my own personal

2011-03-30T20:21:00.002-05:00

now reading

2008-07-07T21:33:00.003-05:00

now reading

2007-07-21T11:24:00.001-05:00

now reading

2007-06-03T15:36:00.000-05:00

Kelsey's Spinach Dip: Remix

2006-10-29T20:02:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese
4 large cloves roasted garlic
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tablespoon finely chopped sweet red pepper
1 small shallot finely chopped
1/2 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup grated aged cheddar
pinch of "Essence"

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix first 5 ingredients by hand or stand mixer on medium until softened and well mixed.

Add spinach and mix on low until just incorporated.

Transfer mixture to a small ovenproof dish and sprinkling Essence on top to taste. Top with cheddar. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until bubbling around the edges.

Remove from oven and allow to set for 5 - 7 minutes before serving. Serve with baked pita wedges or tortilla chips.

best video ever

2006-10-07T16:01:00.000-05:00

In a sea of YouTube crap, this is the best video ever. No men on bobsleds I promise.

gone daddy gone

2006-09-29T19:07:00.000-05:00

We all know that music video directors are the most creative people on the planet. The latest Gnarls Barkley video from Chris Milk only proves my point. Check it out here. While you're there check out the other videos Chris has done. You won't be disappointed.

best wedding cake ever part deux

2006-09-26T20:40:00.000-05:00

now reading

2006-09-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

best wedding cake ever

2006-09-18T11:11:00.000-05:00

What are the chances I could convice Erin to get this as a wedding cake?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alttext/246142812/

from the i've seen it all now department

2006-09-17T23:31:00.000-05:00

limited edition vitamins

now reading

2006-09-16T09:38:00.000-05:00

now reading

2006-03-12T16:16:00.000-05:00

now reading

2006-02-26T21:52:00.000-05:00

3:51 am

2006-02-26T19:54:00.000-05:00

3:51 am. That's the time that my alarm went off this morning. Normally I'm all for sleeping in on Sunday mornings but today would not be one of those days. Today was the last day for Body Worlds 2 in Toronto. I know we've had since September 30th, 2005 to get our act together and go but there's no time like the present.

Bleary eyed and coffee free, we survied a harrowing drive down the 404. I didn't want to be late, and the highway did not want to co-operate with me. In the end we made it with 5 minutes to spare for our 5 am time slot. Half asleep and in the dark I handed the woman working the parking gate a $5 bill for the $8 parking. She smiled and said that wouldn't be enough. It was like she'd seen this a lot in the last few hours.

Not knowing what to expect we took the escalator up to the exhibit. A see through Body Worlds adorned escalator no less. Now I know why my mom always made sure I had my shoe laces done up before I got on one before.

My jaw dropped. We were only 2 out of at least 200 people in line! At 5am on a Sunday morning! In a sea of procrastinators, I felt at home. I watched mouth agape as people from the 4:30 line up continued to wait to get in.

Once we got inside we spent about an hour touring the various items on display. I was hesitant to go right up until I stepped in the door. Dead people just aren't my thing. Thrust down a long skinny hallway full of people, we grew agitated as we tried to see the various display cases. Once we got to the rotunda, we had a little more room to move around. There were too many people to fully enjoy the exhibit. Another lesson learned in procrastination.

I found the "Plastinates" to be very interesting. Fake enough to not make me want to dry heave. Real enough to appriciate the 1500 hours needed to create each pose. Erin enjoyed the display cases more. Seeing the way that diseases really affect the body illustrated in front of her eyes what she's spent the last 2.5 years studying.

After the exhibtion we made a trip to one of our favourite breakfast places. Eggspectations. Turns out if you show up at 7am you get the place to yourself! (Laurie and Jeremy take note) Erin had her usual Breton Benedict. Eggs benedict made on crepes instead of english muffins. Mmmmm. Decadent to say the least. I chose the Eggstravaganza. My French Toast was among the best I've ever ordered in a resturant. A hearty breakfast was earned after our adventures thus far.

Speaking of food. I encourage everyone to read my favourite new blog. Thanks go to Dan for the suggestion.

This weekend was also the last week for the 2006 Canadian International Autoshow. Being in the market for a new car in the next little while I figured this would be an excellent opporunity to see many of the cars I was interested in at one time. Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Acura were all represented with a full complement of cars. The time flew by! I think I've narrowed it down to about 3 choices now. (I really don't want to drive a Honda Civic for another 10 years!) The Toyota Yaris, the Honda Fit, or the Mazda-3. Perhaps a Nissan Altima or Acura CSX if I feel extra spendy when the time comes. Now it'll come down to money, safety, fuel economy and all those fun things.

All in all it was a great day. Next time though, we'll plan ahead! It's been a while since I've been to St. Lawrence Market, the Distillery District or perhaps we'll even make a trip up the CN Tower *gasp*

till the next adventure.

Faux

2006-02-12T17:38:00.000-05:00

Finally, the weekend.

It began mourning the loss of Arrested Development on Saturday morning. Was it really that bad Fox that you had to air the last 4 episodes on a Friday night when no one would see them? Another victim of the Friday Night Death Slot. And they wonder why people download television shows. There's a prize at the end of this post if you can tell me which other cult favourite TV show was prematurely cancelled after 3 seasons.

It's hard to explain the appeal of Arrested Development. I've been watching it since day one and enjoyed nearly every episode. Rare is there a comedic show that requires you to think before you laught. I look foward to watching it again on DVD.

What do we have to look foward to in the place of Arrested Development on Monday nights now? That's right! Skating with Celebrities! What's worse!? Viewership is up 183% in that time slot!

Rupert Murdoch here is my suggestion. Instead of just one FOX channel, you should grow that FOX empire into 5 distinct FOX channels.

FOX Sports. Sick of late NFL Football games running into your Sunday night programming? I am. Sick of Baseball games meaning the Simpsons' Hallowe'en special airs NOVEMBER? I am. I know the NFL is big money for you but put it on a channel where only people who care about sports can watch it.

FOX American Idol Channel. 30 million viewers an episode? You should be able to sucker at least a few million of them into tuning in 24/7 to watch their Idol hopefuls. Need some filler? I'm sure CTV would be more than happy to sell a few hundred hours of Canadian Idol footage to you Rupert.

FOX Shows that have gone on too long the Channel. Simpsons anyone? Does anyone even watch anymore? I have a few friends who can quote possibily every line from every episode that has ever aired. But all good things must come to an end. Do they really think anyone is going to buy 17 seasons of it on DVD!? King of the Hill was funny the FIRST season. SEVEN seasons later it's still going! Don't get me wrong. Mike Judge has his moments, at the same time there are a few other shows I think could have gone on it's place. That 70's Show almost bowed out at the perfect time, but going an extra season after the two main stars walked away puts it on this list too.

My personal favourite? A channel full of FOX shows that never should have been cancelled. Firefly, Tru Calling, Family Guy, Futurama, Wonderfalls, Undeclared, Arrested Development, Kitchen Confidential, the list goes on. Sure they brought back Family Guy, but only after a few million people plunked out $80 for the first two seasons on DVD. Ok I never really watched Firefly, but I can sympathize with it's viewers since I know all to well the tricks FOX plays. See also, putting the last 4 episodes of Arrested Development on Friday night and not telling anyone.

Finally FOX can dedicate channel to the things it does right. 24, Family Guy (I'll ignore the joke that went on 5 minutes too long two weeks ago for a second), Hell's Kitchen (who won again?! But thank you FOX for exposing the USA to Gordon Ramsay), House, and The War at Home (though I think we'll soon find that this on the list of shows cancelled before their time.)

What's the lesson to be learned in all of this? Watch your favourite FOX show, but don't expect to be around tomorrow.

And if you read carefully you'd know it was the original kerT ratS that was cancelled after 3 seasons

now reading

2006-02-11T12:15:00.000-05:00

Two Million Little Pieces

2006-01-30T23:42:00.000-05:00

It occured to me that I hadn't been negative enough towards Oprah in my first post. I was just going to let it go. Then I read this article in the Wall Street Journal tonight. Ok I'll admit I had to look up what excoriated meant. Still the 90% of the blame gets pointed at James Frey for "duping" the publishing industry. Wait didn't they say he offered this book as a novel and was shot down? The article goes on to say that there isn't enough money in the publishing industry to check facts any longer.

Here's where my math gets fuzzy. Three million copies of James' novel in publication. Going price for the book at Chapters.ca right now is $12.60. That's $37.8 MILLION (CDN) dollars in gross sales.

Now in six weeks, The Smoking Gun was able to basically fact check the entire novel. Now lets assume that someone was actually getting paid to fact check this novel. Now, I don't know much about the publishing industry so bear with me for a minute. Let's say this fact checker has just risen out of the mail room and is ready to prove themselves in the publishing industry. I'm going to say they make $15/h. Lets say all they do at work for six weeks is fact check James' book. Forty hours a week, six weeks, $15/h. $3600. It would have cost $3600 to fact check this book. I think you can see where I'm going with my math on this one.

Of course the publisher had no idea they were sitting on a gold mine when they greenlighted the novel, but I'm going to find it safe to assume that they thought they'd make at least $3600.01 off the novel. If James wants to publish his next novel will his publisher demand money upfront from him to check the facts of his book?

The vast majority (ok all 5 of you) who read my previous passage have all come out in support of James. Sure he told a few lies, but then who hasn't. Heck people even get to write memoirs about telling lies.

Anyone have a copy of "My Friend Leonard" they want to lend me? I'm sure this story isn't over yet.

A Million Little Pieces

2006-01-26T22:50:00.000-05:00

I saw James Frey for the first time, like most other people, on Oprah. I saw how this book he had written had inspired a drug addicted mother to seek medical help. That's great I thought but didn't pay much more attention than that.

I've never been a huge Oprah fan, but living in a house with three other females, Oprah seems to be on at least one television in the house at any given hour.

In between then and now my mom gave me a book called "A Million Little Pieces" for my birthday.

"But mom, it's an Oprah's Book Club book I cried on the phone, what would make you think I would want to read this!?"

She reassured me that she'd only heard good things about the book, and would I just give it a try.

Being that my mom had gone out of her way to ensure that I had a present to open on my birthday, even if it was a selection from Oprah's Book Club I didn't push back as much as I might have normally.

I started reading it a few days later on the bus to work. I like most of the other people who have read this I was capitvated by it instantly. I can't remember how how many pages of the book I read on the way to work but it was a lot.

The whole day at work I couldn't wait till I could get back on the bus to start reading again. I read this book in the freezing cold while I waited for my ride to pick me up at the bus station after work, it was just that good. I finished it the next day on way home, and had to hold back my tears when I read how "Lily" had killed herself just a day before they were to meet up and live happily ever after.

I sang the book's praises to everyone I knew, and soon people were queded up to borrow it, and I couldn't blame them. Ironic, but my mom is the one currently reading the book.

Last week, I had heard in passing a news report about how some of the facts of the book had been exagerated. I didn't pay much attention, but it didn't surprise me that the book wasn't 100% true. The ideas, characters, and way the story was told was extreme, if they weren't as true as I thought they to be when I read the book, it wasn't going to sway my opinion.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before the backlash began. These days it doesn't take much to become an Internet frenzy. "My iPod Nano scratches too easily" , "My Xbox 360 overheats and and crashes" Society these days seems to to crave perfection, and when it doesn't get it the backlash is quick to come and furious in strength. It seems James Frey was to be another victim of The Smoking Gun.

Fast forward to today.

James Frey was on Oprah again today. The Smoking Gun article "The Man Who Conned Oprah" was able to dispute many of the items in the book that were portrayed as the truth. Some of the most famous parts of the book were torn apart and supported by strong evidence on the part of The Smoking Gun. The dentist scene, the jail time Frey served, "Lily", most of the key elements of the book were exposed as potentialy false.

Could it be true? Had Oprah been taken? It was too good to be true I thought. Then I watched Oprah.

On a live show, Oprah confronted Frey. First on her agenda was The Smoking Gun article. You could see "the fury" in her, you could see in building in James. It honestly made for a great television moment. Even more remarkable was Frey admitted his "wrong" doing. He didn't blame his parents, the drugs, his publisher, or a wardrobe malfunction. He just came straight out and said what we all knew by now to be the truth. The book wasn't 100% true.

For the next hour Oprah and a multitude of guests discussed what had happened, and in the end they all decided the truth was fundamentally important. Ok, so that part was a bit of a let down, being that we'd already gotten to the truth in the first five minutes of the show.

In the end, did Frey admitting that some of his book had been fabricated change my opinion of the book? In a word, yes, it did. Not for the worse however. The fresh writing style and the way the subject matter is handled still makes this a great read. I encourage anyone who has read it since finding out it wasn't true to share their opinions.

8/10

currently on my iPod

2006-01-25T23:10:00.000-05:00

currently reading

2006-01-25T22:26:00.000-05:00