Lately, there has been a LOT of chatter about AI possibly considering Howard Stern to replace Simon. Some say that he's the perfect choice, others say if they bring him on they'll stop watching (of course, most of those people said they'd stop if David Cook won over Archie, or after Paula left, or when Simon said he was leaving, so take most of that with a HUGE grain of salt,) and even Ellen said that if he joins she'll leave (she's on a 4 year contract, so good luck with that.)
Let's take a look at this from different angles.
First, some have said that Howard couldn't replace Simon as Simon is known for grooming talent and Howard is not. Some also say that he couldn't replace Simon as he doesn't have any musical background. Well, what musical background does Ellen have? Besides, a lack of a musical background just isn't true. Besides being in the radio business for over 30 years, Howard himself does have some musical background and a knack for spotting talent. When Howard was a teen, he was in a band. Mark McGrath's band Sugar Ray actually covered one of Howard's songs called "Psychedelic Bee." Most people think of Howard as a Shock Jock, but when he started, there was no such thing. He was a DJ playing music like everyone else. He eventually became a Program Director at some of the stations that he worked at. The Program Director is responsible for creating the playlist of music that is played each day on their station. They may leave open slots for "DJ's Choice" or "Requests," but by and large, they decide what gets played. As a PD, Howard met with many bands, introduced bands at concerts, and listened to demos and new singles and albums to decide what got on the air.
3 artists that Howard championed before ANYONE else include Billy Squier, Bon Jovi, and Sugar Ray. In fact, while a DJ in Detroit, he heard Billy Squier's first album "Tale of the Tape" and invited Billy to come to Detroit and perform on the air. Billy was dead broke at the time, and Howard let him stay at the studio and sleep on the floor because he couldn't afford a hotel room. Billy's song "The Big Beat" from that album, while not a hit, has been sampled by a dozen or so rap artists for it's heavy drum and bass beat lines. Billy's next album "Don't Say No" was an ENORMOUS hit, and is still one of my Top 10 (maybe Top 5) albums of all time.
Bon Jovi was "discovered" by musician Aldo Nova who had a hit song called "Fantasy." Aldo had Bon Jovi cut a demo called "Runaway." Howard picked it up at the radio station he was at the time (I think in Washington DC) and played the HECK out of it. In fact, Howard sent it to people who he was still friendly with in the business or at his former stations, to see what they thought. If you saw the movie "Private Parts" there is a famous sequence where the radio station Howard worked at in Detroit called W4 became a country station called WWWW. One DJ went from calling himself the "Doc of Rock" to the "Country Doctor." In real life, the "Doc of Rock" moved to another rock station and became their Program Director. He later started a music video show that aired locally late nights on PBS. Well, the "Doc of Rock" is one of the people who Howard sent the demo to. We here in Detroit got to hear "Runaway" by Bon Jovi at least a good 8 or 9 months before it was released nationwide. When it was finally released as a single nationwide, with the video, it had already come and gone as a hit here in Detroit, but became a hit all over again.
By the time Sugar Ray got started, Howard had long since stopped being a DJ and became a Shock Jock. Regardless, he would still play music between commercials occasionally, and have bands come in and play. For whatever reason, he took a shining to Sugar Ray and Mark McGrath claims that they wouldn't have become successful and he wouldn't have gone on to co-host Extra for several years if not for Howard. Howard also has took a liking to the bands Staind and Train and they have become the de facto "house bands" for Howard's show.
Howard is well known for promoting bands, musicians, and even the soundtrack to his movie Private Parts contained bands and songs all hand picked by Howard. He even was supposed to have an unreleased song by the band Tool who did an amazing 11-12 minute cover of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter," but at the last minute, the band decided they didn't want it released (the band later included it on a home DVD.) So Howard had to fill that time with 2 more songs, again picked by him. That soundtrack was #1 the week it was released and sold millions of copies. Howard himself is featured in 2 songs, 1 by Rob Zombie that continues to be played on rock stations all over the country.
The biggest issue is that Howard might be too snarky for AI. He is a huuuuge fan of AI, and talks about the contestants and if they're decent he'll give them some props. If they suck, he'll blast them. He also tends to be like Simon was during AI's early years, where he can't separate the singer from their look. He's one of those people who believe a pop star, tv star, or movie star should look a certain way. In other words, be attractive and thin. So, someone like Adele could try out for AI and Howard would probably vote no just because she's fat. Heck, if Kelly Clarkson were to audition now, he'd prrobably say "too fat," and he really liked her. Perhaps the producers (and his wife) could convince him to focus on the singing, not the look, but heck, even Kara spends half the time talking about a "packaged artist" and that includes already having the "right look."
Other problems are how Howard has talked about the judges. Howard had the judges on his show before. One time, he brought in the guy who wrote and co-sang the song "Hero" from the first Spiderman movie. The judges said he didn't have what it took to be a singer. The single for "Hero" sold like 10 million copies. He has ripped on Randy for not having anything worthwhile to say (which is true,) and for eating through his gastric bypass. He bagged on Paula for being ditzy or on drugs or meds. He's had Ryan on the show too, but has ripped on him constantly as being vanilla, watered-down, and getting by on pandering to the audience rather than having any real talent to excel on his own. Kara said that to replace Simon, they need someone with his type of history and Howard doesn't have that. As I just pointed out above, he has more credentials than Ellen. Howard (along with ew.com) thinks Kara has not made for a very good judge. But, his comments on Ellen have been the worst.
Howard's wife is a big animal rights supporter, and is the spokesperson for the North Shore Animal League. Howard also has long been a champion of gay rights. Howard's favorite cousin is gay and he talks about how his cousin was openly gay in school back in the 60s. Howard hired Star Trek's George Takei to be his announcer, and George appears for a week every 3-4 months. Howard gave Ellen congrats on trying to help dogs, but slammed her on her habit of adopting dogs, and then giving them back or giving them away. He also gave her kudos for marrying Portia DiRossi when it was legal in California. However, he also has slammed her for dressing like a slob, trying to look as manly as possible, not being funny, and having a terrible talk show that has less viewers than he has listeners and people have to pay to hear him. Some who don't listen to Howard have said that he's anti gay and anti-women. He was married to the same woman for over 25 years, dated his current wife for 7 years before getting married, has 3 children who are all young women now, his favorite 2 people in the world are his sister and his mother, and his co-host of over 25 years is a black woman named Robin Quivers. I don't think he's anti-women, and he's actually been lauded by many gay rights groups, so I don't think he's anti-gay. He's just anti-Ellen. So, of course when asked about Howard possibly joining, Ellen said that if he did she would quit.
The most interesting thing about all of this is that Howard invented American Idol back in the early 80s while a DJ here in Detroit. People say that Howard claims to have invented everything, but much of what he says has a point.
He used to do a bit where they asked homeless people, strippers and porn stars standard "common knowledge" questions, which Jay Leno ripped off as "Jay Walking." It also was ripped off by the game show "Street Smarts" where contestants actually bet on if the person would know the answer or not, which is what Howard and his crew also would do from time to time. In 2002, Howard had a football pick contest amongst his staff, some fans, and a chicken where the chicken would "pick" the winner of games. Jay Leno ripped off the chicken football picking bit at least once during his run on the 10pm Jay Leno Show. Howard also had a version of his "Street Smarts/Jay Walking" type game that he called, "Are They Smarter Than a 5th Grader." Yes, you read that correctly. Back in the 90s, he would have a staff member ask 5th graders the same "common knowledge" questions, and then would ask random people on the streets (not just homeless people, but people walking by on their way to work.) If the person got it right, they'd win a prize, like a $500 gift certificate to a high end jeweler.
But, back in the 80s when Howard was at W-4 in Detroit, he would bring in local singers and bands and have them perform in front of 3 judges who were in the music industry. Gee, does THAT sound familiar? I have no idea how Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell and Nigel Lythgoe could have heard it somehow or found out about it, or it was just coincidental, but Howard's Detroit Talent Search bit was an awful lot like AI. Of course, Howard would be the Ryan Seacrest of the bit, and not an actual judge, although he usually offered his opinion. The judges were usually 1 record exec, 1 talent scout (yes, they actually used to have those,) and 1 established act (one time I recall it being Mitch Ryder.) So not only does Howard have musical credentials, he actually has a history with having created essentially the same concept 20 years earlier.
While I think that Howard is qualified for the job, and certainly much more qualified that Ellen, and although Howard may have 15-20 million fans, most of his fans do not watch AI, and most who watch AI are not his fans. So, bottom line, he would not be a good fit. I would like to see him as a guest judge though.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
8 minute video worth watching
I had this sent to me in an email, so I'm cutting and pasting it here.
Take 8 mins to watch this amazing video.
I'd seen something similar (lighted art with sand) about 5-6 years ago or so, but it was more about the drawing and random images as opposed to telling a story.
> Read the text below before watching the video to understand the context.
>
> This video shows the winner of "Ukraine’s Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.
>
> The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of 1 Million Dollars, which is about $125,000 in US money.
>
> She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.
>
> It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.
>
> She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.
>
> This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.
>
> In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man (ghost?) standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.
>
> The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42
million.
>
>
> Kseniya Simonova says:
> "I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment."
>
>
> click on the link below -
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg
Take 8 mins to watch this amazing video.
I'd seen something similar (lighted art with sand) about 5-6 years ago or so, but it was more about the drawing and random images as opposed to telling a story.
> Read the text below before watching the video to understand the context.
>
> This video shows the winner of "Ukraine’s Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.
>
> The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of 1 Million Dollars, which is about $125,000 in US money.
>
> She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.
>
> It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.
>
> She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.
>
> This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.
>
> In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man (ghost?) standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.
>
> The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42
million.
>
>
> Kseniya Simonova says:
> "I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment."
>
>
> click on the link below -
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Random Links
Here are some random links to things that I thought were cool, fun, interesting, weird, funny, or just wanted to share.
Tim Burton + Johnny Depp + Wonderland = WIN! New full trailer released in the UK now on Youtube. Also, check along the side for Disney UK's trailers for the live action version of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and the 2 trailers for Toy Story 3!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POCgSRVvf0
Iron Man 2 Trailer is A W E S O M E !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQgD9qOhRs
Man vs Toddler. I thought this was pretty funny. "Somebody teach that kid to do sh.." LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ5DfWN3fWU
Star Trek as the A-Team!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCwnIPb1CcI
What would a Discovery Channel type documentary on The Beatles be like in 1,000 years? Perhaps like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2vU8M6CYI
Han Solo IS Scarface (Kinda funny mash up video.) Cursing, so NSFW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIpFJsWM5x0
Is THIS how the Cylons or Skynet got started?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk92bLNxjqk
Meet the # 1 World of Warcraft player ever:
http://tinyurl.com/yg2aprb
David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends) had some nice words about making his latest movie in my area. The cast includes someone I know. WTG Jen Kincer!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091201/ap_en_mo/us_people_schwimmer
I would imagine that by now everyone has seen this 17 second video of the "surprised kitty," but just in case, here it is. Cuteness overload warning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8
Ever wanted to call a celebrity? Actor Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) recently joined a band on stage and sang a song that not only repeated his phone number over and over, but he actually had a woman on stage hold up a sign with the digits. I'm guessing that he set up the number ahead of time for this event, but some people have said they've actually reached him. Usually it just goes to voice mail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZF6Kx88LM
Funniest Facebook Faux Pas. I've seen some of these before, but this is a pretty good collection. I can only hope that some are fake...otherwise...wow. (At least one is NSFW)
http://tinyurl.com/ylhrz3b
Read this article, and then play the video of duet fromDavid Cook and Carrie Underwood. They performed "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac at the American Idol attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park at Disney World in Orlando.
http://tinyurl.com/y95wqx9
This video is full of win. It's Neil Diamond covering Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song" set to animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOegH4uYe-c
Here are The Lovemongers (aka the gals from Heart) performing their remake of Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore." I still think that this is better than the original. Sacrilege, I know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7DxFQ6FhzQ
Tim Burton + Johnny Depp + Wonderland = WIN! New full trailer released in the UK now on Youtube. Also, check along the side for Disney UK's trailers for the live action version of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and the 2 trailers for Toy Story 3!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POCgSRVvf0
Iron Man 2 Trailer is A W E S O M E !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQgD9qOhRs
Man vs Toddler. I thought this was pretty funny. "Somebody teach that kid to do sh.." LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ5DfWN3fWU
Star Trek as the A-Team!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCwnIPb1CcI
What would a Discovery Channel type documentary on The Beatles be like in 1,000 years? Perhaps like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2vU8M6CYI
Han Solo IS Scarface (Kinda funny mash up video.) Cursing, so NSFW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIpFJsWM5x0
Is THIS how the Cylons or Skynet got started?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk92bLNxjqk
Meet the # 1 World of Warcraft player ever:
http://tinyurl.com/yg2aprb
David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends) had some nice words about making his latest movie in my area. The cast includes someone I know. WTG Jen Kincer!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091201/ap_en_mo/us_people_schwimmer
I would imagine that by now everyone has seen this 17 second video of the "surprised kitty," but just in case, here it is. Cuteness overload warning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8
Ever wanted to call a celebrity? Actor Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) recently joined a band on stage and sang a song that not only repeated his phone number over and over, but he actually had a woman on stage hold up a sign with the digits. I'm guessing that he set up the number ahead of time for this event, but some people have said they've actually reached him. Usually it just goes to voice mail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZF6Kx88LM
Funniest Facebook Faux Pas. I've seen some of these before, but this is a pretty good collection. I can only hope that some are fake...otherwise...wow. (At least one is NSFW)
http://tinyurl.com/ylhrz3b
Read this article, and then play the video of duet fromDavid Cook and Carrie Underwood. They performed "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac at the American Idol attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park at Disney World in Orlando.
http://tinyurl.com/y95wqx9
This video is full of win. It's Neil Diamond covering Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song" set to animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOegH4uYe-c
Here are The Lovemongers (aka the gals from Heart) performing their remake of Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore." I still think that this is better than the original. Sacrilege, I know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7DxFQ6FhzQ
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Top Chef 6: Las Vegas - Finalé
I decided to wait to post this since the finalé was in 2 parts.
Part 1 last week saw the Final Four cheftestants getting back together after being away from the show for a couple of months. The Final Four are Jen, Kevin and the Voltaggio brothers, Bryan & Michael. Amazingly, these 4 were the ONLY chefs to win an Elimination Round the entire season. Eliminated Chefs won Quickfires, but NONE won an Elimination Round. Chef Tom wrote that it showed that these 4 were truly the best of the best. By now the show had aired, and they had a chance to see what other people had said about them. Kevin noted how Michael put down his cooking but hadn't really had any chance to actually taste it. Kevin also noted that there is a Facebook fan page for his beard! How fun!
They met at a train station in Napa Valley in California...no longer in Vegas. They had a Quickfire on the train where they were to make use of the grape and the guest judge was Michael Chiarello who used to have some shows on Food Network but competed on Top Chef Masters this Summer. He owns a restaurant in Napa and is a longtime resident there. The winner of the Quickfire would get a new Toyota Prius. Jen said that she really needed a new car. It seemed to come down to Jen and Michael with Michael winning as he not only used grapes throughout, but also used a grapevine as a skewer.
The Elimination allowed them to make whatever they wanted using ONLY local ingredients found at a local Farmer's Market. Well, salt & pepper were allowed, but otherwise, all local. Everyone had to make 2 dishes, one Vegetarian. I noticed that 3 of the 4 used cheese (not all are lacto-vegetarians,) while Michael used an egg (not all are ovo-vegetarians.) Jen made a duck dish and an over salted vegetarian dish, while Bryan made 2 amazing dishes. Kevin made an incredible looking vegetarian dish, but his meat dish was just so so. Michael's meat dish was very good, but his egg wasn't presented correctly. While not undercooked, he failed to remove the clear liquid that emerges and it looked unappealing. The editing made it look like Michael was going, but Chef Tom said in his blog that they knew from the start that it would be Jen. Her vegetarian dish was SO over salted that it was inedible. Bryan won the challenge.
This week the Top Three had to make a 3 course dinner with one course of their choosing, one course using ingredients from a "mystery box," and a dessert course. All of the other former cheftestants returned and the Top Three had to draw knives out of a knife block to see which 2 each would get as a sous chef. One would help them prep the first day, and one would help them finish the next. Bryan was the luckiest as he got Jen & Ashley. Michael was pretty lucky in getting Eli & Jesse while poor Kevin ended up with Preeti & Ash. Ashley, Jesse and Preeti helped the first day, while Jen, Eli and Ash helped the next. Kevin complained that of the 12 or 13 things he needed done, Preeti was only able to do 2 of them.
They were given a 4th dish, the first one, that would have to be inspired by a childhood memory. Oh, and their mothers arrived to cheer them on. Kinda awkward for Bryan & Michael's mom, huh? The mystery box was the same for all, and it contained fish and some ingredients I've never heard of, including some kind of mushroom. Kevin ended up being cut first, so it came down to the 2 brothers. Both he and Chef Tom later said that Preeti wasn't the problem, Kevin just ended up in a funk.
In the end, despite the way it was edited, Michael won. LOTS of fans complained, but Chef Tom explained it was the editing, and he wasn't thrilled with it. It's one thing to edit the show to throw people off so they don't know who will win, it's quite another to edit it to be misleading. Chef Tom felt that it was misleading, it even had him questioning his own memory. It LOOKED like the courses went this way; Childhood: Kevin, Mystery Box: Michael, Chef's Choice: Bryan, Dessert: Bryan. In actuality, Michael won the "Chef's Choice" course so he won 2 of the 4 to win Top Chef. In total, including the final win, Kevin won 5 Eliminations and 3 Quickfires, Michael won 4 Eliminations and 2 QFs, and Bryan won 4 Elims and No QFs. While the fans wanted Kevin, and if not him then Bryan, they can't complain as Kevin won $45,000 amongst his wins. Michael consistently made artistic, bold, tasty, and complicated food. Kevin's was more simple, yet flavorful, while Bryan's was yummy and classic while somewhat "safe." Michael may not be a fan favorite, but it's hard to argue his win.
Part 1 last week saw the Final Four cheftestants getting back together after being away from the show for a couple of months. The Final Four are Jen, Kevin and the Voltaggio brothers, Bryan & Michael. Amazingly, these 4 were the ONLY chefs to win an Elimination Round the entire season. Eliminated Chefs won Quickfires, but NONE won an Elimination Round. Chef Tom wrote that it showed that these 4 were truly the best of the best. By now the show had aired, and they had a chance to see what other people had said about them. Kevin noted how Michael put down his cooking but hadn't really had any chance to actually taste it. Kevin also noted that there is a Facebook fan page for his beard! How fun!
They met at a train station in Napa Valley in California...no longer in Vegas. They had a Quickfire on the train where they were to make use of the grape and the guest judge was Michael Chiarello who used to have some shows on Food Network but competed on Top Chef Masters this Summer. He owns a restaurant in Napa and is a longtime resident there. The winner of the Quickfire would get a new Toyota Prius. Jen said that she really needed a new car. It seemed to come down to Jen and Michael with Michael winning as he not only used grapes throughout, but also used a grapevine as a skewer.
The Elimination allowed them to make whatever they wanted using ONLY local ingredients found at a local Farmer's Market. Well, salt & pepper were allowed, but otherwise, all local. Everyone had to make 2 dishes, one Vegetarian. I noticed that 3 of the 4 used cheese (not all are lacto-vegetarians,) while Michael used an egg (not all are ovo-vegetarians.) Jen made a duck dish and an over salted vegetarian dish, while Bryan made 2 amazing dishes. Kevin made an incredible looking vegetarian dish, but his meat dish was just so so. Michael's meat dish was very good, but his egg wasn't presented correctly. While not undercooked, he failed to remove the clear liquid that emerges and it looked unappealing. The editing made it look like Michael was going, but Chef Tom said in his blog that they knew from the start that it would be Jen. Her vegetarian dish was SO over salted that it was inedible. Bryan won the challenge.
This week the Top Three had to make a 3 course dinner with one course of their choosing, one course using ingredients from a "mystery box," and a dessert course. All of the other former cheftestants returned and the Top Three had to draw knives out of a knife block to see which 2 each would get as a sous chef. One would help them prep the first day, and one would help them finish the next. Bryan was the luckiest as he got Jen & Ashley. Michael was pretty lucky in getting Eli & Jesse while poor Kevin ended up with Preeti & Ash. Ashley, Jesse and Preeti helped the first day, while Jen, Eli and Ash helped the next. Kevin complained that of the 12 or 13 things he needed done, Preeti was only able to do 2 of them.
They were given a 4th dish, the first one, that would have to be inspired by a childhood memory. Oh, and their mothers arrived to cheer them on. Kinda awkward for Bryan & Michael's mom, huh? The mystery box was the same for all, and it contained fish and some ingredients I've never heard of, including some kind of mushroom. Kevin ended up being cut first, so it came down to the 2 brothers. Both he and Chef Tom later said that Preeti wasn't the problem, Kevin just ended up in a funk.
In the end, despite the way it was edited, Michael won. LOTS of fans complained, but Chef Tom explained it was the editing, and he wasn't thrilled with it. It's one thing to edit the show to throw people off so they don't know who will win, it's quite another to edit it to be misleading. Chef Tom felt that it was misleading, it even had him questioning his own memory. It LOOKED like the courses went this way; Childhood: Kevin, Mystery Box: Michael, Chef's Choice: Bryan, Dessert: Bryan. In actuality, Michael won the "Chef's Choice" course so he won 2 of the 4 to win Top Chef. In total, including the final win, Kevin won 5 Eliminations and 3 Quickfires, Michael won 4 Eliminations and 2 QFs, and Bryan won 4 Elims and No QFs. While the fans wanted Kevin, and if not him then Bryan, they can't complain as Kevin won $45,000 amongst his wins. Michael consistently made artistic, bold, tasty, and complicated food. Kevin's was more simple, yet flavorful, while Bryan's was yummy and classic while somewhat "safe." Michael may not be a fan favorite, but it's hard to argue his win.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Recap week ending 11/22/2009
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
The guest judge this week was Gavin Kaysen who competed in the 2007 "culinary Olympics" called the Bocuse d'Or. Sorry, not impressed. The footage of that event looked like it was filmed in a high school gymnasium by a local municipal access cable company. Seriously, it looked like a joke.
Anywho, for the Quickfire Challenge, the 5 remaining cheftestants were to try to recreate in their own style Chef Kaysen's dish that he made in 2007 which was a Ballotine of Chicken, Chicken Liver and Crayfish. It is essentially a protein inside of a protein inside of a protein...think turducken.
While the instruction were to make a "version" of it, brother Michael apparently took a little too much license and made a terrine. I'd always thought of a terrine as a cooking dish (and it is) but in food it's essentially several items pressed together and shaped and cut. It kinda looks like a sushi roll. So, his dish didn't go over too well. Surprisingly, Jen won! It was her first win in a looong time, and maybe finally will get her confidence back up. Her win got her 30 minutes extra time in the Elimination Challenge.
The Elimination Challenge of course was to make something in the style of the Bocuse d'Orusing one protein (either Salmon or Lamb,) and 2 garnishes. Kevin (who I agree with) said that while the Bocuse d'Or is all about presentation (you present your dishes on a mirror...oy,) he wanted to focus on complex flavors. I mean, leave it to the French to come up with a food competition that is more about looks than taste. What is it for, a magazine cover? Ridiculous. Anyway, Brian was the one who everyone thought had the best technique and complicated dish, but his lamb was undercooked. If he had Jen's extra 30 minutes, he probably would have won. All of them received some praise, and all of them received some criticism. Kevin won, which I'm SURE pissed off Michael because he keeps saying that Kevin cooks what he cooks on his day off. WTFE a-hole. Kevin not only focused more on taste than appearance, but he sous vide his meat, which he'd never done, and he had asked brother Bryan the night before on some tips for doing it. Bryan said that he'd have been an a-hole to not tall Kevin...and that he doubted that his brother would have told Kevin. He's probably right, and Kevin is probably lucky that Michael went to sleep early, so he didn't know about his brother "helping" a competitor. Eli ended up going home so as predicted here after the 1st or 2nd show, the Final Four are the brothers (Bryan and Michael,) Kevin, and Jen.
Next Iron Chef America:
This started with 10 chefs, and I only knew 2 of them. Amanda Freitag and Jose Garces. Both had competed on ICA before (and Garces won as I recall.) The final 2 chefs were Jose and Chef Mehta who was born in India. So, the new Iron Chef would be a minority (either Hispanic or Indian.)
The final round was a head to head ICA battle in Kitchen Stadium and the "secret ingedient" was "ribs and racks." So it was ribs from pig, cow & buffalo. Unlike the first NICA 2 years ago, the 3 judges who had been judging all along actually got to be judges for the finals. The last time, there was a LOT of issues where the 3 judges throughout the show weren't the judges for the ICA battle (3 Iron Chefs were instead,) and the 3 judges who had been there all along thought that Symon probably would not have won had they been the judges. So, this time not only were the 2 judges there, but also 3 current Iron Chefs (Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, and Morimoto.) To me, that made the most sense, and both the Chairman and Alton Brown also were served dishes. I bet if there had been a tie that Alton would have been the tie breaker.
It seemed pretty apparent to me who would win. The 3 judges of the series made noise that Chef Mehta took more risks and that maybe led to more failures but also led to the single best dish. The Iron Chefs seemed to say that Chef Garces might have been more "conservative" but nearly everything was technically correct, cooked correctly, and he didn't produce 5 "Latin" dishes, so it wasn't "really" conservative for him. In the end, Chef Garces won and is the new Iron Chef to replace Mario Batali who has had a falling out with Food Network...although he WILL compete in the Iron Chef Battle with the White House Official Chef along with Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse (who also has had a falling out with FN.) This special episode of Iron Chef America will air in January.
Detroit Lions vs Cleveland Browns:
While this game was blacked out locally, I listened to it on the radio.
What the heck was that on Sunday?
The guest judge this week was Gavin Kaysen who competed in the 2007 "culinary Olympics" called the Bocuse d'Or. Sorry, not impressed. The footage of that event looked like it was filmed in a high school gymnasium by a local municipal access cable company. Seriously, it looked like a joke.
Anywho, for the Quickfire Challenge, the 5 remaining cheftestants were to try to recreate in their own style Chef Kaysen's dish that he made in 2007 which was a Ballotine of Chicken, Chicken Liver and Crayfish. It is essentially a protein inside of a protein inside of a protein...think turducken.
While the instruction were to make a "version" of it, brother Michael apparently took a little too much license and made a terrine. I'd always thought of a terrine as a cooking dish (and it is) but in food it's essentially several items pressed together and shaped and cut. It kinda looks like a sushi roll. So, his dish didn't go over too well. Surprisingly, Jen won! It was her first win in a looong time, and maybe finally will get her confidence back up. Her win got her 30 minutes extra time in the Elimination Challenge.
The Elimination Challenge of course was to make something in the style of the Bocuse d'Orusing one protein (either Salmon or Lamb,) and 2 garnishes. Kevin (who I agree with) said that while the Bocuse d'Or is all about presentation (you present your dishes on a mirror...oy,) he wanted to focus on complex flavors. I mean, leave it to the French to come up with a food competition that is more about looks than taste. What is it for, a magazine cover? Ridiculous. Anyway, Brian was the one who everyone thought had the best technique and complicated dish, but his lamb was undercooked. If he had Jen's extra 30 minutes, he probably would have won. All of them received some praise, and all of them received some criticism. Kevin won, which I'm SURE pissed off Michael because he keeps saying that Kevin cooks what he cooks on his day off. WTFE a-hole. Kevin not only focused more on taste than appearance, but he sous vide his meat, which he'd never done, and he had asked brother Bryan the night before on some tips for doing it. Bryan said that he'd have been an a-hole to not tall Kevin...and that he doubted that his brother would have told Kevin. He's probably right, and Kevin is probably lucky that Michael went to sleep early, so he didn't know about his brother "helping" a competitor. Eli ended up going home so as predicted here after the 1st or 2nd show, the Final Four are the brothers (Bryan and Michael,) Kevin, and Jen.
Next Iron Chef America:
This started with 10 chefs, and I only knew 2 of them. Amanda Freitag and Jose Garces. Both had competed on ICA before (and Garces won as I recall.) The final 2 chefs were Jose and Chef Mehta who was born in India. So, the new Iron Chef would be a minority (either Hispanic or Indian.)
The final round was a head to head ICA battle in Kitchen Stadium and the "secret ingedient" was "ribs and racks." So it was ribs from pig, cow & buffalo. Unlike the first NICA 2 years ago, the 3 judges who had been judging all along actually got to be judges for the finals. The last time, there was a LOT of issues where the 3 judges throughout the show weren't the judges for the ICA battle (3 Iron Chefs were instead,) and the 3 judges who had been there all along thought that Symon probably would not have won had they been the judges. So, this time not only were the 2 judges there, but also 3 current Iron Chefs (Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, and Morimoto.) To me, that made the most sense, and both the Chairman and Alton Brown also were served dishes. I bet if there had been a tie that Alton would have been the tie breaker.
It seemed pretty apparent to me who would win. The 3 judges of the series made noise that Chef Mehta took more risks and that maybe led to more failures but also led to the single best dish. The Iron Chefs seemed to say that Chef Garces might have been more "conservative" but nearly everything was technically correct, cooked correctly, and he didn't produce 5 "Latin" dishes, so it wasn't "really" conservative for him. In the end, Chef Garces won and is the new Iron Chef to replace Mario Batali who has had a falling out with Food Network...although he WILL compete in the Iron Chef Battle with the White House Official Chef along with Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse (who also has had a falling out with FN.) This special episode of Iron Chef America will air in January.
Detroit Lions vs Cleveland Browns:
While this game was blacked out locally, I listened to it on the radio.
What the heck was that on Sunday?
The Lions are at home against another 1 win team. A team that had ONLY had 5 TDs for the ENTIRE SEASON so far, and of those 5, only 1 player who was directly involved in ANY of them was actually in the game. The Browns are imploding from within with players calling out the coach, the coach calling out players, and the owner working to replace the GM and coach. ANd they're imploding from without with fans hoping they lose all the rest of their games, that the QBs get hurt, that the owner fires everyone and/or sells the team. You think it's been bad here? At least the Lions team are on the same page and trying to get wins.
So, what happens? The Browns roll up a 24-3 lead.
In the first quarter.
WTF?
But, as I contended last season...these Lions aren't quitters. Last season, had we played Cleveland or St Louis, or Cincy, or a couple other teams, we probably would have beaten them. The Lions were motivated to not go 0-16 while those other teams just wanted the season to end...and they lucked out because each one of those 4 win or less teams played other 4 win or less teams while the Lions did not.
So, the Lions get it back tied at 24 at halftime. Then they took the lead! Then, like the Lions, they not only lost the lead, but turned the ball over late in the 4th quarter by a bad decision by StafFORD. Calvin had triple coverage, yet Matt tossed the ball his way regardless. Dumb. Typical Lions QB. But wait! The Browns fail and kick the ball back to the Lions. What does StafFORD do? He marches them down the field to around the 30. Then he heaves a last second desperation toss towards Bryant Johnson in the end zone, and is promptly flattened onto his left (non-throwing) shoulder. Johnson was essentially frisked like he was a dope smuggler, so after a pass interference call, the Lions had 1st and goal from the 1 with 0.0 showing on the game clock. Daunte Culpepper, who hadn't even been warming up, had to run onto the field to run the last play. So what does the genius coach of Cleveland do? He calls time out. Many say that he didn't have a choice. They were winning and they had to get their defense set. BS! Let the ice cold Daunte try to run a game that he had absolutely no handle on and take the chance that the Lions, as usual, would fail. Instead, out runs StafFORD, lame arm and all, and tosses the winning TD to rookie TE Pettigrew! HOLY SCHNIKES!!!! This isn't Joey Harrington. This isn't Scott Mitchell. Those clowns would have been writing in pain on the bench, watching the game on the jumbotron.
What did I learn from this game?
That the Lions are absolutely terrible. Their defense couldn't stop a check, and their special teams must be full of "special" people. Durr durr.
But, the offense isn't horrible, and StafFORD tossed TDs to 5 different players. 2 rookies, one a 2nd year player, and one a 3rd year player, and the 5th the backup TE. That shows that perhaps there is a nucleus to build upon. StafFORD has shown that he could be "the real deal" and prior to the game HE took all the blame for the multiple dropped passes over the prior few games. That sends a signal to his offense that HE is the leader, and that builds respect. StafFORD got 422 yards and 5 TDs, the first time a rookie has done that since the 1930s! HOLY SCHNIKES! Does this mean that the Lions "turned a corner?" Hells no. But it does show that perhaps, just maybe, they got the right guy last draft. The offense needs LINEMEN, not skill players or StafFORD will get killed. But the guy's got the heart of a winner and the toughness and guts to get him through the bad times.
The Lions will be lucky to win 1 more game (Chicago at home on the last week is their best bet) but that was a nice win and a nice boost to the offense and showed that the Lions may FINALLY have a true leader in the locker room. They had better spend the entire off season bringing in veteran defensive linemen and secondary as well as o-linemen, and target those positions with EVERY pick in the next draft.
Oh, and I happened to pick up StafFORD for my Fantasy Football team and he got me over 55 points! W00t!!
I played my brother's team, and he's a HUUUUGE Lions fan. Must have sucked for him knowing that although the Lions would win, he was getting killed. Sorry about that, bro.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Week Ending 11/15/2009
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
The guest judge this week was Nigella Lawson who is sexy but I've never been a big fan of her cooking shows. The Quickfire Challenge had the 6 remaining cheftestants prepare breakfast in bed for Padma and Nigella (they were in separate beds, perve.) Robin's breakfast of course sucked and as usual she was all "I was unhappy with my dish." Of course you were, you blow. Bryan's dish also ended up in the bottom but only because he added vanilla to it which Nigella didn't like. I dunno, it looked and sounded great and I'm not sure how vanilla could have ruined it. For reasons unknown, Jen made "Shit on a Shingle" and actually CALLED it that! WTF!?! Michael made a nice dish, and Kevin made an interesting twist on "steak and eggs" by adding coffee beans, but it was Eli's Reuben/Eggs Benedict sandwich that won the Quickfire, and earned him the one and only slot from this season to be including in the new Top Chef Quickfire Challenge Cookbook. Good for Eli, as that will probably be his last honor in this season.
For the Elimination challenge, the chefs were each sent to various casino/hotels in Vegas to be "inspired" and then turn their inspiration into a dish for 250 guests. That's a LOT of work for each chef, but you just knew who would do well and who wouldn't.
Jen again tried to sabotage herself and in the "stewing room" where they wait to find out their fate she just kept saying, "Just send me home already." Nice. Nothing like giving up.
Eli went to "Circus Circus" and somehow decided that meant peanut and popcorn soup. WTF? Sounds gross. Chef Tom blogged that he actually kinda liked it, but ultimately Eli failed to pull it all together. Padma said that she NEVER wanted to try to eat it again. Nigella was afraid to even try, but ultimately did after the other judges gave it a go.
Michael won by making a nifty chicken wing dish inspired by firefighters of NYC. It had a little sweetness and a little heat and had a semi-frozen blue chees mousse on top.
FINALLY getting the boot was Robin who tried to make things that she'd never done before (again) and failed at it (as usual.) She claimed that she had been an artist and I think she should do everyone a favor and go back to doing that as she just sucks as a chef.
*******
I went and saw Michael Jackson: This Is It and it shows how he was involved with all aspects of the show from auditioning backup dancers to watching the shoots of the little videos that would appear on stage during the different songs. He looked to be in good shape, danced well, and for the most part his voice was in fine shape. I do think they "augmented" his voice by playing the album version of the song at times 9probably as the audio was poorly recorded when he sang it live (remember, these rehearsals weren't supposed to see the light of day) but when he did sing live that were obviously live, he sounded really good.
*******
Fringe was pretty decent although I saw the first "twist" a mile away. Next week should be amazing as it is about the "Observers." Yes, that's an "s" at the end. Stargate:Universe was kinda boring, and Sanctuary wasn't very good (again.) Smallville was quite good although the "Wonder Twins" weren't really given much to do. Lois believed Clark to be "The Blur" and showed him that she was ok with the idea (so why Clark continued to lie to her is a little odd) but this episode did mark the appearance of "Clark with spectacles." Lois also realized, fully, that she is madly in love with Clark and when he risked her life (or so she believed) to try to save her, that just cemented it. Survivor had one of the best Tribals ever as Evil Russell found a Hidden Immunity Idol for the second time WITHOUT A CLUE! Amazing. It led to a great tribal where the "other tribe" cast 7 votes to evict him (although Shambo's was a sham vote...just for looks) and they were all nullified by Russell playing the HII. It was awesome.
The guest judge this week was Nigella Lawson who is sexy but I've never been a big fan of her cooking shows. The Quickfire Challenge had the 6 remaining cheftestants prepare breakfast in bed for Padma and Nigella (they were in separate beds, perve.) Robin's breakfast of course sucked and as usual she was all "I was unhappy with my dish." Of course you were, you blow. Bryan's dish also ended up in the bottom but only because he added vanilla to it which Nigella didn't like. I dunno, it looked and sounded great and I'm not sure how vanilla could have ruined it. For reasons unknown, Jen made "Shit on a Shingle" and actually CALLED it that! WTF!?! Michael made a nice dish, and Kevin made an interesting twist on "steak and eggs" by adding coffee beans, but it was Eli's Reuben/Eggs Benedict sandwich that won the Quickfire, and earned him the one and only slot from this season to be including in the new Top Chef Quickfire Challenge Cookbook. Good for Eli, as that will probably be his last honor in this season.
For the Elimination challenge, the chefs were each sent to various casino/hotels in Vegas to be "inspired" and then turn their inspiration into a dish for 250 guests. That's a LOT of work for each chef, but you just knew who would do well and who wouldn't.
Jen again tried to sabotage herself and in the "stewing room" where they wait to find out their fate she just kept saying, "Just send me home already." Nice. Nothing like giving up.
Eli went to "Circus Circus" and somehow decided that meant peanut and popcorn soup. WTF? Sounds gross. Chef Tom blogged that he actually kinda liked it, but ultimately Eli failed to pull it all together. Padma said that she NEVER wanted to try to eat it again. Nigella was afraid to even try, but ultimately did after the other judges gave it a go.
Michael won by making a nifty chicken wing dish inspired by firefighters of NYC. It had a little sweetness and a little heat and had a semi-frozen blue chees mousse on top.
FINALLY getting the boot was Robin who tried to make things that she'd never done before (again) and failed at it (as usual.) She claimed that she had been an artist and I think she should do everyone a favor and go back to doing that as she just sucks as a chef.
*******
I went and saw Michael Jackson: This Is It and it shows how he was involved with all aspects of the show from auditioning backup dancers to watching the shoots of the little videos that would appear on stage during the different songs. He looked to be in good shape, danced well, and for the most part his voice was in fine shape. I do think they "augmented" his voice by playing the album version of the song at times 9probably as the audio was poorly recorded when he sang it live (remember, these rehearsals weren't supposed to see the light of day) but when he did sing live that were obviously live, he sounded really good.
*******
Fringe was pretty decent although I saw the first "twist" a mile away. Next week should be amazing as it is about the "Observers." Yes, that's an "s" at the end. Stargate:Universe was kinda boring, and Sanctuary wasn't very good (again.) Smallville was quite good although the "Wonder Twins" weren't really given much to do. Lois believed Clark to be "The Blur" and showed him that she was ok with the idea (so why Clark continued to lie to her is a little odd) but this episode did mark the appearance of "Clark with spectacles." Lois also realized, fully, that she is madly in love with Clark and when he risked her life (or so she believed) to try to save her, that just cemented it. Survivor had one of the best Tribals ever as Evil Russell found a Hidden Immunity Idol for the second time WITHOUT A CLUE! Amazing. It led to a great tribal where the "other tribe" cast 7 votes to evict him (although Shambo's was a sham vote...just for looks) and they were all nullified by Russell playing the HII. It was awesome.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Recaps and a little more 10/28-11/1/2009
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
First I want to correct myself from last week.
Although it seemed at the time that the judges weren't happy with either seafood dish from Jen last week, I read Tom's blog and he stated that her Halibut dish was good, the shellfish dish (the one she cooked to order like a dumbass) was terrible. So, Mike I. had 2 acceptable dishes; Jen had 1 good and 1 bad; Kevin had 1 good (his dish,) and 1 bad (Laurine's dish that he cooked;) and Laurine had a bad dish (her lamb dish that she prepped, Kevin cooked, and she allowed to be served undercooked,) and did a terrible job as hostess. So, I now agree that she did deserve to go over Jen last week.
Now, on to this week...
This was one of those Quickfire Challenges that had NOTHING to do with the guest judge. The guest judge was Paul Bartolotta, who has one of the top Italian restaurants in Vegas. The challenge, though, was sponsored by TV Guide and was "tv dinners." The challenge was misnamed because instead of making a dish to be frozen and then served tv dinner style, they were asked to make a dinner to eat fresh that was inspired by a classic tv show. What Chef Bartolotta's connection to any of this escapes me. It just seems that they were able to get a paying sponsor (TV Guide) and "crowbarred" the guest judge into the challenge.
The shows that were to "inspire" the chefs were MASH, Flintstones, Gilligan's Island, Sesame Street, Soprano's, Seinfeld, & Cheers. For me, none of the dishes really had ANYTHING to do with the shows. Kevin at least made an Italian dish (meatballs) for the Soprano's, but pretty much everything else could have been for any tv show...or heck, just any movie, radio program, or even book. I will give Robin props for being a non-tv watcher and used to eating only "healthy foods," yet knew Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Unfortunately, she made a cookie and some mess with an egg on top. It looked terrible and she wound up in the bottom 2 along with Jen who is Hell Bent on crashing and burning. For MASH, why didn't Bryan make something inspired by Korean cooking like Korean Ribs and a Korean style veggie side? Instead, he made meat and potatoes which he said would have been something American Servicemen would have considered "comfort food." Ok, I'll give him that, but the Korean Ribs would have been great, especially since there was an episode where Klinger had ribs sent from Toledo. For the Flintstones, why didn't Jen make a GIANT CUT OF BEEF with the bone in, and call it "Brontosaurus Style?" For Gilligan's Island, Eli went "tropical" but why not a mini coconut pie, or even coconut custard? Why not something with "Ginger?" Anyway, Bryan and Kevin were the Top 2 and Kevin won.
For the Elimination Challenge, they were going to take over Tom's Vegas restaurant, Craftsteak. The Cheftestants were all excited and mulling the proteins when Tom brought in Padme Amidala herself, Natalie Portman. Oh, did they mention that Natalie is Vegetarian? I don't understand why chefs go nuts over having to cook for vegetarians. A few weeks back, Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen called the the "biggest pains in the ass in the world." Kevin made some snide comments too, but at least not as bad. Chef Tom acknowledged that although he understand why vegetarians/vegans choose to not eat meat, he went on to say that there are stomach acids that ONLY exist to break down meat...so in other words, Vegetarians/Vegans are going against nature. Well, at least he tried.
I go to a Vegetarian restaurant all the time, and there is PLENTY that can be made vegetarian. Heck, every Indian and Ethiopian restaurant have a big vegetarian menu, as does most Mexican and many Italian. Not including odd things like Seitan, they can use beans, lentils, and soy for protein, but pasta dishes, rice dishes...so many dishes are out there that are already vegetarian, let alone any number of dishes that can be made. Robin was excited because she cooks and eats vegetarian all the time. Mike I. also cooks vegetarian all the time and his own mother is Vegan. The rest mentioned that they have vegetarian dishes or make them special at their restaurants...but they all seemed to whine a bit.
Well, whatever. Michael, Kevin and Eli were in the top, and Kevin's sloppy looking mushroom dish won. I think this made him the first to win both the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges with the same guest judge. Michael bitched that Kevin's dish may have been tasty (he didn't try it,) but it was pedestrian and could be made by any young chef in cooking school, while his was much more complicated. Chef Tom admonished this on his blog and that technique and presentation don't exceed taste, and Kevin's tasted better...although I think he actually wanted Michael's to win inspite of Kevin's dish tasting better, and was out voted.
Jen, Robin & Mike I. were in the bottom (this meant Brother Bryan was alone in "no man's land,) and all of them were pretty terrible. I think the judges are cutting Jen slack, but her dish did seem to be the least offensive of the 3. Robin's was a bunch of disparate veggies that had no connection to each other, and the dish was not balanced in terms of seasoning, acidity, and so forth. But surprisingly, it was Mike I. who got the boot. He didn't cook his leeks properly...and for whatever reason tried to make them a "pretend protein" rather than actually incorporate a real protein. His dish fell apart and he just was like, "oh well, whatever," because rather than try to fix it, he figured that Robin would fail worse and she'd go. He was wrong. In Chef Tom's blog, he seem to imply that one of the brothers or Kevin will go earlier than expected, and in the promo for next week, judge Toby is heard to say, "he" in relation to someone totally failing.
Random Thoughts:
After one of the best Smallville's in a loooong time, they followed up with another good one. Oliver is back and has recruited a gal to be his "Speedy" of sorts. He also got into a love triangle with Clark and Lois, but the episode ended with Clark taking matters into his own hands (although Lois already had told Oliver that she loved him as a friend but Clark has her heart) and Clark kissed Lois.
Sanctuary was one of those episodes to show that the "new person" is part of the team. It didn't work. She still sucks.
Stargate:Universe was one of those "needs of one outweigh the needs of the many" episodes. It was so so.
Ghost Hunters was semi-live with 5 "scariest" episodes as voted by "fans," but hosted live and included Steve and Tango and people from their spinoff series Ghost Hunter Academy. It was ok, more good humor from host Josh, but after they were spoofed on South Park a couple of weeks ago, I'd have rather seen a full episode made by South Park than this sort of semi-live "best of."
Personal Notes:
With my birthday so close to Halloween, I've always had a special place for it. Also, it fits me much more than say Christmas, or 4th of July. I've always looked forward to it...
Until a bad combination of factors over the past few years.
My ex and I wanted to get married on Halloween. We couldn't get the date, so we settled on November 1. It was great, and everyone who was there still talks about how unique and fun it was. The theme was Halloween during the Renaissance. She made her Renaissance style wedding dress, my Renaissance style outfit, her son's outfit that was like a junior version of mine, the 3 little flower girl's dresses, and altered the matron of honor's gown.
We made most of the decor ourselves. The card box looked like a castle. The bride's cake looked like a castle, and the groom's cake was dark chocolate ganache over a red velvet cake...so it looked like a "blood cake." The groom's cake had a little gazebo painted black with black roses on it, and little figurines of Dracula and The Bride of Frankenstein. All of the tables had artificial leaves on them. We took all of our carved pumpkins (my family and my brother's) from Halloween and spread them around the reception hall. We had a table set up for kids after dinner and hired the 2 gals who operated the after school facility at my stepson's school. People were encouraged to dress up...either Renaissance or Halloween costumes. Not everyone did, but many did dress up. It was a LOT of fun.
But now, I see that day just after Halloween, and it makes me a little sad. Before it was over, I had a little family of me, my wife, my stepson, and our 2 dogs. Worse, 2 years ago on 10/29 I had to put my girl dog to sleep (the other one lives with my ex several hundred miles away down south.) So now I've "bookended" my favorite day of the year with "sadness."
This year, it's kinda hitting me differently. Last year, I had no desire to decorate for Halloween as it was the first year anniversary since my little girl had to be put down. I went Trick or Treating with my niece and nephew...and I will again this year. Having just turned 40 and still single...and then these 2 dates all in a row...I'm just not feeling much joy or having the kind of fun that I usually have. Add to that the fact that I'm still having money problems and know that until I get that improved, I won't even THINK about trying to date anyone...
Well, it's all left me more than a little melancholy.
Yeah, yeah, I know...waaaaah.
I know it could be worse. A LOT worse. But the weight of the "blahs" is keeping me down. As I've written before, I'm not a "rah rah" type of person, so when I get the blahs...oy. But, I'm muddling through and hanging in there. At any rate...I just wanted to try and put how I'm feeling into words as it seems to help to "get rid" of those feelings.
I went to my brother's to carve pumpkins, then went Trick or Treating with them on Halloween. It was fun.
But I miss my little girl.
And I miss my little family.
First I want to correct myself from last week.
Although it seemed at the time that the judges weren't happy with either seafood dish from Jen last week, I read Tom's blog and he stated that her Halibut dish was good, the shellfish dish (the one she cooked to order like a dumbass) was terrible. So, Mike I. had 2 acceptable dishes; Jen had 1 good and 1 bad; Kevin had 1 good (his dish,) and 1 bad (Laurine's dish that he cooked;) and Laurine had a bad dish (her lamb dish that she prepped, Kevin cooked, and she allowed to be served undercooked,) and did a terrible job as hostess. So, I now agree that she did deserve to go over Jen last week.
Now, on to this week...
This was one of those Quickfire Challenges that had NOTHING to do with the guest judge. The guest judge was Paul Bartolotta, who has one of the top Italian restaurants in Vegas. The challenge, though, was sponsored by TV Guide and was "tv dinners." The challenge was misnamed because instead of making a dish to be frozen and then served tv dinner style, they were asked to make a dinner to eat fresh that was inspired by a classic tv show. What Chef Bartolotta's connection to any of this escapes me. It just seems that they were able to get a paying sponsor (TV Guide) and "crowbarred" the guest judge into the challenge.
The shows that were to "inspire" the chefs were MASH, Flintstones, Gilligan's Island, Sesame Street, Soprano's, Seinfeld, & Cheers. For me, none of the dishes really had ANYTHING to do with the shows. Kevin at least made an Italian dish (meatballs) for the Soprano's, but pretty much everything else could have been for any tv show...or heck, just any movie, radio program, or even book. I will give Robin props for being a non-tv watcher and used to eating only "healthy foods," yet knew Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Unfortunately, she made a cookie and some mess with an egg on top. It looked terrible and she wound up in the bottom 2 along with Jen who is Hell Bent on crashing and burning. For MASH, why didn't Bryan make something inspired by Korean cooking like Korean Ribs and a Korean style veggie side? Instead, he made meat and potatoes which he said would have been something American Servicemen would have considered "comfort food." Ok, I'll give him that, but the Korean Ribs would have been great, especially since there was an episode where Klinger had ribs sent from Toledo. For the Flintstones, why didn't Jen make a GIANT CUT OF BEEF with the bone in, and call it "Brontosaurus Style?" For Gilligan's Island, Eli went "tropical" but why not a mini coconut pie, or even coconut custard? Why not something with "Ginger?" Anyway, Bryan and Kevin were the Top 2 and Kevin won.
For the Elimination Challenge, they were going to take over Tom's Vegas restaurant, Craftsteak. The Cheftestants were all excited and mulling the proteins when Tom brought in Padme Amidala herself, Natalie Portman. Oh, did they mention that Natalie is Vegetarian? I don't understand why chefs go nuts over having to cook for vegetarians. A few weeks back, Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen called the the "biggest pains in the ass in the world." Kevin made some snide comments too, but at least not as bad. Chef Tom acknowledged that although he understand why vegetarians/vegans choose to not eat meat, he went on to say that there are stomach acids that ONLY exist to break down meat...so in other words, Vegetarians/Vegans are going against nature. Well, at least he tried.
I go to a Vegetarian restaurant all the time, and there is PLENTY that can be made vegetarian. Heck, every Indian and Ethiopian restaurant have a big vegetarian menu, as does most Mexican and many Italian. Not including odd things like Seitan, they can use beans, lentils, and soy for protein, but pasta dishes, rice dishes...so many dishes are out there that are already vegetarian, let alone any number of dishes that can be made. Robin was excited because she cooks and eats vegetarian all the time. Mike I. also cooks vegetarian all the time and his own mother is Vegan. The rest mentioned that they have vegetarian dishes or make them special at their restaurants...but they all seemed to whine a bit.
Well, whatever. Michael, Kevin and Eli were in the top, and Kevin's sloppy looking mushroom dish won. I think this made him the first to win both the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges with the same guest judge. Michael bitched that Kevin's dish may have been tasty (he didn't try it,) but it was pedestrian and could be made by any young chef in cooking school, while his was much more complicated. Chef Tom admonished this on his blog and that technique and presentation don't exceed taste, and Kevin's tasted better...although I think he actually wanted Michael's to win inspite of Kevin's dish tasting better, and was out voted.
Jen, Robin & Mike I. were in the bottom (this meant Brother Bryan was alone in "no man's land,) and all of them were pretty terrible. I think the judges are cutting Jen slack, but her dish did seem to be the least offensive of the 3. Robin's was a bunch of disparate veggies that had no connection to each other, and the dish was not balanced in terms of seasoning, acidity, and so forth. But surprisingly, it was Mike I. who got the boot. He didn't cook his leeks properly...and for whatever reason tried to make them a "pretend protein" rather than actually incorporate a real protein. His dish fell apart and he just was like, "oh well, whatever," because rather than try to fix it, he figured that Robin would fail worse and she'd go. He was wrong. In Chef Tom's blog, he seem to imply that one of the brothers or Kevin will go earlier than expected, and in the promo for next week, judge Toby is heard to say, "he" in relation to someone totally failing.
Random Thoughts:
After one of the best Smallville's in a loooong time, they followed up with another good one. Oliver is back and has recruited a gal to be his "Speedy" of sorts. He also got into a love triangle with Clark and Lois, but the episode ended with Clark taking matters into his own hands (although Lois already had told Oliver that she loved him as a friend but Clark has her heart) and Clark kissed Lois.
Sanctuary was one of those episodes to show that the "new person" is part of the team. It didn't work. She still sucks.
Stargate:Universe was one of those "needs of one outweigh the needs of the many" episodes. It was so so.
Ghost Hunters was semi-live with 5 "scariest" episodes as voted by "fans," but hosted live and included Steve and Tango and people from their spinoff series Ghost Hunter Academy. It was ok, more good humor from host Josh, but after they were spoofed on South Park a couple of weeks ago, I'd have rather seen a full episode made by South Park than this sort of semi-live "best of."
Personal Notes:
With my birthday so close to Halloween, I've always had a special place for it. Also, it fits me much more than say Christmas, or 4th of July. I've always looked forward to it...
Until a bad combination of factors over the past few years.
My ex and I wanted to get married on Halloween. We couldn't get the date, so we settled on November 1. It was great, and everyone who was there still talks about how unique and fun it was. The theme was Halloween during the Renaissance. She made her Renaissance style wedding dress, my Renaissance style outfit, her son's outfit that was like a junior version of mine, the 3 little flower girl's dresses, and altered the matron of honor's gown.
We made most of the decor ourselves. The card box looked like a castle. The bride's cake looked like a castle, and the groom's cake was dark chocolate ganache over a red velvet cake...so it looked like a "blood cake." The groom's cake had a little gazebo painted black with black roses on it, and little figurines of Dracula and The Bride of Frankenstein. All of the tables had artificial leaves on them. We took all of our carved pumpkins (my family and my brother's) from Halloween and spread them around the reception hall. We had a table set up for kids after dinner and hired the 2 gals who operated the after school facility at my stepson's school. People were encouraged to dress up...either Renaissance or Halloween costumes. Not everyone did, but many did dress up. It was a LOT of fun.
But now, I see that day just after Halloween, and it makes me a little sad. Before it was over, I had a little family of me, my wife, my stepson, and our 2 dogs. Worse, 2 years ago on 10/29 I had to put my girl dog to sleep (the other one lives with my ex several hundred miles away down south.) So now I've "bookended" my favorite day of the year with "sadness."
This year, it's kinda hitting me differently. Last year, I had no desire to decorate for Halloween as it was the first year anniversary since my little girl had to be put down. I went Trick or Treating with my niece and nephew...and I will again this year. Having just turned 40 and still single...and then these 2 dates all in a row...I'm just not feeling much joy or having the kind of fun that I usually have. Add to that the fact that I'm still having money problems and know that until I get that improved, I won't even THINK about trying to date anyone...
Well, it's all left me more than a little melancholy.
Yeah, yeah, I know...waaaaah.
I know it could be worse. A LOT worse. But the weight of the "blahs" is keeping me down. As I've written before, I'm not a "rah rah" type of person, so when I get the blahs...oy. But, I'm muddling through and hanging in there. At any rate...I just wanted to try and put how I'm feeling into words as it seems to help to "get rid" of those feelings.
I went to my brother's to carve pumpkins, then went Trick or Treating with them on Halloween. It was fun.
But I miss my little girl.
And I miss my little family.
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