I was reviewing some old posts this morning and I came across something I wrote back on Christmas Eve, 2002.

I have been a little stressed this year and reading this post made me stop and think. Things get hectic and it is easy to get bogged down by all the annoying little things that happen but life is a precious gift and I realized I should thank God every day for what I have and for all wonderful people I have in my life.
Anyway, I am reposting it here for you this morning. Have a very happy Christmas, everyone!

Why is it so cool to hate Christmas?

I know it is easy to do.
We were shopping this last weekend and I was getting very annoyed at almost everyone else at the mall. It seemed like I was the only person there who was aware of his surroundings. I was constantly the one who was turning sideways to let people by and going out of my way to avoid people who were walking forward with their heads turned completely to one side, talking to their companion rather than watching where they are going. All of this was made even more frustrating by the fact that my wife is 9 months pregnant and had a very hard time getting around these insensitive jerks, none of whom even thought to maybe step aside for her or alter their pace in the slightest way.

Now, I could get all scroogy and say that there is no such thing as Christmas Spirit and become a grumpy, old, cynical bastard, but that won’t do anyone any good. Sure there are some assholes in the world that will park in handicapped spaces and push other people aside while shopping, but they will do that 365 days a year. Why dwell on it more during the holidays than any other time of the year? There is no magical force that it will somehow stop jerks from acting like jerks. If anything, this time of year can magnify it and make them act even worse.
When this happens you have a couple choices. You can go the “fashionably cynical†route as many bloggers have done, proclaiming an intense hatred for the whole thing because people in real life don’t act like they do in old Hollywood Christmas movies, or you can use the holiday vibe (as manufactured and phony as it may be) to look at your own life, see what you have to be thankful for, and enjoy yourself. Point and laugh at those pricks you run into at the shopping mall. Wave at someone who cuts you off on the road. Life’s too short for that kind of hatred. Why let these people make you one of them?

Myself, I am looking forward to sitting in front of the fire tonight with my beautiful wife and our two cats, having some egg nog and talking about how wonderful our life is going to be once our son gets here next month.

Do you like Ben Folds?

Do you like Christmas music?

Do you like foul language?

Do you like songs that reference Santa’s corpse?

If you answered Yes to at least two of the above questions, then this is for you:

Bizarre Christmas Incident

Enjoy.

October 29th?

I haven’t made an entry here since October 29th? And that was a review for an album that had already been out for over a year?

Well fuck me running, don’t I suck all to hell.

I don’t know how this got by me but Bob Mould released a new album last year and I just found out about it. I swear, I am so out of the loop sometimes.

I have been a huge fan of his ever since high school when Husker Du was one of my favorite bands and I used to see them play all the time. The late 70s and 80s were a great time to be growing up in the Twin Cities for music. Going to see now legendary bands like The Suburbs, The Replacements, Husker Du, and Soul Asylum (not to mention lesser known groups like Rifle Sport, The Suicide Commandos, Ground Zero, Willful Neglect, Otto’s Chemical Lounge, and Man Sized Action) whenever I felt like it was something I will treasure my whole life.

Anyway, I have been feeling rather nostalgic lately music-wise and since all that great music I used to listen to was on vinyl or cassette (and still in storage back in Minnesota) I have been doing my best to replace it with either cds or digital downloads over the years. The past few days have found me concentrating on The Replacements and Husker Du, mostly. This led me to the discovery of the aforementioned Bob Mould album, Body of Song. After a quick sample of a few tracks I purchased it from eMusic, one of my favorite places for cool stuff these days. I am not very good at reviews so I won’t really attempt one, but I do want to mention how much I love this album.

Following the release of The Last Dog and Pony Show in 1998 (and much to the chagrin of the vast majority his fans) Mould announced he was hanging up his electric guitar and embracing electronic music. Since then he was relatively quiet until the 2002 album Modulate, which made good on his threat/promise of a new direction with its drum machine, blips and beats, and vocoder processed vocals. While it was not well received among fans, I personally enjoyed the album and it even reminded me a bit of Todd Rungren’s more electronic efforts. Mould was still writing amazing songs, just delivering them a little differently.

Then out of the blue last year comes Body of Song, proclaiming in a big way that Bob is back. Oh he hasn’t kicked the electronica bug entirely, but with the help of Fugazi’s Brendan Canty on drums and David Barbe from his old band Sugar on bass , he hasn’t sounded this good in years. His trademark swarm of bees guitar sears through many of the tracks and so does his attitude. In particular, Paralyzed and Underneath Days herald the return of “Bitter Bob”, the latter offering the processed vocals:

you never wanna see the things I try to show you
you never wanna see the places I could go to
you never wanna see the places I’ve been
you never wanna see the face I’ve become

And the repeating chorus:

fucked underneath days
fucked under these ways

Oh yea…Bob is back and I’ve missed him.

***Update***
I am so into this song Underneath Days that I wanted to share it, so if you want to check it out, download it here.

I have ranted about this subject before, but I think the time has come again. The cult of Atkins is completely out of control. It has gotten so bad that normal, healthy foods now have to put reminders on their packaging that they are good for you.

I recently purchased a box of Barilla Tubini pasta that has the following printed in the lower right hand corner in a bright yellow box:

A Nutrition Message From The American Dietetic Association
Pasta and other complex carbohydrates are the preferred fuel for the brain and body

I am telling you, the Borg-like Atkins zombies need to be stopped at all costs. I can see the day when eating bread and pasta in public will get you the same looks you get for lighting up a cigarette or something.

When I moved from California to Utah last summer I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I would have to do without some of the more gourmet food items I was used to getting. I knew I still had the internet and could get things that way, but I missed being able to go shop for things, you know? There is a place here is Draper called Pirate O’s that has some cool stuff, but it is kind of small and left me wanting more.

Well, a couple weeks ago a friend of mine took me to this place called Liberty Heights Fresh. Man, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This place has everything. They have all kinds of local and imported cheeses, wild boar bacon, bitchin’ produce, peanut butters I didn’t even know existed, fresh wild mushrooms, all kinds of crazy shit. It is a little more expensive than what I am used to, but what do you expect? We are in Utah here.

Anyway, I asked them about fresh porcinis and they said they sometimes get them in and asked if I wanted to be called when they do. I said sure and gave them my name and number. Then while browsing around I saw some truffle butter and asked about fresh truffles too. They said they can get them but only at certain times of the year and asked if I wanted to be called when that opportunity arises also. I said hell yea, of course.

So guess what? They called me a few days ago and told me they were placing an order!

The white ones were going for $212.00 per ounce so I passed on them. The black Burgundy truffles were only $50.00 per ounce so I had them order me a couple ounces of those. I should have them in my hot little hands by next Wednesday!
I am so excited because I have not had fresh truffles for many years. The executive chef of the last restaraunt I worked at, Campiello in Minneapolis, brought some in for us one day and he trusted me to do something with them so I whipped up a batch of truffled mashed potatoes, made some scrambled eggs, and since we had some on hand at the time, I made warm Kobe beef with truffle tea.

So, now I just have to figure out what I am going to do with them. My mind is racing…

Some new people just moved into the house behind us and they have two dogs. A Dalmatian and some other kind of relatively large dog.

Now, here’s my thing. They keep them outside. All the time. They have a big metal cage thing that they are locked up in sometimes that has a tarp over one half of it for when it rains but they are usually just out in the backyard.
Now, I am not spying on them but being a stay at home dad I am here all day and much of that time is spent in the kitchen and the window above the sink looks out on their backyard so I can’t really help seeing it. The only time I have ever seen them interact with the dogs is when they put some food and water in a bowl on the back porch. The rest of the time the dogs are either running around the yard or standing on the porch, right in front of the sliding door, begging to come inside. They obviously want to be with the family and they don’t seem very happy.

This pisses me off and I feel so bad for the poor things. I know, who am I to judge and all, but really. Why have dogs if you are not going to let them be a part of the family? When we have a dog it will live in the house with us, Sure we will let it outside to play when it wants to, but the rest of the time it will be with us.

Anyone have any thoughts about this?

I have been doing an awful lot of research on David Icke lately.

free movies online

Man, this guy makes L. Ron Hubbard look sane. Not really a fair comparison though, because I don’t think for a second that Hubbard actually believed any of his own bullshit, not in the beginning anyway. He made up that whacked out religion for his own monetary gain and to feed his huge ego, whereas I am afraid Icke might really think what he is saying is true. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from selling all kinds of books, DVDs, and hitting the lecture circuit, raking in a very comfortable living in the process.
But I’ll play along. Let’s just assume for a moment that everything he says is true. There really are such things as trans-dimensional, Satan worshiping, human blood drinking alien reptiles from the constellation of Draco that have been mating with humans and controlling all world events and every aspect of our lives for thousands of years.
What is the point of it all? That is the thing I have never gotten a straight answer on. What is the ultimate goal, and I don’t want to hear that tired old phrase “world domination†because I need something more specific.
What is their mission statement? Will there ever be a point when they will sit back, toast with mugs of human blood and say “Whew, that’s finally over. Let’s enjoy our victory†or is it just some kind of ongoing experiment filled with new ways to fuck with us?
Are we as human beings that tough to beat? Shit, if they have been at it for thousands of years and still haven’t succeeded, maybe they should just cut their losses and go home. Or have they actually already won and are just racking up points at this point?

Can someone help me with this?

I decided to do something I have been dreaming about since I first read about it at Raspil’s place.

I have long had a fascination with Cuban bread, but ever since she wrote about it I have not been able to get it out of my head. I finally decided to go for it the other day, but a simple day of bread making turned into a two-day feast!

At first I was just going to make the bread to eat on its own, but then decided to use it to make the elusive Cubano, the authentic Cuban sandwich with pork, ham, cheese, and pickles, grilled with a sandwich press. Then I thought, how can I just use regular pork roast for it? That didn’t sound right, so on Thursday I made the starter for the bread and then that night for dinner I made Cuban Mojo Pork Roasted Pork Loin with Papaya Mango Salsa and a big pot of Cuban Black Beans to go with it. Then yesterday I made the bread.

Holy shit. Everything you have heard about this bread is true. I could make it every goddamn day. Thank you, Raspil. I owe you big time.

All set up and ready to go

Yeast is blooming

Before first proofing

After first proofing. I was supposed to double in size…but Jesus!

After final proof and ready for the oven

On the cooling rack. The smell was amazing.

My makeshift sandwich press.

All done.

Yummy, toasty Cubano goodness!

When you get spam, do you ever read it or just delete it immediately? My spam filters get most of it before I ever see it, but I check the junk folder a few times a week and give them all a quick glance, just to make sure nothing got stuck in there accidentally.
Usually looking at the sender and/or the subject will tell me all I need to know, but one thing I have noticed lately is sometimes the sender’s name will actually make me laugh out loud. Below are some of the ones that have given me a chuckle lately:

Overstuffed Aquitaine

Fastidiously E. Caresses

Mammography Q. Memorandum

Adolescent C. Fiduciaries

Quivers S. Obeisance

Spanking V. Thrashers

Of course, I may very well be easily amused. It has been known to happen before.