Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I’m heading to chaotic family dinner. I’m bringing Scalloped Potatoes with Gouda and Fennel. Best excuse to buy a mandoline ever.

White Plague

I just finished White Plague by Frank Herbert. Yep. That Frank Herbert. It is about a man who engineers a plague that will only kill women after his family is killed by the IRA. What struck me about the book, as with all his books, was how accessible it was in 2007, having been published in 1982 and taking place on Earth (as opposed to Arrakis, where he could make up anything he wanted). In White Plague, he made it believable 25 years later. He also had quite a grasp of DNA, virology and bacteriology, especially for 1982. Very good read.

American Gangster

Saw American Gangster the other night. My uneducated review:

Loooong movie. Could have been shortened by about 30 minutes. Denzel Washington put in a subtle performance, as did Russell Crowe. In fact, so subtle it was difficult to get into it. It was also a little predictable. I give it a B. It was a kale movie: good for me but not really enjoyable. Mr. Stockula hated it and was begging to leave after an hour.

14-3

OH-IO!

My Buckeyes trounced the Wolverines. Kind of an odd year. After the loss to Illinois last week, folks were a little subdued. Didn’t hear any new Michigan jokes or old faves until yesterday about halftime, when it was clear we were bringing our “A” game. Some favorites that warm my heart:

What time is it? 1:30…AND MICHIGAN STILL SUCKS!!!

What kind of battery does it take to shock a Wolverine? 1 AA.

How do you make Wolverine cookies? Stick ‘em in a bowl and beat ‘em for 3 hours.

Ah. Good times. I particularly like the local holiday with the tradition of getting loaded at 10 a.m. Game started at noon and no friends were doing anything. In order to get a seat at our bar of choice for sporting events, we arrived at 10:05, where we were able to get the last 2 seats at the bar. Well, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere; pitcher of dunkel, please. I love the instant camaraderie that gels. To the left, we had a father and son team: dad was from Youngstown and son was from Cincinnati. They met in the middle. Nice guys and a lot of fun. To the right was this kid who was funny as hell. Yelling and swearing, just like grandma used to do. That was my initiation into the swearing club. Nothing is funnier than a drunken gnome swearing a blue streak.

There is this guy that shows up at the Lizard for Buckeye games and buys rounds of shots for the entire bar. As the place holds several hundred people, his tab adds up to thousands of dollars. I always wondered what would make somebody do this. Seems so lonely to me. He wears his sunglasses no matter whether he's inside or out. We were able to piece together more of his story yesterday: he is possibly a bookie, as evidenced by his phone calls referencing the little betting paper thingie. We were also told he owns a local carpet cleaning company. Not to name names, but it rhymes with "Blaster Queen."

Back and pointless as ever.

Well Chickadees, I'm back in the land of blog.
It was a really cool feeling deleting the last blog, kinda like cooking.
Allow me to explain: The reason I like cooking is because I can create something that brings myself and others pleasure, whether it is a recipe (forgery) or off the top of my head (art... ok doodles with noodles). The wonderful thing about it is that it is inherently temporary. Even though you can re-live a meal by looking at photos and the menu you stole, what really leaves the impression is the taste of the food, the sounds and smells of your surroundings, the warm fuzzy of the place- something that can't be documented. Where was I going with that? Oh yeah. Deleting the blog was like throwing out the leftovers that I really didn't want any more, but kept because the original meal had been terrific. I'm probably going to look at this tomorrow and think "what a load of shit!! I really am back!" Anywho, post at you soon!