You, Dear Reader, know very well how YDS loves a good pop song. There is one in particular on YDS's iPod that quite frequently has me reaching to replay it, sometimes over and over, frighteningly like a teenager.
But I can't help it. It has everything a great pop song should have: sex, longing, loneliness, angst, devotion to a lost cause, oh, and a good beat. And it doesn't hurt that both singers for The Veronicas have mastered that baleful sort of nasal tone that I'm doing a horrible job of describing but when you hear it sounds like instant longing.
Or maybe its just a road tramp song...
Anyway, here are the lyrics and the video for The Veronicas, This Love. I hope you enjoy.
This Love
The Veronicas
Hook Me Up
I can see it in your eyes
taste it in our first kiss
stranger in this lonely town
save me from my emptiness
You took my hand
you told me it would be ok
I trusted you to hold my heart
now fate is pulling me away, from you
Even if I leave you now
and it breaks my heart
even if I'm not around
I won't give in
I can't give up
on this love
You've become a piece of me
makes me sick to even think
of mornings waking up alone
searching for you in my sheets
don't fade
away
Even if I leave you now
and it breaks my heart
even if I'm not around
I won't give in
I can't give up
on this love
I can't just close the door
(on this love)
I never felt anything like this before
(like this love)
tell me the truth no matter what we're going through
will you hold on too 'cause
even if I leave you now
and it breaks my heart
even if I'm not around
I won't give in
I can't give up
on this love
Even if I leave you now
and it breaks my heart
even if I'm not around
I won't give in
I can't give up
on this love
Showing posts with label pop culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pop culture. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2009
Family Cookbook and a recipe for you, Dear Reader
YDS's mom is putting together a family cookbook. There's going to be a lot of great recipes in it, so I'm very excited. Even though I'm a pretty decent cook, YDS's main contribution to the book so far has been to suggest some of his favorite dishes from various and sundry family members, especially my grandfather and grandmother. Many of my memories of my grandfather have to do with food, but perhaps that is a thought best left for another entry.
My mother did ask me to include one recipe. It is not the hardest thing I can make, and certainly not the most sophisticated. But it is one of my favorites and I explained why in the "story" that went with my recipe. I share it with you now, dear reader:
The Man Behind the Brats
Other than a secret party, my favorite party is a tailgate. I've been making brats this way for about twenty years - ever since I lived in the Midwest and realized it was brats, and not necessarily fried chicken, that was the absolute must have for any good tailgate. (Although I do love fried chicken and a screwdriver.) This recipe has served me well, from UNC football, to DC United, to Richmond Kickers, to US Men's National Team games. The key to their success is not overcooking them in the steaming, but leaving them to finish up on the grill having marinated overnight in a good hoppy beer.
Someone once told me that there is no such thing as a cooking wine; if you want a dish to taste good with wine in it, use a good wine. The same is true for beer. Don't skimp on the beer in this recipe.
YDS
YDS's Tailgate Brats
One package Wisconsin-style brats (Johnsonville or similar)
One very large onion
Two bottles of a good hoppy beer (like a microbrew IPA)
At least two cloves of chopped garlic
1. Coarsely chop the onion and two cloves of garlic.
2. Place one half of the onion and all of the garlic in a the bottom of a large pot fitted with a steamer.
3. Arrange the brats in the steamer. Try to minimize the brats touching each other, so that they will steam evenly.
4. Pour one of the beers over the brats and turn on a high heat.
5. Bring the beer with the onions and garlic to a boil and steam the brats until they turn grayish on the outside, but retain some pink on the inside about ten minutes. Again, take care not to overcook. You want plenty of the fat in the sausage to remain in brats.
6. Once they reach their partially cooked stage (grayish on the outside with a little pink remaining in the middle; about ten minutes) remove from the heat and allow to cool.
7. Place the brats in a large Tupperware or similar container with the remaining onion and as much of the second beer as will fit. If the entire beer won't fit in the container, the leftover will almost certainly fit in you.
8. Marinate overnight. It isn't a tragedy if you are doing this the morning of your event, because you can probably get some decent marinating time in on the way to the stadium.
9. Cook over a good hot charcoal fire on a crisp fall day with the anticipation of a great sporting event. Turn frequently. They are done when they are golden brown and the fat bubbles out clear when you poke them. But only poke one when you are pretty sure that they are done.
10. Serve on a good roll with a robust mustard and sauerkraut.
Usually serves 4 Persons at two brats each
So there it is. I hadn't written much lately until I had a whack at this and I was sort of pleased with how it turned out, so I decided to share it with you.
My mother did ask me to include one recipe. It is not the hardest thing I can make, and certainly not the most sophisticated. But it is one of my favorites and I explained why in the "story" that went with my recipe. I share it with you now, dear reader:
The Man Behind the Brats
Other than a secret party, my favorite party is a tailgate. I've been making brats this way for about twenty years - ever since I lived in the Midwest and realized it was brats, and not necessarily fried chicken, that was the absolute must have for any good tailgate. (Although I do love fried chicken and a screwdriver.) This recipe has served me well, from UNC football, to DC United, to Richmond Kickers, to US Men's National Team games. The key to their success is not overcooking them in the steaming, but leaving them to finish up on the grill having marinated overnight in a good hoppy beer.
Someone once told me that there is no such thing as a cooking wine; if you want a dish to taste good with wine in it, use a good wine. The same is true for beer. Don't skimp on the beer in this recipe.
YDS
YDS's Tailgate Brats
One package Wisconsin-style brats (Johnsonville or similar)
One very large onion
Two bottles of a good hoppy beer (like a microbrew IPA)
At least two cloves of chopped garlic
1. Coarsely chop the onion and two cloves of garlic.
2. Place one half of the onion and all of the garlic in a the bottom of a large pot fitted with a steamer.
3. Arrange the brats in the steamer. Try to minimize the brats touching each other, so that they will steam evenly.
4. Pour one of the beers over the brats and turn on a high heat.
5. Bring the beer with the onions and garlic to a boil and steam the brats until they turn grayish on the outside, but retain some pink on the inside about ten minutes. Again, take care not to overcook. You want plenty of the fat in the sausage to remain in brats.
6. Once they reach their partially cooked stage (grayish on the outside with a little pink remaining in the middle; about ten minutes) remove from the heat and allow to cool.
7. Place the brats in a large Tupperware or similar container with the remaining onion and as much of the second beer as will fit. If the entire beer won't fit in the container, the leftover will almost certainly fit in you.
8. Marinate overnight. It isn't a tragedy if you are doing this the morning of your event, because you can probably get some decent marinating time in on the way to the stadium.
9. Cook over a good hot charcoal fire on a crisp fall day with the anticipation of a great sporting event. Turn frequently. They are done when they are golden brown and the fat bubbles out clear when you poke them. But only poke one when you are pretty sure that they are done.
10. Serve on a good roll with a robust mustard and sauerkraut.
Usually serves 4 Persons at two brats each
So there it is. I hadn't written much lately until I had a whack at this and I was sort of pleased with how it turned out, so I decided to share it with you.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Go On and Kiss the Girl
Another softening of a story hit me as particularly disturbing yesterday. As you know, faithful reader, I have a weakness for pop music and Colbie Callait and Ashley Tisdale both rerecorded "Kiss the Girl" from Disney's The Little Mermaid. It's a good song, and both versions are fun and made their way onto my iPod. But as I was listening to the Colbie Callait version, it struck me how far from Hans Christen Anderson's original the Disney story had strayed.
Never mind that Ariel can walk without feeling like swords were stabbing her, like in the original, but if the mermaid can't get her true love to reciprocate by kissing her (or marrying her), then not only will she have sacrificed her 300 year long mer-life, but also any chance at an immortal soul.
So, when Colbie and Ashley sing:
They're really underplaying the stakes for Ariel.
I mean, jeez, she's about to end up as sea foam! Shouldn't there be more urgency than "ain't it a shame?"
Or maybe, again, it's just a pop song.
Oh, and don't get me started on what a mistake Ashley Tisdale made "fixing" her nose....
Never mind that Ariel can walk without feeling like swords were stabbing her, like in the original, but if the mermaid can't get her true love to reciprocate by kissing her (or marrying her), then not only will she have sacrificed her 300 year long mer-life, but also any chance at an immortal soul.
So, when Colbie and Ashley sing:
Sha la la la la la ain't that sad
Ain't it a shame, too bad
He gonna miss the girl
They're really underplaying the stakes for Ariel.
I mean, jeez, she's about to end up as sea foam! Shouldn't there be more urgency than "ain't it a shame?"
Or maybe, again, it's just a pop song.
Oh, and don't get me started on what a mistake Ashley Tisdale made "fixing" her nose....
Monday, April 27, 2009
A little something for you, dear reader
You've probably gathered that music is pretty important to me. You may have even figured out that iTunes has revitalized my love affair with music, especially new music. So I managed to figure out how to add an RSS feed at the bottom of my blog that shows some of my latest iTunes purchases for your amazement and ridicule. Enjoy.
Or don't ... whatever.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
One more dig ...
And then I'll quit, I promise.
But Adam Lucas of TarHeelBlue.com nails it:
The rest of the article (http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/021209aaa.html) is good too. Now I'll go back to leaving Dookies alone.
But Adam Lucas of TarHeelBlue.com nails it:
The biggest fallacy about this whole Carolina-Duke rivalry is the 8-mile thing, as if proximity somehow indicates similarity. It's like assuming East and West Germany must be comparable since they were close to each other.
Duke fans believe spending 196 hours in a tent indicates passion and devotion. Carolina fans believe 196 hours in a tent indicates a telling lack of other social engagements.
The undergrads inhabiting Tent 1 in Krzyzewskiville staked their claim on Dec. 26, 47 days ago. Added over four years of college life, that's 188 days--over half a year--in a tent to watch four losses. The good news is that all that time in a tent did enable them to have a great view of history: Carolina's 101-87 victory was the first time an opponent surpassed 100 points in a regulation game at Cameron since the Tar Heels did it in 1983.
Duke has 6,340 undergrads. Assuming a fourth of them are seniors, that makes a class of 1,585 that will graduate in May without ever seeing a home victory over Carolina.
The rest of the article (http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/021209aaa.html) is good too. Now I'll go back to leaving Dookies alone.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Afro Samurai: Art for art's sake?
Got around to watching "Afro-Samurai: Resurrection" the other night and was almost completely blown away. It's out on video and if you have the slightest enjoyment of anime, or action cartoons, or samurai movies, you owe it to yourself to see this film as soon as possible. Uncle Skippy flat out loved it. I have nits to pick, of course, but for the vast majority of the 90 minutes or so that the movie runs, I was in total awe of the cinematic experience..
For me, the best part of the movie was not the plot, which was a little draggy and repetitive, or the characters (not Lucy Liu's best work), but the art. Oh, the glorious art! The beauty of drawings and the ink and the coloring in this film reminded me of how my love of comic books transcended from ju
st being enthralled by the great heroic stories and developed into a more mature relationship where I appreciated each panel for the work of art that it could be. For me, way back then, it was examplified by my love of the X-Men and having my taste develop beyond the John Byrne X-Men and into more heady stuff like the Wolverine graphic novels. The art from Afro Samurai reminded me of high school friends and the hours we spent pouring over each panel and arguing about who the best comic book artists were. It didn't matter who won, of course, because we were appreciating art for art's sake. Afro Samurai reminded me of how I grew to love comics in the first place..
Pretty heady stuff for nerdy 15 year olds.
.
Anyway, Afro Samurai not only transported me back to those times, but also wrapped me in a compelling storyline and entertained me with over-the-top gory cartoon violence. Samuel L. Jackson's work on this series continues to be excellent as he voices both the title character and Afro Samurai's interior monologue personified in the outrageous Ninja Ninja.
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I had been looking forward to getting enough time to sit down and watch this movie and, for once, I was not disappointed.
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Did I mention I also saw "Hotel for Dogs?"
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Size inflation.
Don't know whether this is Coca Cola corp's response to the hard economic times, but they've re-introduced the 16oz soda at the price of $.99. It's a good move, and I always thought that 20oz sodas were too big anyway, and just an excuse to make us spend $1.29 or more when we really didn't even want that much soda.
.
But it was weird, to pick up that 16oz bottle, which not so long ago seemed really big, and think "Huh, this is kind of a small bottle of Coke."
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It really isn't, but Coca Cola corp wants you to think that it is.
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But it was weird, to pick up that 16oz bottle, which not so long ago seemed really big, and think "Huh, this is kind of a small bottle of Coke."
.
It really isn't, but Coca Cola corp wants you to think that it is.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Another animation recommendation
Uncle Skippy recommends "The Venture Brothers."
.
Very funny stuff. Clever, weird, harkens back to some of the great action cartoons of my youth.
Very funny stuff. Clever, weird, harkens back to some of the great action cartoons of my youth.
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Plus, anything with Patrick Warburton in it just rocks. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911320/
Plus, anything with Patrick Warburton in it just rocks. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911320/
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Except for maybe "Tak and the Power of Juju."
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Holding back on recommending "Drinky Crow." I have high hopes, but after watching two episodes, I'm still not sure. It has to be hard translating a four panel comic strip to a full length cartoon. It has potential, but I'm not sure that it has hit it's stride yet.
Old School v. Gangsta
I've blogged previously about my varied musical taste and so it won't come as a surprise to you faithful reader when I tell you that back in the day, I used to listen to Public Enemy quite a lot. Well, that music was on cassette so it's been a while since I listened to PE, but that changed a few weeks ago when I downloaded a couple of tracks off of "It Takes a Nation to Millions to Hold Us Down" on iTunes.
I started thinking about how amazing the music and lyrics were and wondered how the genre of rap got from Chuck D, to the hardcore gangster rap that predominates the charts now. Akon, to take an easy example, made up a criminal history to lend credibility to his album Konvicted. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0416081akon1.html?link=rssfeed
Chuck D, back when he was writing absolutely groundbreaking rap in 1995, complained in his lyrics that he was being unfairly painted as a criminal in "Don't Believe the Hype."
Why is it the perception of toughness or even being an outlaw, that is important now, rather than the respect as a human being that Chuck D said that he sought through his lyrics? And then this guy, http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/sports/football/Giant-Pain-Pierce-Spoke-to-NFL-Security-About-Burress-Team-Says.html?corder=&pg=1 is just an idiot. He claims he was carrying the gun to protect himself, but the NFL would have provided him with security if he believed he was really in danger. He was carrying the gun to meet the image created a perpetuated by artists like Akon. And ended up shooting himself in the leg and ending his NFL career because of it.
Is that an image worth striving for?
I started thinking about how amazing the music and lyrics were and wondered how the genre of rap got from Chuck D, to the hardcore gangster rap that predominates the charts now. Akon, to take an easy example, made up a criminal history to lend credibility to his album Konvicted. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0416081akon1.html?link=rssfeed
Chuck D, back when he was writing absolutely groundbreaking rap in 1995, complained in his lyrics that he was being unfairly painted as a criminal in "Don't Believe the Hype."
They claim that I'm a criminal.
By now I wonder how
Some people never know
The Enemy could be their friend.
Guardian, I'm not a hooligan.
I rock the party and
Clear all the madness.
I'm not a racist.
Preach to teach to all
'Cause some they never had this.
Number one, not born to run.
About the gun...
I wasn't licensed to have one.
The minute they see me, fear me.
I'm the epitome - a public enemy
Used, abused without clues.
I refused to blow a fuse.
They even had it on the news.
Don't believe the hype.
Why is it the perception of toughness or even being an outlaw, that is important now, rather than the respect as a human being that Chuck D said that he sought through his lyrics? And then this guy, http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/sports/football/Giant-Pain-Pierce-Spoke-to-NFL-Security-About-Burress-Team-Says.html?corder=&pg=1 is just an idiot. He claims he was carrying the gun to protect himself, but the NFL would have provided him with security if he believed he was really in danger. He was carrying the gun to meet the image created a perpetuated by artists like Akon. And ended up shooting himself in the leg and ending his NFL career because of it.
Is that an image worth striving for?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
SW:TCW: An update.
Just in case you were wondering if Jar Jar Binks is any more tolerable animated and on the small screen, the answer is a resounding "no." I'm still really enjoying SW:TCW, but the dreaded Binks was the central character of a recent episode and it was pretty horrible.
The whole concept of his character and race is just flat out annoying....
The whole concept of his character and race is just flat out annoying....
Monday, November 17, 2008
Maybe Now Everyone Will Stop Using it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081117/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_new_wordOften, once something hip is institutionalized, it soon becomes unhip and everyone stops using it. If that were the fate of "meh," it certainly would not bother YDS. It's now as overused as "D'oh" and all of the other Simpsons catch phrases.
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Although, I've never heard of the Collins English Dictionary. Maybe I'll hold out for Miriam Webster. Until then ... meh.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Sigh.... is this the face of a racist?
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/11/12/2008-11-12_lindsay_lohan_calls_barack_obama_colored.html
A real head scratcher. Where in the world does a girl/woman like Lindsay Lohan learn the term "colored" anyway? No one I know under 40 has even heard of the term.... Only deep Southerners and KKK members even keep the word alive for anything other than used coloring books. And I'm pretty darn sure that the KKK wouldn't want to be around a drug addled lesbian like Lindsay ....
A real head scratcher. Where in the world does a girl/woman like Lindsay Lohan learn the term "colored" anyway? No one I know under 40 has even heard of the term.... Only deep Southerners and KKK members even keep the word alive for anything other than used coloring books. And I'm pretty darn sure that the KKK wouldn't want to be around a drug addled lesbian like Lindsay ....
Thursday, November 13, 2008
So much for MMA?
I don’t know exactly. I haven’t watched it again since blogging about it before. I’m not sure that it is because I’m not interested, or because I just haven’t run across it in my minimal TV watching. I see that the next “big” fight is coming up between two guys that I’ve heard of, but probably couldn’t pick them out of a line up (police or otherwise). This one is NOT on network TV but on pay per view.
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And at $45.95 per view, I don’t think I’ll be paying.
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And at $45.95 per view, I don’t think I’ll be paying.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Perhaps we are all hypocrits
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1108/Rick_vsJoe.html?showall
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Joe the Plumber gets grilled. A victim of the 24 hour news cycle and, not surprisingly, his views don't really live up even to the scrutiny of a not-very-skilled interviewer. Should I feel schaudenfruede? Should anyone? I know many must, but I don't. Why don't we know more as an electorate? There is so much information out there. Shouldn't we be able to form intellectually honest opinions guided by a well formed moral compass? Shouldn't we be able to separate truth from spin?
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I worry that with so much information there is simply no way to know what is truth. So many complain about the liberal MSM, but why not change the channel? Buy a different magazine. Listen to a different radio station. Their truth is how they report it. I don't know that there is a "mainstream" to the media.
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Joe the Plumber gets grilled. A victim of the 24 hour news cycle and, not surprisingly, his views don't really live up even to the scrutiny of a not-very-skilled interviewer. Should I feel schaudenfruede? Should anyone? I know many must, but I don't. Why don't we know more as an electorate? There is so much information out there. Shouldn't we be able to form intellectually honest opinions guided by a well formed moral compass? Shouldn't we be able to separate truth from spin?
.
I worry that with so much information there is simply no way to know what is truth. So many complain about the liberal MSM, but why not change the channel? Buy a different magazine. Listen to a different radio station. Their truth is how they report it. I don't know that there is a "mainstream" to the media.
Friday, November 7, 2008
This is fun too.
Been meaning to try this and what better time than in the middle of the night? You have to register, but really, who gets enough spam? http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html
This is fun
I've always been a SP fan. But here's me as a SP kid.
Now you try. http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/avatar/?cid=cons:0;208134073;30224305;3111743;#/Notebook-notebook_centrino/
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A Mite Too Seriously
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081023/ap_on_fe_st/as_japan_avatar_murder
Having your avatar hacked and murdered because it got married to someone in cyberspace that is not your spouse irl? This is a bad way to go. And a weird thing to get vitually murderously upset about.... But I will tell you that I have certainly met plenty of folks in IMVU who take their relationships in here VERY seriously. Which is fine, I guess, until you start to have negative emotions or associations about your interactions with people on IMVU.
Isn't there enough drama in our real lives that we should do our best to avoid drama in here? If someone gets too intense, too angry, too intimidating, too demanding, just leave them be. Don't we have enough difficulty with commitment irl to be trying to live up to "real" commitments with imaginary people?
I do my best to be non-judgmental, because IMVU is definitely about tolerance and letting people do what they enjoy. So if you are someone who takes their roles on here seriously, please don't take offense. I'd like to understand better.
But know beforehand that I don't quite get it.
Having your avatar hacked and murdered because it got married to someone in cyberspace that is not your spouse irl? This is a bad way to go. And a weird thing to get vitually murderously upset about.... But I will tell you that I have certainly met plenty of folks in IMVU who take their relationships in here VERY seriously. Which is fine, I guess, until you start to have negative emotions or associations about your interactions with people on IMVU.
Isn't there enough drama in our real lives that we should do our best to avoid drama in here? If someone gets too intense, too angry, too intimidating, too demanding, just leave them be. Don't we have enough difficulty with commitment irl to be trying to live up to "real" commitments with imaginary people?
I do my best to be non-judgmental, because IMVU is definitely about tolerance and letting people do what they enjoy. So if you are someone who takes their roles on here seriously, please don't take offense. I'd like to understand better.
But know beforehand that I don't quite get it.
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