Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
I Judge Books By Their Cover
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
I judge a book by its cover. After years of being warned not to, I find it the second best reason to know whether or not a book is worth reading. First being friends or family recommending it. Third would be having a teacher tell you to read it. Fourth would be seeing it on the Daily Show or some other show where the author speaks. Reasons three and four can easily be trumped by one, and often are negated by two.
Covers Waiting to be Judged
When judging a book by its cover, don’t stop with the front. The back holds some valuable information as well. On audacious days check that cute little flap on the inside for a change of pace. The price listed in there has some immediate impact, sure sucks for those Canadians, but that is hardly a lasting deterrent.
After years of reading books I don’t understand the big fuss. Judging a book by its cover (though often the back or inside) is where a description of a book comes into play. Except for reasons one and four I don’t understand why one shouldn’t judge a book based on this merit. There are even quotes from others, and while I understand the editing process that goes into these quote decisions and therefore skip over them, I’m sure that holds a little power of decision for some.
The cover art comes in handy too. If I don’t trust this person’s judgment choosing a simple photo how can I trust the rest of what they’re about to try and make me consume. The art is there in order for you to save your reading energy for the inside where there are 399 more pages words.
If the cover is bad and you still have an unexplainable urge to read the thing, buy it in hardcover and take off the dustcover whose existence makes no sense to anyone anyways.
Tags: Blog, Books, Bored, Rambling, reading
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Peanut Butter
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
Our apartment ran out of peanut butter. Crisis. Peanut butter needs to be available at all times. I was out. My roommate was out. There is no one else to turn to for pb at these times. It is unacceptable. I love peanut butter, my roommate loves peanut butter, the dog even loves peanut butter.
Instead of driving to the grocery store, I looked up how to make peanut butter and found it quite simple. Peanuts and a little bit of oil, grind until it looks like peanut butter. I had always veered away from making my own peanut butter. Not that it seems hard to make things, but because I have never been able to find diglycerides in the grocery store; and if something is going to take too much effort I’m not going to be as excited about doing it.
Now, determined to make my own peanut butter, I headed off to find peanuts. Yes, at this point I could have saved a lot of energy and just bought a jar of peanut butter. I was now doing the very thing I set out to avoid doing, going to the grocery store on a weekend.
Got the two ingredients. There was pouring, blending, and poof! Peanut butter. During my brief planning there was no thought of needing a jar for the stuff. So I grabbed what I had, and not thinking ahead about volume, we now have a mug of peanut butter filled to the rim sitting in the fridge.
But it’s tasty, and I know what I’m eating. Next stop: jam, or jelly, or preservatives… still don’t know the difference.
Tags: Food, VitaMix
Posted in Review, Uncategorized, fooding | 5 Comments »
DIN TAI FUNG (Dumplings)
Friday, October 9th, 2009
When really really hungry because you wake up earlier then your friends and are therefore on a different eating schedule, you will inevitably find yourself with your stomach caving in while waiting in a good smelling restaurant for dumplings that Jesse has been bragging about for a week. While restaurants that are more native to the foods they’re serving generally serve better food, that also means that this dumpling restaurant only give out chopsticks. Not knowing how to use chopsticks efficiently has seldom hindered me life, so it’s not something I think about practicing. But when sitting in front of a plate of delicious pork filled dumplings, veggies, and rice with only two sticks in your malfunctioning hand the world just seems like a cruel joke.
I eventually found a way to maneuver some food into my mouth and found that the dishes were delicious and worth the drive for a try. The pork dumplings were by far the best, and of course squirted burning liquid out as you bit into them. The sides we ordered were tasty too. Except the rice. The rice was not sticky rice meaning I gave up on wasting time with the rice while the rest of my chopstick savvy friends ate up the rest of the food. So I cannot vouch for this place’s rice making skills. It was all good, but if you recall I was very hungry and I’m not sure I was in a proper food critic frame of mind.
To top off the experience, Jesse found some balloons in the parking lot. They made him happy.
www.dintaifungusa.com
Tags: Dumpling, fooding, friends, Restaurant, Review
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DRINKING OUT OF CUPS
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
I am either going to be praised for this or people are going to realize just where my sense of humor lies and will slowly start backing away.
At first I was going to preface this with a “don’t do drugs, acid is bad” disclaimer. Then I remembered that battery acid is good for some things, and drugs can heal people. It turns out that drugs can also create audio clips that can later be animated with a talking lizard.
The story goes that one of their friends was tripping on acid and locked himself in a closet. They recorded the dialogue (monologue?) he was having with and about everything he was seeing while refusing to come out of said closet. Logically animation and youtube were the next step for this gem.
The lizard is the best part of Geico, and this takes it to a whole new level. http://sn.im/qx94n
“That’s not my chair. Not my chair, not my problem, that’s what I say.”
*To be fair, the creator of this video has publicly stated (stupid PR) he was not on acid during the creation of this piece. If this was in fact planned from the start, I want to visit this guy’s mind for a day.
*There’s also language that’s going to make people cringe, don’t watch if you’re sensitive.
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Galileo Tames the Dough-Head
Monday, July 13th, 2009
My sister got my dog a bone this past Christmas. Yes, the dogs got gifts. Of course they were wrapped, who wants an unwrapped gift? You don’t get unwrapped candy at Halloween (and if you do, don’t eat it). Anyways…
Why I Like It:
- It was a gift, and therefore free.
- It is supposed to be indestructible and
last a lifetime meaning it will last her quite a few months.
- The dog likes it, which means she chooses that over chewing my things.
Why Sabaka Likes It:
- It is a toy. Everyone likes toys.
- It tastes like mint to her I guess. Though it doesn’t look like mint and I didn’t taste anything.
- It is big, heavy, and after some good chews gets rough around the edges. This makes it ideal for both leaving in the middle of the floor in dark rooms and dropping on my leg leaving specks of blood leading down to a smashed toe.
Thanks for the gift ek.
Tags: Dog, Holidays
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Honda Civic Musical Road
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
The best part of temporary unemployment is when your friends are also unemployed. It becomes summer break and so we revert to acting like we’re on summer break…
As the Honda Musical Road commercial aired one too many times, it dawned on me: It’s a commercial. I’m sitting in Hollywood. Hollywood films commercials. That looks like it could be California! After sobering up I used my mad internet skills to find the place.
Jesse and I jumped in the car and cranked some old college music, as dreams of what this rumble strip would sound like rose. Our eyes were peeled and when it was almost too late, we saw a small sign marking the start. We darted across a few lanes just in time to hear the start of the Lone Ranger theme. Through the car. It was awesome, and a little flat.
The road was begging us to speed, surely a cop would understand. We needed to hear the overture in the way William Tell meant it to be heard. Maybe a cop wouldn’t understand and it was the most elaborate speed trap ever. We took the risk. About 25mph over the speed limit later, it was in tune. Well all except the fifth to last held out note, that thing will be forever flat.
Yes, we drove an hour out to hear a 27 second piece of road. Yes, we continued to go back on forth on the road for 45 minutes. Yes, we parked then ran across the strips with far less pleasing results. No, I’m not completely ashamed for acting like a kid on summer break in front of many passing vehicles. There are only two places in the world with roads like this, and Lancaster is closer then Japan.
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500 Words on the Tour for Neil
Friday, June 26th, 2009
I started writing 500 words on the upcoming Tour de France for Neil on what seemed like a taunting challenge via Twitter. News of Chris Horner not being included on the Astana roster then derailed my original intensions. I drank some coke, ate too many snickers, and started writing a piece about what I’ll miss watching this year; that would be Horner acting like a stud in every possible way for his leader(s). I then got distracted writing out that rant and ended up with the word vomit below. Neil… it’s on the upcoming Tour, it’s about 500 words, and most of those words hold little to no value. Enjoy.
The 2009 Tour de France is fast approaching, and without a decisive team stepping forward to control the race. Race organizers have thrown in their own little gems this year as well. For the first time ever a crucial mountain stage is slated the day before arriving on the Champs-Elisees, and race radios have been banned for stages 10 and 13. Whether those changes will make a difference in the overall has yet to be determined, but they open the opportunity for tactical breakaways.
When breaks are inevitably caught, it will be time for the sprinters to step forward, with the notable exceptions: Robbie McEwen, who will sit out with a knee injury, and Tom Boonen, who is banned. Sprinters have four stages with fresh legs before the course goes vertical. Rabobank’s Oscar Freire will defend his 2008 green jersey, and looking to add to his previous four stage wins. With Columbia-Highroad’s Mark Cavendish lining up, it is not a question whether he will win a stage, but whether he will take more then the four last year. Challenging the sprint to the line will no doubt be the Cervelo Test Team. Cervelo beat out Columbia-Highroad when they went head to head at the Tour of California, and Thor Hushovd’s proven strength guarantees he won’t go down without a fight. Heinrich Haussler won’t be getting the lead out, but he showed form at Milan-San Remo and is still looking for his first Tour stage. Sprinters will fight for the extra inch every chance they get.
General classification offers a handful of strong contenders, none guaranteed the win. Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, and Levi Leipheimer are all racing for the recently revived Team Astana, and all know what it feels like to stand on the podium in Paris. Cerelo’s Carlos Sastre will be looking to prove that his win last year was not circumstantial. He showed his climbing legs towards the end of the Giro, and will come prepared for the Alps. Rabobank’s Denis Menchov is coming off a Giro where he heroically defended the pink jersey and will be looking to get a yellow one as well. Rounding out the contenders are last year’s bridesmaid Cadell Evans of Silence-Lotto, Frank Schleck with Saxo Bank (whose team is not showing the organization they had as CSC), as well as Casse d’Epargne’s Alejandro Valverde and Columbia-Highroad’s Kim Kichen both of whom wore some yellow in 2008. Christian Vande Velde finished fifth in 2008, but his form is still in question. Garmin isn’t bringing the strongest GC team they have to offer. Their selection spreads team focus across the GC, sprints, and the TTT, looking like a bid for the overall team win.
Garmin has a chance at the overall along with Astana and Rabobank, who is packing surprising depth. Nothing in this years Tour is certain. Teams expected to show strength have, but all have also revealed weaknesses. With no category completely locked up, this year’s Tour promises excitement.
Apologies if I did not meet the journalistic quota for number of times mentioning Lance Armstrong. Hopefully that last one will help.
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When The Moon Hits Your Eye Like A Giant Plate of Pasta
Friday, May 8th, 2009
Following European races makes me miss my limited time traveling through the continent. Delicious espresso and wine, no set plans or places to be, and everything I needed was in my backpack.
It’s a good thing bikes work on water.
Final provisions for the 2009 Giro de’Italia are underway. It has been nice seeing the teams getting all cozy on romantic gondola rides. Preparation for the time trial I guess. I’m excited to see a TTT in Venice. I’m going to guess it will be more technical then fast unless they just circle the island. Venice is tight quarters and it got confusing just walking around that city. Can hardly imagine it on a bike.
Actually, I did have a bike there for a short while. A little girl shared her bike with training wheels. It was pretty; I’d put it up against any one of Shepherd Fairey’s bikes any day.
No bikes will be needed though if riders did the tourist bird dance in St. Mark’s square. Those pigeons are rumored to be some of the most diseased unsanitary tourist traps anywhere. It’s only competition may be found in the Blarney Stone. While swine flu is all the rage right now, but the bird flu wasn’t that long ago. I have no idea how either disease is contracted or spread, but those pigeons are still gross. The risk probably shouldn’t be taken on the eve of a three week race, come back with your family for that experience.
Good luck to all the riders; big thanks to Universal Sports for allowing those of us in the States and Canada to be able to view the race. (Article and air schedule: http://sn.im/hkufc )
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If You Grab NY and Shake, All the Crazies Fall to CA
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
It is normally best for me to just space out on rides.
My sporadic thoughts:
Keep pedaling.
Crap that car was close.
Keep pedaling.
Rubber side down.
I can totally catch that guy up there.
Keep pedaling.
Ouch I’m out of shape.
Pedal anyways.
Pedal in a full circle you idiot.
Why did I put this song on my ipod?
Pedaling… still.
Keep in mind that in between all of those are long bouts of nothingness. I really do mean nothing; it’s shocking how few brain waves I can have.
To the lady walking opposite of the direction I was riding today, thank you for throwing a little gem into my blissful monotony. She looked all fine and innocent clearly sizing me up, but we could share the space on the road. As I got a length away she started barking at me. Not yelling at me, barking as in “dogs bark, cats meow.” She then lunged at me reaching for my bars like a chained up junkyard rott. Luckily, she missed.
So to this lady, thank you. Thank you for missing my brakes. Thank you for filling my mind with jokes and confused laughter. And thank you for reminding me that I live in a city.
With a backdrop of the Pacific no less. Only in this city… good day.
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Tattoo
Monday, April 6th, 2009
I do not have a tattoo. Nor do I want one. That does not stop me from thinking about a tattoo that I would get. There is nothing of real meaning in my life that I want to permanently put on my body for all see and ask about. Some say that’s depressing, others would be jealous. It just is what it is.
So then it comes down to what else I want on my body. Nothing. Read above, I don’t want a tattoo.
Ideas anyways:
A barcode. One that would actually scan in some stores. Since thinking about it, I’ve seen too many people with this, no longer is it fun.
“LLL” or “Live Love Laugh” After toting that mantra around for quite a few years realization set in that I may have subconsciously picked it up somewhere rather then thought it up myself.
A Chinese character that means something really offensive and then label it as “peace and harmony” in English. This would be better if I spoke Chinese.
A matching dot inside one of my toes with some friends. Um, we won a tattoo at a 24 hour film fest. None of us wanted it, this was our idea.
Now here is the one I would be closest to getting. I was born and raised in Wisconsin; while it is a great place to have grown up I have since moved on. I don’t plan on ever moving back, but will always stick up for the state and the Badgers. I’m a wanderer. If I tell three stories of dumb/fun times over a few beers, most likely none will have taken place in the same city. But no matter what I still come from Wisco.
So, like Barbie, I would put a flesh-toned tatt reading “MADE IN WISCONSIN” on the bottom of my right foot. Even if the ink turns out bad I’ve messed up that foot so much already that the tattoo isn’t going to be the worst thing about it.
So there you have it.
“Made in Wisconsin”
Barbie it up.
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