbs with the lemon and olive oil and applied it all at once, rather than doing as the recipe suggested and rubbing with the herbs first then the olive oil/lemon juice drizzle. I then stuffed the cavity with half a lemon and 4 cloves of garlic. The chicken turned out moist and delicious. We will make this again.

We had mashed potatoes, asparagus, sweet potato casserole and buns with our chicken, and finished with pumpkin pie for dessert. It was an excellent meal and a really nice day.

Yes, I have many things to be thankful for this year...maybe even the things I struggle with. Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends who take the time to read my blog.

The Songs We Fill Our Heads With

It's almost 10 pm. I have to be at church at 6:30 am to play piano at the 7, 9 and 11 am masses, and I'm blogging for the 2nd time tonight. Why am I doing this? Well, because I have a thought stuck in my head...brought up by a friend at prayer group 2 Fridays ago. Why is it that most of the songs that we listened to, and loved, when were kids have a really screwed up message, if you really listen to the lyrics? What did we fill our heads with as kids?

Today I listen to mostly Christian music or talk radio (sports or conservative). My kids listen almost solely to Christian radio, and I'm thankful for that.

One song in particular has had me vexed (yes, I said vexed) for the past couple of days. When I was in high school, I loved the Crash Test Dummies. One song in particular that I enjoyed was "God Shuffled His Feet". You can listen to the song and watch the video at this YouTube link. I can take 2 possible meanings from this song:

1) Earthly concerns are silly and God, as portrayed in this video, is trying to demonstrate this, by not answering the questions that the people ask, and instead telling them a parable that, sadly, they don't understand. For example, they ask questions like "If you're eye, got poked out in this life, will it be waiting up in heaven with your wife?" God responds by shuffling his feet, glancing around and then telling a parable about a boy with blue hair. If I run with this interpretation of the song, God is saying, things of this earth are not important in heaven, so don't be concerned with earthly things.

2) This option is more cynical. One could take from this song that God is some distant being that is just messing with us, like we're here for his entertainment. Given the video, that is likely what the songwriter or video producer wanted me to take away as the meaning.

Where I get really off is the Crash Test Dummies have another song called, "How Does a Duck Know", and in this song, they seem to marvel at the fact that "everything seems planned out, everything seems so nicely planned out." Someone had to do the planning. When I was a kid, I assumed these guys were men of faith because of these 2 songs. I might be wrong with this assumption, but I think I can still choose number 1 as my takeaway. I was talking with Nuke about this on Friday, and he pointed me to 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "Test everything. Hold on to the good."

So, I'm going to choose to take option 1 as the meaning I get from this song that I loved so much as a kid. Even if the Crash Test Dummies meant option 2, I believe that I can choose to take the good message from it and throw away the rest. I'm also going to stick to my Christian music going forward...at least I'm pretty sure I know what message it is trying to convey.

Have We Gone Too Far?

All week long I've been hearing about the enhanced passenger screening techniques that are now being employed at airports. In about 70 airports there are full body scanners that produce a nearly naked image of the person being scanned. The TSA is also employing full body pat downs more frequently. We are being told, from the President on down, that these enhanced screening measures are necessary to keep airline passengers safe, and these methods are the only means effective against preventing another Christmas Day Bomber.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this. I know I don't want to undergo a body scan or receive a pat down. But I also want air travel to be safe. What I'm struggling with is how much of our lifestyle do we let the terrorists affect? They have definitely made air travel less convenient, and some people are skipping it completely. So from that standpoint, the terrorists have won a small victory, and with each additional security measure that inconveniences Americans, the victory gets a little bigger.

What I really think we need is common sense here. This is going to be controversial, but I really believe TSA agents should be allowed to profile. It's not the 80 year old grandmothers we need to worry about. We handcuff our security agents with our current policies. I realize this is wholly unfair to entire groups of people, and I feel bad about that, but a reasonable person should understand.

I'm really on the fence on this one. I think we have gone too far in some areas, while I believe we haven't gone far enough in others. I guess for now, I'm going drive my car whenever I can. It's gotten to the point with me that air travel is not nearly convenient enough to put up with the hassle. Whenever I can, I prefer to drive, simply because I have control over when I leave and when I get where I want to be. I will still fly for business when I need to, and suck it up as I go through the enhanced security screenings. That seems to be the reality of where we are in 2010.

A Plea for Comments...and Good BBQ

Last week, Nuke did a blog on a "Nobody Reads My Blog" T-shirt, and he got several comments of encouragement. I told him today that I was going to write a blog fishing for comments, just like him, since I've gotten only 1 comment in my last 9 blogs, and it's generally Nuke who comments lately (but not in a stalker sort of way).

Just kidding Nuke...that blog was great. And actually, I've really been struggling with this because I started this blog as a man/nerd diary, but I did hope people would read it and it would prompt them to think, or at least laugh at my wacko thoughts. The lack of comments lately has really bummed me out because I've been really feeling inspired to blog lately, and I have come up with some topics that I think are interesting. Ok...maybe the problem is that my interests are way out there, but I acknowledge that now.

So, I was thinking, what can I write to get people to comment? I even told Nuke I was going to simply post "Please Comment on my Blog if you still read it" but I decided against that. Instead, I decided that I would perform a community service, and hopefully get some comments as well. Anyway, here goes!

I love good Barbecue, and I love a good Barbecue sauce. My favorite sauce is Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy. It's sweet, spicy and smokey. Rich and Sassy is everything you want a Barbecue sauce to be! I eat it on ribs, pork chops and pulled pork to name three. I can't imagine a better barbecue sauce.

But, I am willing to try others! So, if you have a personal favorite BBQ sauce, please post a comment letting me know what your favorite sauce is. Personal recipes are welcome as well. With any luck, all 4 of my readers will post and we'll have 5 good BBQ sauce options. Thanks for taking the time to read my random ramblings...I'll try to keep them random.

Reilly Nails It!

I am so torn on Rick Reilly. Sometimes he drives me absolutely crazy, and other times he writes columns like this one on the Mike Shanahan/Donovan McNabb controversy in Washington. Reilly writes this column using that rare commodity these days, common sense, and I find myself wanting to like his stuff again.

For those not aware, a couple weeks ago, new Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, benched Quarterback Donovan McNabb with 2 minutes to go and inserted Rex Grossman. Grossman screwed up and Washington lost the game. Shanahan initially said Grossman knew the 2 minute offense better, and then later said that he felt McNabb's conditioning wasn't good enough to run the 2 minute offense. Basically, Shanahan screwed up because everybody knows Donovan McNabb is a better Quarterback than Rex Grossman, but Shanahan couldn't admit it...he has a hard time admitting he's wrong, as do most type A personalities.

What caused this situation to blow up is the fact that Donovan McNabb is African American. Yes, it's all coming back now isn't it? This is the same Donovan McNabb that Rush Limbaugh commented on several years back. Rush was summarily fired from ESPN for causing controversy...which is ironically why ESPN hired him in the first place. Anyway, as the race card seems to follow McNabb everywhere he goes, several prominent liberal hippy sports writers started calling Mike Shanahan a racist. Most notably, John Feinstein, who Rick Reilly so eloquently destroys in his column.

(Author's Note: I've read a lot of John Feinstein's work, and he's a very good writer, however, he tends to let his leftward leaning politics sneak into his writing a little too often. That's just my opinion, which I give here on this blog, in case you haven't noticed.)

See, Rick Reilly gets it and John Feinstein does not. Not everything that happens, good or bad, between black and white people involves racism. Sometimes one guy is just stupid and makes a mistake, which happens to wrong the other guy. If it was the white guy who screwed up and wronged the black guy, does that automatically make him racist? No! Absolutely not! Use some common sense here!

John Feinstein should stick to writing about sports and Rick Reilly should keep writing great stuff like this.

A Rare Victory

This blog is probably going to get me in trouble with all my friends who are University of Iowa fans, but I'll just have to deal with the consequences. Today, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (my Alma mater), beat the Iowa Hawkeyes in men's basketball, 79-69. It's just the 2nd win all time for the Jacks against a Big Ten School...they are now 2-27 against the Big Ten. So, I will revel in this one a bit.

I think I've blogged before that the Jackrabbits men's basketball team has really struggled since moving to Division 1 in 2004. I was encouraged by what I saw today. I know the Iowa team is down this year, so the win isn't as shocking as some might think. Still, the Jackrabbits played tough, fell behind in the 2nd half, then regrouped and won the game. They've lost a lot of games these past several seasons, so to shake that off and win a game against a major conference opponent is a big deal.

Oh, and don't worry Iowa fans, you get your chance for revenge when Iowa women's basketball team travels to Brookings to play the Jackrabbits later this year.

Easy Cheesesteak

In October of 2008, I had my first Philly Cheesesteak at a dive called Jim's Place near the Philadelphia International Airport. I've been hooked ever since. I haven't been back to Philly in the last couple of years, but I have had my share of Cheesesteaks, including one at Walt Disney World. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to duplicate this magnificent sandwich at home. A good friend of mine, who is from Philly originally, made me a really good cheesesteak at his home, but he is far more talented in the kitchen than I am. I tried buying ribeye steak (the cut of meat in a traditional cheesesteak) and slicing it up, but I couldn't get it thin enough. I even tried Steak 'ums, but they just ended up dry and tough. I just couldn't duplicate the flavor...until recently.

A few weeks ago, our Schwan's delivery guy had a special on the Schwan's Philly Beef, so my wife bought some, knowing that I love Cheesesteak. Yes, we buy a few things from Schwan's...it's generally very good stuff and nice to have on hand for pulling together a quick meal.

The Schwan's Philly Beef is the closest I've been able to come to a real cheesesteak. It actually looks like a small ribeye steak. I cook it on a flattop, and it easily breaks apart into thin strips of steak. I add a little salt, pepper and garlic power, and then mix in some cooked yellow onions. I then toast a hoagie roll and melt some Cheez Whiz and combine into a Pat's King of Steak Style Cheesesteak, which I've been told is the original Cheesesteak. Pat's will be a destination for me next time I'm in Philadelphia. This ends up making a delicious sandwich that goes great with potato chips and pickles. If you aren't a fan of Cheez Whiz, you can do the same thing with Provolone or any type of cheese really.

I plan to get the Philly Beef from Schwan's more often and experiment with different sandwich combinations. For my money, it's the closest I can come to the thinly sliced ribeye required for a Philly Cheesesteak without actually buying a slicer and spending $10-15 per lb. for ribeye. Winner Winner Cheesesteak Dinner (yes, I still watch too much Food Network).

"We Are One Body"

This is a song that the Men's Choir that I accompany at my church is currently learning. We will be leading this song at mass in 2 weeks. I'm really excited about this one and I wanted to share it. It's about 6 minutes long...enjoy!

Return of the Food Police

Well, San Francisco has once again shown why someone like Nancy Pelosi can get elected to Congress. In a truly nanny-state move, the city of San Francisco has passed an ordinance banning the use of toys in kids meals unless the meals meet certain nutritional standards. From Reuters, "The San Francisco law would bar toys from being given away with kids' meals unless those meals have fewer than 600 calories, contain fruits and vegetables, and include beverages without excessive fat or sugar."

This is yet another example of what unchecked liberalism is capable of. These San Francisco liberals have pushed their way farther into the lives of the citizens of San Francisco...and sadly, those people out there don't seem to care. They keep electing people who think like this, and they keep sending Nancy Pelosi back to Congress. Maybe the country should pass a law banning San Francisco from participating in the Federal Government until they get some common sense.

Ok, I really don't want that. Actually, I think this is an opportunity for the fast food companies to stick it to the man. If I had a fast food restaurant, I would make my menu look like this:

Kid's Meal w/ Greasy Burger, Fries and a Sugary Drink - $3.50
Kid's Meal w/ Greasy Burger, Fries, a Sugary Drink and a Toy - $4.00
Kid's Meal w/ Healthy Stuff and the same Toy - $8.00

To me, this would be the perfect way around the law. They are selling the toy for 50 cents, and they are making the point that the healthy options cost them more so they are passing that cost on to the consumer. Look, unfortunately, this is a country full of fat kids who's parents don't do a good job of feeding them a balanced diet. That's not the fault of the fast food places...they provide a service that people pay for. If you liberals are so concerned about fat kids, create a fat tax to punish the fat people...the kid's meal problem will take care of itself. A liberal is probably reading this right now and doesn't realize I'm joking...in fact that liberal probably thinks I just came up with a really good idea.

You can't police this...this is a free country (currently, though Obama and the Dems are working on that problem) and we have a right to eat what we want to eat when we want to eat it. It's a parent's job to feed their child good food. If they fail, that's their fault too. It's time for the return of personal responsibility, something that has been missing in this country for far too long.

Fried Chicken!

I bought a cast iron skillet about a month ago for the sole purpose of frying chicken. Ok, there are other great uses for my cast iron skillet, but I really wanted to fry chicken. I love fried chicken...my wife does not. So, it's a once in a while thing.

The family was out of town this weekend, so last night I had a friend over to watch football and I made my first attempt at fried chicken. I used this recipe from Paula Deen, who I figured would know a thing or 2 about fried chicken.

I followed the recipe almost exactly. I didn't have self rising flour, but I found out that you can convert all purpose flour to self rising flour by adding 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt per cup of flour. So, I made my own self rising flour. The other deviation I took was I used Frank's Red Hot sauce instead of Texas Pete Hot Sauce (by the way, don't worry about the hot sauce, it doesn't overwhelm the chicken, just adds another dimension to the flavor). Also, technically I pan fried it rather than deep fried it, but that's splitting hairs.

Overall, the chicken turned out really good. I really liked the breading and the chicken stayed very moist. I think next time, I will use a smaller chicken and possibly take the chicken breast off the bone to help the breast cook faster. The breasts took almost 40 minutes to get done. The thighs took about 22 minutes (11 minutes per side), the legs took 20 minutes (10 minutes per side) and the wings took about 10 minutes total (mostly because there were almost totally submerged in the oil).

If you attempt to cook this, keep in mind that you need to maintain your oil temperature. I had a thermometer in the oil all the time, and with my electric stove, I had to work a little to keep it at 350 degrees, though the cast iron's super heat conducting capabilities really helped (thanks Alton Brown). Also, have a meat thermometer handy to check the internal temperature of the chicken...165 for white meat, 175 for dark meat. In fact, if you want to go about 10 degrees more done, that's ok...at least Alton Brown says so.

There isn't much I plan to change with this recipe. Next time I will probably season the chicken a little more liberally before dipping it into the wet mixture. I may even try to marinate the chicken or brine it to add a little more flavor to the meat. I won't change the breading mixture at all.

And the true test of good fried chicken...I ate it cold today and it was still good. I think we have a "winner winner chicken dinner," to quote Guy Fieri. Yes, I watch too much Food Network.

So, that's my fried chicken cooking adventure. If I can do it, anybody can. Enjoy!

Movie Review: Batman: Under the Red Hood

Another DC Comics PG-13 rated cartoon. For the last couple of years, DC has been rolling these out, and for the most part I've enjoyed them all. I'm a huge Batman fan, so I was very excited to see a preview for "Batman: Under the Red Hood." I caught this one last night on Netflix instant watch.

In this movie, Gotham is plagued by a new crime lord known as the Black Mask. But a new vigilante is on the scene waging an all out war on the Black Mask. While Batman has always refused to use a gun and won't kill anyone, the Red Hood has no such limitations. Even worse, the Red Hood seems to know everything Batman is going to do before he does it. It's up to Batman to find out who the Red Hood is and stop him before he does something unimaginable.

I really liked this movie. I'd put it at 4 stars. There are a number of reflections to Batman's past in this story, which is always interesting to a Batman fan like me. I thought the story was solid and was satisfied with the ending. I really enjoyed the vocal casting. Bruce Greenwood voices Batman, and does a really good job of it. I'm always going to be partial to Kevin Conroy who did Batman in "Batman the Animated Series" and "Justice League" but Greenwood is the best of the rest who have voiced Batman. I also though the vocal casting for Joker was great. The Joker was voiced by John DiMaggio, who I've never heard of, but did a great job.

I'll admit this movie isn't for everyone. But if you are a fan of DC comics and over 13 years old, I think you'll really like it.

More Hat Knowledge

One of my most commented early blogs was a post about the Fedora. You know, it's sorta sad that 2 comments counts as a lot for me. But I digress.

Yesterday, my friend and I went on walkabout at work. Walkabout is when we take a 10 minute break and go walk outside. It was about 45 degrees yesterday, so my friend put on his Ivy League Cap, though he didn't know it was an Ivy League Cap, and neither did I. In fact, I mistakenly referred to his Ivy League Cap as a Tam O'Shanter...how embarrassing for me!

So, without further adieu, some explanation. The Tam O'Shanter is a traditional Scottish style hat worn by men. This hat is named after a character in a poem by Robert Burns, written in 1790. And yes, I found that on Wikipedia. The Tam O'Shanter differs from an Ivy League Cap in that it has no bill and often has a ball or some other decoration on top. The Tam O'Shanter is pictured above.

The Ivy League Cap is the style of cap made famous by the late professional golfer Payne Stewart. Sadly, Wikipedia doesn't appear to have a page dedicated to the Ivy League Cap, and I'm too tired to go down a rabbit hole. Google "Payne Stewart Hat" to see what this style of cap looks like.

Now that I have expanded every one's hat knowledge, including my own, I'm going to bed.

Movie Review: "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising"

At the recommendation of Nuke, I gave this Indie film a shot. Nuke rated it 3 stars, and generally we're one star apart, so I assumed "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising" would be a 4 star movie for me. I don't know if I wasn't in the right mood or if Nuke's build-up was too much, but it fell short of a 4 star movie, though not a complete flop at 3 stars.

The plot follows a group of Dungeons and Dragons gamers who just can't complete this quest set forth by the Dungeon Master. They finally decide they need to add another 2 players. Sadly, they seem to not have 2 more friends. So one of the gamers invites his ex-girlfriend to join the group and the movie takes off from there.

I'm generally not a fan of low budget Indie films, though this had it's moments. As a former D&D gamer, I can relate to the characters, or I can identify who from my group the character most aligned with. Every D&D group seems to have the crazy guy, the dense guy, the reasonable one and the one who takes it way too seriously, and "The Gamers" does a good job reflecting that. I guess maybe it's my maturing taste in movies that prevented me from fully embracing some of the silliness of this movie. That was a joke...not really sure why I didn't like this more.

This is a good, but not great, flick. I'd put it right up there with "Fellowship of the Dice" for showing the real world of role play gaming.

And So It Begins...

On the eve of the 2008 elections, I started this blog because, in part, I was so highly annoyed that Barack Obama was going to be elected our 44th President that I needed an outlet to vent. Here we are 2 years and 102 political blogs later, and we are on the verge of another power shift in Washington. This time, it's the Republicans who are poised to take over the House and maybe the Senate. They will gain Governor seats and pick up State offices all throughout the country. One would think I would be rejoicing at the good news of tomorrow, but I'm not.

Don't misunderstand me, I still believe Barack Obama and the Democrats are really bad for America. Their policies are damaging and their motives are unclear. Really, any change away from these guys should be a good one. However, I'm cautious because the Republicans were barely any better the last time they were in power. So, I'm going to sit back and be prepared to vote against the Republicans in 2012 if they get in there and act in a manner that reminds me of the Democrats in any way.

It's time for a fundamental shift in this country, and that isn't going to happen by electing the same old tired politicians year after year. One of the funniest commercials this election season is that of Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who has been in Washington since before I was born. This commercial is listing off all the problems with Washington, and then asking us to send Chuck back to fix them. To which I scream "Haven't you been there for the last 35 years Chuck?!!! What have you been doing?!!! You should be ashamed to run this commercial!"

It is for this reason that I think the Tea Party is really good for this country, though the Democrats and media surely disagree. The people running as Tea Party candidates are not career politicians. They are grandmothers, businessmen and women and ranchers who are fed up with politics as usual and are trying to do something about it. They know what it's like to live outside the political class and they see where this country is headed if things don't change. I am praying that as many Tea Party candidates as possible are elected tomorrow, and I'll be doing my part.

For the first time in my life as a voter, I'm doing a protest vote tomorrow. I'm not voting for any incumbents, save for my local state representative. I am voting 3rd party for Governor of Iowa and I am writing in a candidate for the US Senate. I know that my candidates won't win, but I'm tired of holding my nose and voting for the lesser of two evils. Tomorrow is the beginning of what I hope will be a fundamental shift in this country. I hope to see you all out there with me voting for real change...for a change.

The Ultimate Super Hero

About an hour ago, I was at Wendy's with my son. We were talking about super heroes, because that's what he loves to do. He was telling me who his favorite heroes were, and then he asked me who mine was. I thought about a book I've been reading, and finally told him, Jesus Christ! We only talked for a little while longer before we went back to your typical comic super heroes, but hopefully it got him thinking, and maybe it will get you thinking too.

I mean, just think about it. Jesus is the Son of God, so right there He has a leg up on other super heroes. He can walk on water...pretty cool. He can change water into wine, very fun at parties. He can heal the sick, the blind and the lame...always a good skill to have, especially on a super hero team . He can multiply loaves of bread and fish, so you always have something to eat when Jesus is around. He's a natural leader...look at all the people who would follow Him around and hang on His every word. And finally, Jesus defeated the power of death itself...I don't know any other super heroes that can do that (no, Superman doesn't count, because he was only mostly dead after fighting Doomsday).

But seriously, how much better off would the world be if more people thought of Jesus Christ as their hero? If heroes are supposed to be the best examples for us to look up to and try to emulate, there is no better example in all of history than Jesus Christ. I really hope our little chat stuck in my son's brain somewhere, and I hope it sticks in the minds of anyone who reads this blog.

Darn You Denver Broncos!

Darn you to heck anyhow!!!

I hate it when my sports teams, and me by extension, are made to be a laughing stock. That is what I have been faced with these past 2 days since my Denver Broncos lost to that team of convicted felons known as the Oakland Raiders by a 59-14 margin. The Raiders are the most despised of teams to a Denver Broncos fan, so to lose like that was sickening. I actually had to turn football off on Sunday. I skipped Sunday and Monday night football and all the highlight shows. I just couldn't bear it.

Then today, my boss made a joke at my expense related to the Denver Broncos. It was a very clever, well conceived joke, but I'm not used to this. Also, Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio were having fun at the Broncos expense. It's all foreign to me.

I started following the Broncos in 1986, and they have been competitive almost every year in that 24 year stretch. This team may not win 5 games this year, and that's hard to take, and even harder when it makes your team the butt of every one's jokes. Ugh, it's going to be a long season.

Movie Review: "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"

I've had "Prince of Persia" sitting there, waiting to be watched for about a week now. Netflix was guesstimating that I was going to rate it 3.8 stars, and as it turns out, that's just about right. What I found was a good movie that was almost great.

"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan. He is the youngest of the 3 princes of the Persian empire. After Dastan leads an assault on a supposed traitorous city, he meets Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), finds a mystical dagger that allows him to turn back time and the adventure begins. The plot takes several twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat. But, then it all wrapped up a little too nicely...and I really like nice wrap-ups, but this was a stretch.

Overall, the action is great, the story is good and Jake Gyllenhaal didn't bug me like I feared he would. I think a lot of people will really like this, but I also believe that there will be some, like me, who thinks it all ended a little too easily.

Book Review: "The Lost Hero"

I think Rick Riordan might be my favorite author. First he wrote the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, which were 5 fantastic books. Then he got started on "The Kane Chronicles", which I thoroughly enjoyed. And now, he's giving us a sequel to the Percy Jackson series, "The Heroes of Olympus." I just completed it's first book, "The Lost Hero."

"The Lost Hero" is different from the Percy Jackson books in that it is told from a 3rd person point of view, and centers around 3 new heroes...Jason, Piper and Leo. This story takes place about 1 year after "The Last Olympian" (the final book in the Percy Jackson series), and things are amiss all around. First, Jason shows up at Camp Half-Blood, and is pretty sure he doesn't belong there, but he is also suffering from amnesia so he doesn't know why. Piper and Leo have memories of Jason that may or may not be real. It turns out, all 3 are demigods...children of the Greek gods. Oh, and one hero of Camp Half-Blood has gone missing (I bet you can't guess who that is).

I loved this book...couldn't put it down. I read it's 557 pages in about 4 sittings. The 3rd person point of view didn't bother me at all, and I liked that Riordan continually switches the focus between Jason, Piper and Leo. All 3 characters are great and mold well with the carry-over characters from the Percy Jackson series. I did miss some of the old characters, but I think all of my old favorites will gain more prominent roles and the series progresses. There's also the suspense of not knowing where the lost hero is and the worry over that throughout the book that kept me turning pages. Just a top notch story.

But, I will issue a warning, there is quite the cliffhanger at the end, so if you don't like cliffhangers, wait for the 2nd book to be released next fall. The title of the next book will be "Son of Neptune"...hmmm, wonder who that could be?

Liberal Translator

I read a blog on MSNBC today that has given me a great opportunity to use my Liberal Translator. The blog discusses the current Democratic campaign strategy of urging people not to vote with their emotions, specifically anger. Very interesting tact for a party that relies on emotion, not logic, to get their people elected. But, that's a topic for another blog.

So, here's how this works...I find things that liberals say in the media and then I translate it to tell you what the liberal really means.

First, this quote from former President Bill Clinton:

"People are angry," former President Bill Clinton said yesterday at a campaign event for Washington state incumbent Sen. Patty Murray. "But when you make a decision when you're mad about anything, not just politics -- there's an 80 percent chance you make a mistake."

Translation - you little people seem really ticked off, so rather than exercise your Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, just stay home.

And now this quote from our current President, Barack Obama:

"Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument do not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hard-wired not to always think clearly when we're scared," Obama told Democratic donors at a fundraiser in Massachusetts last week. "And the country is scared."

Translation - I'm so much smarter than all of you pathetic uneducated slobs. I'm so smart that there is no way you weak minded fools can possibly understand the genius of my policies. In fact, the depth of my brain power has so astonished your feeble minds, that the only way you can respond to it is with fear. And it is that fear that blinds you to my brilliance.

And then finally this, from Professor Eric Herzik of the Department of Political Science at the University of Nevada Reno. Professor Herzik is discussing the Harry Reid/Sharron Angle race. Senator Reid has repeatedly categorized Angle's views as "extreme". Professor Herzik said the following when discussing the message of a recent Harry Reid ad:

"You're mad at Obama. So you're going to let Sharron Angle be your senator? You may be angry about the economy, but the alternative is not a good alternative" for many voters in the state who think that Angle is "just too crazy."

Translation - Anyone who disagrees with a Democratic policy is crazy and doesn't know what is good for them. Trust us, we know what's best for you, even if you disagree with us.

That's all I have tonight folks. Hopefully we'll get some more opportunities for me to use this translation skill I have in the near future.

Mmmm....Chicken

I've always been a fan of fried chicken. When I was a kid we used to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken when it was still called Kentucky Fried Chicken. Eventually we decided that was too greasy and switched to our local grocery store for our fried chicken. When I was in high school I worked at Hardee's when it had fried chicken. That was good fried chicken. I actually got really good at making it. In fact one of my best days of work at Hardee's was when we were providing supper to the fire fighters who were battling a forest fire in the Black Hills. I made over 500 pieces of fried chicken that day.

So, where am I going with all of this. Well, I've been craving fried chicken lately, but our local grocery store makes terrible fried chicken, and KFC is still really greasy. Today my 7 year old and I went to Culver's for lunch. My dad had told me that Culver's fried chicken was outstanding, and he wasn't exaggerating. The chicken was so juicy and the breading was good but not overwhelming. Ok, and here's the most amazing thing, the mashed potatoes had lumps in it...so it wasn't a mashed potatoes mix. Or Culver's has found a mix that leaves lumps to make you think it's real. Anyway, they were really good too.

I think I have a new favorite fried chicken. I already have probably eaten more Culver's food than I should have in my life, and this just gives me another reason to visit on of my favorite chain restaurants.

Movie Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Well, tonight I finally took the plunge and saw a movie in 3D. Ok, I've seen 3D movies at Disney World and a few other places, but this was my first full length feature in 3D. I had heard that "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" was even better than "Avatar" in 3D, but I can't say for sure because I am still boycotting "Avatar".

First off, the movie. "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" was actually a really good movie. I'd give it a solid 4 stars, and my son might tell you it's a 5 star movie. The story moves pretty fast, and centers around young Soren, a barn owl who escapes captivity and searches out the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole to stop the evil owls who captured him in the first place. Along the way, Soren grows up and becomes the kind of owl he always dreamt about being. There are a couple of comic relief owls inserted as well, so it made for a good movie.

The 3D was really cool. It was like looking through a window, rather than having random things fly out at you. I eventually forgot I was wearing the glasses and just enjoyed the show. I'm not sure I'd like to see everything in 3D, but it really worked for this movie. Two thumbs up for the 3D.

I'm not sure how much longer the 3D theaters will be showing "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole", as our theater only has 2 showings left, but if you get a chance and you don't mind forking out the extra money, it's worth seeing this one in a 3D theater.

Movie Review: The Losers

Netflix was predicting 3.5 stars for me on "The Losers" and they finally missed badly on a prediction. This one is a 2 star movie. Maybe the fact that my wife and kids have been rating movies now that we can stream Netflix on the Wii is finally screwing up my predictions.

"The Losers" was a poor attempt at an A-Team style movie. But when compared with this summer's "A-Team", it lacked action, and tried way to hard to have a plot that just wasn't that good. The acting was terrible as well. The only redeeming factor for me was Chris Evans' character...he played his typical, funny, wise-cracking character.

I'd suggest skipping this one and watching "A-Team" instead.

Blissfully Ignorant

With that title, I bet you thought this was going to be an Obama post. Well, you'd be wrong...this is a post about umpiring in baseball. The playoffs are upon us, and once again, the umpires are getting way too much attention for their bad calls. So far, one could argue that 3 playoff games have been decided by screwed up calls by the different umpires.

The one case I saw was during the Twins/Yankees series, and is discussed in this story from Yahoo Sports. Basically there was an obvious strike that the home plate umpire called a ball. The batter should have been out. Instead, on the next pitch Lance Berkman of the Yankees hit what ended up being the game winning double. The Twins are getting used to this from the umpires these days (a similar bad call cost them a game last year in the playoffs against the Yankees).

From the Twins/Yankees game, using technology that is readily available to all, Yahoo Sports determined that there were 31 incorrect calls made on balls and strikes by the home plate umpire. Let's assume that the batters don't swing that often and the umpire is forced to make a judgement call on balls and strikes 200 times in a game (that's probably really high, but it makes the math easy). That means that this particular umpire is wrong 15.5% of the time, or to equate that to grading, he gets a low B. The postseason is supposed to use baseball's best umpires...are you telling me that the best guys are only getting the equivalent of a low B? Ridiculous!

The technology for instant replay is available. The TV audience knows right away whether or not a call is right or wrong. Baseball owes it to the fans and the teams to get the calls right. All they need is a 5th umpire in a booth somewhere reviewing each play. The data is available nearly real time and wouldn't affect the flow of the game. There is so much standing around in baseball anyway, that there would be plenty of time most games to reverse bad calls. Until baseball makes this change, its umpires will continue to be a big part of the story, and that's not what any of us want.

Movie Review: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lighting Thief

"Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" is good as a stand alone movie. As a movie, I rate it nearly 4 stars, probably 3.75. Overall the story was good, the action was good, and the characters were likable.

The only problem is, it was hard to look at "The Lightning Thief" as just a movie. Not when I've read all 5 of the "Percy Jackson & The Olympians" books, and not when I really liked those books. While the movie makes a nice 2 hour story, the book was so much better, even if it didn't have the thrill a minute excitement of the book.

This almost always happens when a book is translated to a movie. Very rarely do you get a "Lord of the Rings" or even the "Harry Potter" films. Instead, you usually get something that is loosely based on the book, which is why I rarely watch the movie versions of books that I like.

So, here's my recommendation. If you are capable of accepting "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" as just a movie, or if you haven't read the book, go ahead and watch this movie. Otherwise, skip it and read the books.

Book Reviews: Hunger Games Trilogy #2 and #3

"Catching Fire": This was my favorite book in the Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. "Catching Fire" was a great bridge between "Hunger Games" and "Mockingjay". This book was longer than "Hunger Games" and I appreciated the extra detail. We learn much more about our heroes, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, and we meet some fun new characters, including my personal favorite, Finnick O'Dair. Overall, this was a really good book, but be sure you have access to "Mockingjay" right away because there is quite the cliffhanger.




"Mockingjay": After reading "Catching Fire" I was a little disappointed with "Mockingjay", the conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy. It's not that "Mockingjay" was a bad book, it just didn't live up to the quality of "Catching Fire". I felt like some of the momentum was lost and the story was a little disjointed. I did enjoy the end of the book though, I just wish Suzanne Collins would have gotten us to that ending a little differently.

Overall, I did enjoy the Hunger Games trilogy. I think it's an appropriate series for teenagers on up. If you like post apocalyptic style stories, give these books a shot. I'd really like to discuss them with someone else who has read them.

Why Didn't I Practice More?

Today I took the day off work because I needed an extra day off, and because I wanted to play golf. I didn't play all that well, but it was better than working, even though I have a good job. As the saying goes, a bad day on the golf course is still better than a good day at work.

At one point in the round, I hit some really stupidly bad shots. I mentioned to my friend Gary, that it's a good thing I'm better at my real job than I am at golf because nobody would be silly enough to pay me to play golf.

Still, it got me pondering...why didn't I practice more? My dad always said I needed to practice if I really wanted to get really good, but all I ever did was play 18 holes then go home. I think there's a lesson in there that I should have listened to my dad...but don't tell him that.

So, I guess I will continue my day job and golf when time allows. The consequences of not heeding the wisdom of your parents reach far into adulthood.

I'm a Feta Fanatic!

Attention! I'm bringing randomness back to Jake's Random Ramblings.

So, a few months ago my wife and I went out to supper and I ordered a pasta dish with Feta Cheese. I've never been an adventurous cheese eater, though I've always loved cheese. Up until a few months ago, parmesan was probably fanciest cheese I've ever eaten. But, now that I've tried the Greek Feta Cheese, I'm hooked and will look for more exciting cheese adventures. As they say, Feta is Fantastic (ok, well they may not say that, but I just did).

Here are some feta facts for all my fellow feta fanatics...note I found most of this at Wikipedia, but they are usually at least semi-correct, so I'm running with it:

1) From food.com: Feta cheese is a cheese made from goat's or sheep's milk which is dry and crumbly with a tangy taste.

2) From wikipedia: Feta is a white cheese with small holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Being soft or sometimes semi-hard, feta is usually formed into square cakes. Its flavor is tangy and salty, ranging from mild to sharp. Its maximum moisture is 56%, its minimum fat content in dry matter is 43%, and its pH usually ranges from 4.4 to 4.6.

3) From wikipedia: After a long legal battle with Denmark, which produced a cheese under the same name using artificially blanched cow's milk, the term "feta" has been a protected designation origin (PDO) since July 2002, which limits the term within the European Union to feta made exclusively of sheep's/goat's milk in Greece. According to the Commission, the biodiversity of the land coupled with the special breeds of sheep and goats used for milk is what gives feta cheese a specific aroma and flavor.

So far, I've only eaten the flavorful feta in pastas, but I can imagine that it would be excellent on salads, and I'm really tempted to add it to lasagna in small amounts, since too much of it would overpower the other cheeses.

Here's hoping you have some fabulous feta forays in your future.

TV Series Review: "Warehouse 13", Season 2

My wife and I finished watching season 2 of "Warehouse 13" last night. "Warehouse 13" is a SyFy series about 2 secret service agents, Pete Lattimer and Myka Bearing, who work for a secret government warehouse in South Dakota, collecting dangerous supernatural artifacts and storing them away from the public. Being from South Dakota originally, I do have to comment that there isn't really a town name Univille located in the badlands near a secret government warehouse...that we know of anyway...

I liked season 2 better than season 1. I give it 4.5 stars...I really wish Netflix would embrace the half star concept. This season was very funny, and the rest of the cast got more involved, making for some exciting episodes. There were some good guest stars along the way as well.

I'm just really impressed with the way SyFy keeps rolling out great TV shows. I hope they keep it up for a long time and I'm already looking forward to season 3 of "Warehouse 13".

Movie Reviews

"Clash of the Titans": If you recall, several months ago, I posted that the preview for the remake of "Clash of the Titans" was the proper way to do a preview. It's too bad the makers of this movie didn't follow through on the movie. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad flick, but it's too short on the story. I really enjoy Greek Mythology, and this movie sort of glosses over that in favor of another battle scene or some cool special effect. It's as if they ran out of money with all the special effects and had to cut the movie 45 minutes short.

Overall, I give this one 3 stars.


"Despicable Me": We went to "Despicable Me" as a family at the cheap theater last night. Another ok movie that just fell short of being really good. There are quite a few laughs sprinkled throughout, but for me the story fell short of matching the feel good nature of the Pixar films, and "How To Train Your Dragon." My wife and kids on the other hand were rolling with laughter and loved the movie, so perhaps I was just in the wrong mood.

Another 3 star flick.

Just a Slip?

Last weekend, the Commander-in-Chief, using the Teleprompter-in-Chief, was speaking to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, when he quoted the following from the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.".

So, what's the problem with that? Well, the actual words that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration are, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Yes, he left out "by their Creator." Not surprisingly, the Drive-By media is ignoring this slip, but the Conservative Blogs have picked up on it. See what we wouldn't know without blogs? Imagine if George W. Bush would have made such a slip...all we'd hear about is what an idiot he is, but the Bamster screws up, and the media is silent.

Pundits have posed 2 possible theories on this. The first is that it was a mistake by the Teleprompter-In-Chief and Obama wasn't quick enough to catch it. The second, and more plausible, is that Obama's speech writer intentionally left it out so as not to offend Americans who don't believe in God. Notice that neither of these options actually blames Obama.

I'm going to propose a 3rd theory. I'm going to propose that this was an intentional omission by a man who believes that all rights come from the government and not our Creator. This is a man, who by his actions and words obviously has a god complex, and believes that the government he currently runs, should be the central force in our lives. Furthermore, I believe he doesn't agree with the Founders on much. I think that President Obama believes that the Founders gave us too much freedom and limited the power of the Federal Government too much, so I think part of him wants to change the words of the Founders, or the meaning of those words, to suit his purposes whenever he can.

And, to think, Obama would have gotten away with it too, if not for those meddling right-wing blogs and their ability to remember the actual text of the Declaration of Independence.

Movie Review: "Kick-Ass"

This is going to be a shortish movie review. I was really intrigued by "Kick-Ass" but never went in the theaters, and frankly, now that I've seen it, I'm really glad I didn't spend theater bucks to see this movie. It's not bad, but it's just not great either. It's maybe a 3 star film, but possibly 2.5.

What really surprised me was how violent it was. I was expecting a sort of updated "Mystery Men", but that's not what this movie is. Instead, it's almost 2 movies that eventually cross paths. There's the somehwat humorous story line involving the hero, Kick-Ass and then a much darker story line involving Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit Girl. They cross a few times and then finally big time at the end.

There are some humorous parts in this movie, but overall it came up short of being what I would classify as an absolute must see. You might like it, you might not, I guess it's up to you if you want to watch it.

Quick Lasagna Recipe

I'm not at the point yet in my cooking where I can make up my own recipes, but I am at the point where I can take a recipe and adapt it to our family's pallet, or at least to fit what my wife and I like. My kids are picky eaters, so I never know what they are going to like.

Tonight, that was the case with the Not-sagna Pasta Toss Recipe from Rachel Ray. We have tried this a couple of times before and we found it average. However, over the past year or so I have managed to adapt a marinara sauce recipe from Tyler Florence that we now really like. I can't find the link to the Tyler Florence original, but I like my adaptation better, so I'll give you that recipe.

Ok, so here is the quick lasagna I made tonight, using the concepts I learned from Rachel Ray's recipe.

Marinara Sauce:

Ingredients:
1 28 oz. can crushed Italian style tomatoes
1 small yellow onion
4-6 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like garlic)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Heat the onions and garlic with the olive oil until the onions become translucent looking. Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, sugar and bay leaves and let simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Brown some Italian Sausage and after the marinara has simmered for 15-20 minutes add the browned Italian Sausage. Continue to stir and let simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Note: This marinara sauce is on the savory side with a little heat, not much, but a little. Cut back on the red pepper and pepper if you prefer a sweeter sauce. You can also leave out some of the oregano.

Noodles:

Ingredients:
13.25 oz box of rotini noodles (though any short noodle would work)
1 and 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Boil the pasta in salted water until the noodles are al dente. Drain the noodles but save 1/2 - 2/3 cup of the salted pasta water. In a mixing bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese with the pasta water. Add the pasta and stir to combine.

Combine the noodle/cheese mixture with 3/4 of the marinara sauce/Italian Sausage mixture. Mix thoroughly and then top with the remaining sauce/sausage. Serve with Parmesan cheese on top.

I served this with some Parmesan Garlic Bread. Basically any type of french bread, butter it, top it with Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning and fresh grated Parmesan Cheese. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees then broil it for 2-3 minutes. Very good, very easy.

This whole meal took me about 45 minutes to make tonight...much better than the 2-3 hours it takes me to make real lasagna. This had much of the goodness of lasagna without all the work. If your family likes lasagna, I really think you'll like this recipe.

A Double Review

"Eureka, Season 4": I decided to do a 2 series review because both of these great series are on season 4...so if you haven't watched seasons 1-3 you probably don't care much about season 4. "Eureka" season 4 continues the goodness of the first 3 seasons, though for a while I was concerned. The writers made a pretty substantial change this season, and I wasn't sure how it would play out. But, in the end, I really liked it, as I have really liked the 3 prior seasons of this SyFy show. Sheriff Jack Carter continues to be one of my favorite characters on TV. This is another 5 star series...maybe trending towards 4.5.

"Psych", Season 4: I'm not sure why this picture didn't turn out the same size as the picture for "Eureka." Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Psych" is the best show on television, and it continues to be through season 4. Our heroes, Shawn and Gus are back for more crime solving hilarity with Shawn's dad, Detectives Lassiter and O'Hara and Police Chief Vick. The writing for this show is some of the most original out there.

For 3 seasons, the writers of this show have had a very reliable formula consisting of a murder, wise-cracking crime solving from the Shawn, the ultra observant fake psychic, and usually some last minute mentoring from Shawn's dad that helps Shawn tie it all together. Well, in season 4, they buck that formula in a couple of episodes, and it worked in all but one case.

This show is great...5 stars. With guest stars like Cary Elwes, Judd Nelson, Jeri Ryan and Ally Sheedy, how can it not be great. Also, you have to listen for the references to "The Mentalist", which is CBS's attempt at a serious version of "Psych". I'm going to be DVR'ing as many of the season 5 episodes as I can in preparation for the final 7 episodes of season 5 which start in November. Hopefully over the next 2 months I can see the first 9 episodes of season 5 which I missed while watching season 4, because, well, I love this show.