Food Glorious Food

Once again, this holiday weekend was dominated by food. I returned with another group of friends to Carman's who never disappoints. The French toast with cold mango, a hint of lime and coconut was, as advertised, better than sex (Disclaimer: midrange sex with a partner you have had for at least 15 months.)

The following night DaPena (yes, from the Thundercats nation) and myself made spicy tuna sushi, which shockingly enough came out brilliant.

So, there you have it.

Movie Review

Over the snowy, long weekend (love working for the state), I saw The Football Factory, The Constant Gardener and Employee of the Month.

Football Factory was about a group of working class guys who supported Chelsea United in England. They were of course hoodlums. In the tradition of extremely disturbing, and in this case violent films (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) this movie was bloody. The premise is weather going to jail, and risking death, for the sake of the high of fighting is worth it. Hmmmm, yeah as a non violent human it is a no brainer, but the dialog is witty and the film mildly entertaining 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Constant Gardener came highly reccommended. Great plot, well acted, but I felt like the main character was a bit of a wimp. He obtains a gun, and still gets walked all over. While I wasn't looking for rambo, I was thinking he may snap and try to kill one of the people involved in the plot to kill his wife. Overall a fine film, 3.75 stars of 5.

Employee of the month sets Matt Dillon as a disgruntled bank worker who has a terrible day (much like Michael Douglas in Falling Down). He ends up being involved in a plot to rob his own bank. All the plot twists in the last 15 minutes were all predictable. But one I did not see coming. 3 stars out of 5.

Movie Review

Over the snowy, long weekend (love working for the state), I saw The Football Factory, The Constant Gardener and Employee of the Month.

Football Factory was about a group of working class guys who supported Chelsea United in England. They were of course hoodlums. In the tradition of extremely disturbing, and in this case violent films (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) this movie was bloody. The premise is weather going to jail, and risking death, for the sake of the high of fighting is worth it. Hmmmm, yeah as a non violent human it is a no brainer, but the dialog is witty and the film mildly entertaining 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Constant Gardener came highly reccommended. Great plot, well acted, but I felt like the main character was a bit of a wimp. He obtains a gun, and still gets walked all over. While I wasn't looking for rambo, I was thinking he may snap and try to kill one of the people involved in the plot to kill his wife. Overall a fine film, 3.75 stars of 5.

Employee of the month sets Matt Dillon as a disgruntled bank worker who has a terrible day (much like Michael Douglas in Falling Down). He ends up being involved in a plot to rob his own bank. All the plot twists in the last 15 minutes were all predictable. But one I did not see coming. 3 stars out of 5.

Carman's Country Kitchen

Sun. morning after the blizzard, I ventured out into the streets of Northern Liberties around 9:30 am. The back streets of South Philly were terrible, but with no time frame and a background of driving in New England, we made it 1301 South 11th street.

It may sound over dramatic but this breakfast/brunch spot restored my faith Philly and society in general. In a world of Walmart and Fast Food, Carman's restaurant, seating 12-14 people has survived. Why?

Let's begin with the ambiance. Carman's restaurant is a plethora of awards from local critics, photos of friends and family, local events in philly, and the occasional porcilin nipple mug or penis. I should let you know that Carman's motto is "She puts the cunt back in country cooking."

Next we have the staff. I quickly made friends with Dan, who was wearing a Bo Sox hat, and turned out to be an accomplished jazz musician (I ended up being so impressed I purchased his CD). Beyond friendly, it was clear that they really cared about who I was and where I came from.

Then there is the food. Unreal. Carmen makes whatever she wants. My two guests and I all had the specials. Carman made a stew for me of chicken, lima beans(which I usually can't stand), various veggies, in an amazing sauce. My girlfriend had an orange chocolate chip pancakes with orange candy side. The sausage was fresh from the Reading terminal market, a veal blend. Amazing and unique.

Most importantly is Carmen. She strolls out, a very attractive woman in her fifties in tight stretch pants and stilleto heals. We chatted for about 15 minutes and covered everything from local politics to guys that materbate over her.

Finally, I took a look at the photo albums of her friends family, and co workers. I left with plans to meet up with Dan at a local pub for the first sox game, and a wonderful feeling of happiness I have not felt in relation to an establishment in a long time.

Huge thanks to Pax for the tip. Right on point as usual.

This was microsofts take...part two of it never stops

http://nbc10.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=562823

It doesn't stop

Not only is the wing bowl on demand, but they are doing a special on UPN at 11pm on Sat. night called bad to the bone.

THE book of world records

Last night, while I was supposed to be learning about DSM classifications, I decided to apply for a World Record with the good folks at Guinness. My recent eating experience has inspired me to go big and try for the jalapeno record of 8 in 1 minute.


Also, I am looking for a more contests to enter, bizarre or otherwise, as I could use the cash (hoping to pay off those criminals from PSEG). If you run into anything keep me posted.

It is on Ripe

Check out all the Wing Bowl action by going to http://www.ripe.tv/ or if you have comcast cable, go to cutting edge, ripe tv, and wing bowl.

Quote of the Week

Panic is a sudden desertion of us, and a going over to the enemy of our imagination. ~Christian Nevell Bovee

Woke up nervous today. Made me reflect on where anxiety stems from. While my conscious mind knows that everything will be fine, this over active imagine seems to need something to be concerned about (soaring energy costs, am I as productive in life as I should be, am I going to make the mortgage payment...).

I think the best thing I can do today is ride it out. Take some deep breaths and remember to not sweat the small stuff, and that it is all small stuff.

The Dream is Over

Wrote up something witty on Sat., but ended up losing it somehow so this is the brief second attempt. Well, my silly quest is over. While I did not win, I did have a great time, and hopefully entertained a few people in the process.

I did have the total Philly experience, as I came into boos and beers thrown at me and left to cheers and pictures being taken (even though I booted, I gave it my all, and Philly loves that even if you are a looser).

I must say that I did get shafted in the first half. I cleaned 74 wings and they only gave me credit for 53. While I doubt I would have won, had I been able to avoid the roman moment, I think I could have locked up third. Regardless it was a blast eating in front of 20,000 people.

Thanks once again to my entourage, family, and coworkers who showed my amazing amounts of support. You all are the best.

Cindy Sheehan

I haven't had a decent political rant in a while so hang in there. Was reading an article that said CS's charge for wearing an antiwar T-shirt to the State of the Union address was "unlawful conduct." It sounds to me she was charged with "we are not sure what to charge you with, and we are concerned you will disturb the speech." This is called a trumped up charge. Now, lets also take freedom of speech into consideration. Why is Cindy Sheehan not allowed to wear an antiwar T-shirt to the state of the Union address. The only thing I can come up with is that people may be persuade to think, which we know is not a strong suit of the Bush Administration.

I am appalled by what this country is doing. A while back I received a relatively accurate email reflecting on how this current administration is much like a fascist regime. I will not go into detail, but one of the things they stated was the fascist regimes take away freedom in the name of defense. This is certainly happening in this instance, particularly with the Patriot Act.

HOO!!

Two O's equals two wins for the T Cats last night vs. A very good squad.

Naturally, the Cats lost the first. It sealed the deal when Joey B.'s brain flatulated and he bowled on the wrong lane. The word "schmuck" or whale penis in Hebrew comes to mind.

But games two and three were different. "There was a lot of West side action. I like to try to go dirty jersey, but my team prefers I go Compton, Long Beach, or Englewood." said D. Pena (co captain of Team Wing Tut, and new highest average player on Team Cats).

Strong efforts were put in by Hot Harry ( who I understand has started valium, after trying to bite the ankles of an opposing bowler) and Larry "I wear my name on my belt."

The Cats turn to bigger fish as they take on the world Friday morning. They are showing Team Wing Tut no respect. I am looking forward to the shocked look on 22,000 faces when the Wing Nuts and Wing Sluts from Team Wing Tut ride out of the W. Center in an SUV," said Joey B.