The Golden Orange

I've finished my third Joseph Wambaugh book in the last couple of months. The Golden Orange was published in 1990 and was the first publication at the time for Wambaugh in five years.

"When forty-year-old cop Winnie Farlowe lost his shield, he lost the only protection he had. Ever since, he's been fighting a bad back, fighting the bottle, fighting his conscience. But now he's in for a special fight. Never before has he come up against anyone like Tess Binder. She's a stunningly beautiful, sexually spirited three-time divorcee from Newport Beach-capital of California's Golden Orange, where wallets are fat, bikinis are skimpy, and cosmetic surgery is one sure way to a billionaire's bank account. Nearly a year ago Tess Binder's father washed up on the beach with a bullet in his ear. The coroner called it suicide, but to Tess it means the fear of her own fate. And Winnie Farlowe is a man willing to follow wherever she leads-straight into the juicy pulp of the Golden Orange, a world where money is everything, but nothing adds up . . . where death and chicanery flourish amidst ranches, mansions, and yachting parties. In his long-awaited new novel, best-selling author Joseph Wambaugh combines harrowing suspense, scathing humor, and a moving portrait of a man on the brink of self-destruction."

The novel was far better than "Fugitive Nights" but not nearly as good as "The Choirboys," the previous two books of Wambaugh's that I've read. The novel has all the great, dark humor I've come to expect from Wambaugh, as well as an intriguing story that had me scratching my head up to the final revelation near the end.

Recommended. As much as I've enjoyed the three books by Wambaugh, it's time to take a break from his writing. Any suggestions out there on good fiction or non-fiction books or any good book blogs I should be following?

Top Chef: Bocuse d'Or

"The Bocuse d’Or (the Concours mondial de la cuisine, World Cuisine Contest) is a biennial world chef championship. Named for the chef Paul Bocuse, the event takes place during two days near the end of January in Lyon, France at the SIRHA International Hotel, Catering and Food Trade Exhibition, and is one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions."

Last night the chef contestants of Top Chef: Las Vegas participated in their own Bocuse d'Or. The quick fire challenge, create a dish with a protein inside of a protein inside of a protein. Awesome. Guest judge, Gavin Kaysen. Awesome. Jennifer combines calamari, scallops and salmon for a much needed win. As soon as Padme said, "welcome back," I knew Jennifer had bagged the last quick fire challenge in Las Vegas, her reward was 30 extra minutes time in the elimination challenge. Kudos also were in order for Eli who, for the second week in a row, made a dish that looked and sounded good, to me anyways. Too bad for him the competition isn't Top Chef: Brunch!

The elimination challenge, Top Chef's own version of the Bocuse d'Or. Each contestant made a platter with protein and two garnishes. The protein choices are lamb and salmon. The stakes? Nothing much, a place in the final four in Napa Valley, 30,000 dollars for the best taste, creativity, and execution, and oh yeah, a chance to compete for a spot on the 2011 American Bocuse d'Or team! Wow. Talk about cooking under pressure. Here's a breakdown of what was served by the contestants:

Kevin: He prepared poached lamb loin, sherry-glazed beet and asparagus in sunchoke cream. Kevin was dogged a little by the judges for being over simplistic but once again his flavors were good enough for him to win the elimination challenge. He really beat himself up over the ordeal but it was clear based on the comments by the judges about the other entries that he was going to win.

Bryan: He presents crusted lamb loin, lamb shank crepinette and orzo au gratin. He under cooks the lamb, the kiss of death this season.

Jennifer: Her dish is salmon and caviar, shrimp flan and truffle, celery root and shiitake. I believe the judges had problems with her vision and the salmon was not cut properly where one judge had an under cooked portion.

Michael: Mr. Arrogant prepares salmon with cauliflower chickpea tart and zucchini tzatziki. It was discussed that he was the only one of the chef contestants that had ever competed in a similar event. He was slammed pretty hard by the judges for a lack of vision and for a bone that was found in one of the judge's salmon! Michael also described his presentation as Mediterranean influenced. Bad call. I thought for sure Michael would be exiting the competition but somehow he survived.

Eli: He makes his final appearance in Top Chef by presenting sausage wrapped lamb loin, carrot puree and tomato-piquillo canape. Once again under cooked lamb is the straw that broke the camel's back. Adios d-bag.

Some final thoughts on the last Las Vegas episode:

Gavin Kaysen is incredibly cute! Too bad he looks like a hobbit when standing next to Padme.

I actually felt bad for Eli for a moment when he was eliminated. Very emotional, not just for him but for Jennifer and Kevin. Then I remembered what a turd he's been. You do have to give him credit, though, for making it as far as he did in the competition.

With Eli gone, my new villain is Michael. He really dumps on Kevin about his simple approach to foods and pops off saying something like, "he makes food that I prepare on my weekends off." His whining about not winning challenges in previous episodes has also soured me. "It's hard to be humble when you're perfect in ever way!"

Kevin rebounds after a poor performance in the quick fire challenge. I'll take simple, prepared well, and good tasting food over more technically challenging, under cooked food any day.

Jennifer also rebounded in a big way. She won the quick fire challenge even though she said she's never cooked a ballotine (or is it a ballotine technique?). I also believe she probably finished in the top three of the elimination challenge.

I think the final four is fantastic! I truly believe that all four contestants we are left with are the best of the whole competition. I hope Michael is the next to go but who can say. I'm still sticking by Kevin to win it all. On to Napa.

I want to give a big thank you to Dealing in Subterfuges for the fantastic recap on her blog. Without referencing this site there is no way I could remember specifically what everyone prepared!

Three Years Ago...

Three years ago today (November 19th, 2006) I camped out at Best Buy overnight in line to be one of the first to purchase a Nintendo Wii. I've blogged about the night before and it was a really great experience even though I froze my ass off!

Timmy's red blanket was hideous but it sure was warm!

In honor of The Wii's birthday, here are my picks for the top five games released on Nintendo's motion control system:

#5 - Punch Out!!: Little Mac returns after a hiatus since the SNES days. I bought this game last summer and spent an insane amount of time boxing my way up the rankings to become the champion. The game offers 14 opponents, most of them throw backs to the NES and SNES games. Once you work your way to champion the game opens up challenges for each opponent to keep you playing. The game can be played arcade style by flipping the Wii Remote on its side or you can plug in the Nunchuck attachment and hop on the Wii Balance Board for a more immerse experience. Go old school and just use the Wii Remote. Lots of depth and the Nintendo nostalgia factor is through the roof. Good stuff.

#4 - Super Mario Galaxy: Mario returns in another 3-D adventure in a much better installment than Super Mario Sunshine on the Nintendo GameCube. Explore different planets for a truly 3-D experience, pushing the envelope of physics. The best platformer on any system since Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64.

#3 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: A release game I bought along with the Wii at launch. The game was originally a GameCube game that incorporated some motion control features of the Wii. Another great Zelda game with a long and satisfying quest with plenty of upgrades and secrets to find. I've played through the game completely three times, something I rarely do with any game.

#2 - Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: One of my favorite series was given a prequel sequel (does that make sense?) during the summer of the Wii's first year. Corruption took all the best of the Metroid Prime series, a ton of upgrades and a hybrid shooter/ action game, and brought to the table pointer functionality via the Wii Remote. If you like first person shooter games, this is a great example of how the Wii expands and brings a whole new level of game play to the genre. Earlier this year Retro Studios and Nintendo release the entire Metroid Prime trilogy in one package incorporating Metroid Prime 1 and 2 with the same great control system in Metroid Prime 3.

#1 - Animal Crossing: City Folk: I love this series. I'm sure that I've logged in hundreds of hours collectively between Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing DS, and the Wii version. Basically the game is a life simulation game Nintendo style. Create a town, build a house, work to pay off your debt, upgrade your look and the possibilities go on and on. Probably the best thing about the latest version is playing online with others. I've had great fun playing along with my nieces and my sister-in-law, though we're all in different cities. Yeah, so, it's kind of a chick game...

Honorable Mention - The New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Having just purchased the game Sunday I didn't want to include it to my top five list but the game is awesome. Take a Mario old school side scrolling game and upgrade the graphics and power ups. Classic.

So that's it! Happy birthday Nintendo Wii.

Latest Reads

Having been so impressed by Joseph Wambaugh's novel The Choirboys, I borrowed a couple of newer novels by Wambaugh from my mother. By newer I mean written in the '90's. "Fugitive Nights" tells the story of a retired police office, Breda Burrows, who sets up shop in Palm Springs as a private investigator. She enlists the help of a boozer Palm Springs cop waiting for his disability retirement, Lynn Cutter, on what should be a simple domestic case of surveillance and reporting. From here all hell breaks loose in the desert in and around the glamorous California town.

I like Wambaugh's style tremendously, particularly in this book he has a great talent for three things: writing cop talk, burnout alcoholic heroes, and profanity. Indeed the humorous parts of the book are on par, mostly, with The Choirboys but overall the story falls decidedly flat and shallow. The book is much more light hearted than I thought it would be, given what I've read of his so far. I don't know that I would recommend the novel; however, there is definitely some good stuff to be found here but the story is just too uneven.

A book that I can wholeheartedly recommend is "Two for the Dough" by Janet Evanovich. It is the second book in the Stephanie Plum novels. I made a blog posting about the first novel, "One For the Money", last month. Here's what I had to say about the first book in the series:

The book is a super easy read, told from heroine Stephanie Plum's perspective. It chronicles her bumbling rise and eventual success as a bounty hunter. "One For The Money" is the first in an ongoing series of 15 books to date. I highly enjoyed the humor and fast paced storytelling that was provided and if I come across the next installment I'll definitely give it a read.

The second book picks up a few months after the first. The same funny characters are present (Stephanie's grandmother is hilarious) with the same situations that literally made me laugh aloud while reading. Bounty hunter Plum definitely has a knack for getting herself and others into a lot of trouble with funny results. Again, the book is pure fluff but there's nothing wrong with that, especially when it's provided by a story that only took me a little over a day to read, even with all the interruptions at work. If you want something fast, easy and funny, check out the best selling series.

Time to Pretend

I'm totally obsessed with the band MGMT right now.


Time To Pretend - MGMT

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek is boldly going to DVD and Blu-ray today. If you haven't seen J.J. Abrams' reboot of the classic sci-fi television show, I would highly recommend that you rent or purchase the movie today.

I've been a Trek fan as far back as I can remember. I used to watch the original series in syndication after school back in the '70's. Later, I enjoyed most of the original cast movies and really dug The Next Generation in high school and college. I believe the pinnacle of the franchise was Deep Space Nine; however, it was all downhill from there, the franchise slowly lost steam with two more mediocre series (at best) and a couple of forgettable movies.

I was little dubious when I heard the news years ago about a reboot of the Star Trek franchise. Why go back and recreate the original series? It turned out to be a wise decision. The new movie captures the essence of the original series and takes it a step further with a younger and energetic cast with great special effects and a decent story. The casting is especially top notch, particularly Zachary Quinto playing Spoke and Karl Urban playing Bones. The only downside, if there is one, is the story. It is a bit weak but as a first effort and certainly as an origin story it succeeds. The direction of the story also takes care of events and the canon of the previous series and movies which I actually appreciated. The new series of movies can truly venture forth without being beholden to previous storytelling.

Review from DVDFile.

Review from Trekweb.

Again, highly recommended, not only as a Trek flick but as one of the better movies of last summer.

The One I Love

Nothing going on today, enjoy some R.E.M.


The One I Love (2003 Digital Remaster) - R.E.M.

Heartstopper in Stillwater

Wicked hit, ouch! There's no status on Zac Robinson yet. The bad news, the Cowboys have a short week and play again on Thursday night. The good news, they play Colorado at home.

The Pokes have quietly accumulated eight wins so far and are on track to their best win season ever, provided they can beat the Swooners in Norman in a couple of weeks. A trip to the Cotton Bowl looks likely and a BCS berth is not out of the realm of possibility with a little help from other teams. I never thought the Cowboys would be in this position after a disasterous loss to Houston at home early in the season and after the loss of all world receiver Dez Bryant and Big 12 leading rusher Kendell Hunter. The future looks bright... and orange! Ride 'em Cowboys!!

How sweet would a Cotton Bowl match up with LSU be? I'd love the Pokes to kick Les Miles in the nuts.

Saturday the 14th!

"It gets bad on Friday the 13th but it gets worse on Saturday the 14th!"



Funny. I actually remember this movie when it was released. I think my favorite part is the voice over, it reminds me of other voice over gems:

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat!
Live from New York, it's Saturday Night Live...

Happy Friday the 13th!

Anyone superstitious about this date or have superstitions in general?

Top Chef: Breakfast with Padme

Top Chef: Las Vegas returned last night after a week off for another Top Chef reunion show. After some of the recent challenges and the dwindling contestants, last night's episode was pretty tame. The quick fire challenge was simple. Deliver breakfast room service in 30 minutes. D-bag extraordinaire Eli ended up winning the challenge with a take on a Reuben replacing the 1,000 Island dressing with a hollandaise sauce, it actually sounded pretty good. Kevin was in the running as well with another simple dish, a hearty steak and eggs concoction. I found it funny that Jennifer made SOS (shit on a shingle), a combination of bread, gravy and meat which I've eaten many times, just never for breakfast.

The elimination challenge sent the contestants out to a casino on the strip to draw inspiration for a meal they would prepare. Here is a breakdown of who went where:

Jennifer - Excalibur: She took in the Tournament of Kings, an experience I've never had on my many trips to Vegas but it looks like it might be kind of fun. She ended up making a "Sword in the Stone" dish that landed her in the bottom three.

Bryan - Mandalay Bay: He explored the shark reef and was influenced by seafood sustainability.

Robin - Belagio: She was influenced by the Chihuly glass sculptures lining the ceiling at the entrance to the hotel. I thought initially her plan to use sugar to recreate the sculpture effect was great but once again Robin proved she couldn't execute basic cooking techniques and was finally, finally sent home. Never seen Dale Chihuly's work? Check it out his giant sculpture at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Kevin - Mirage: He hung out with some Dolphins (the second most intelligent species on the earth, after mice, according to Douglas Adams).

Eli - Circus Circus: Poor guy. Probably the worst casino on the strip for inspiration! The place is just wretched. I'd rather stay home than have a room booked for me at Circus Circus, OK, maybe that is a bit drastic, I don't sleep much in Vegas anyways.

Michael - New York New York: Somehow he came up with chicken wings as his inspiration. Yeah, I think wings when I think of food in New York. Anyways, it must have been good since he ends up winning the elimination challenge.

So in review, nothing has changed much from last week. Kevin and the Voltaggio wonder twins continue to dominate. Jennifer's lost her confidence but didn't whine about it as much this week. Robin continues to prove she is out of her league and is finally sent packing. Finally, Eli is still an annoying penis who is lucky to still be around.

Predictions for next week: Jennifer finally gets her shit together and edges out Eli to reach the final four. Either way one of these two are history in a week barring some catastrophe from the others. I still think Kevin wins the whole thing.

Release the Kraken!!

Clash of the Titans hits theatres March 26th, 2010. Yes I know, I'm a geek.

Berlin 20 Years Later

I watched with interest some of the activities from yesterday's 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. C-SPAN had coverage of the event in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate. I can't believe it's been 20 years since the fall of the wall. I remember vividly the event in 1989 when I was a Junior at dear old Woodward High. The wall coming down was of particular interest to my German teacher and our class at the time and I remember we discussed the historic event heavily.

I was lucky enough to travel to Germany a few months later on an exchange program. I had the opportunity to travel all over West Germany and travel through East Germany to West Berlin. The only significant time I spent in East Germany besides traveling was in East Berlin. The wall had come down but the countries were still not unified. Mostly what I remember of East Germany was that it was like going back in time 30 years when compared to that of the other half of the city, West Berlin. The wall had not yet been removed but it was a skeleton of it's former self from everyone that wanted to save a piece of history. I didn't take a piece of the wall as I had heard it had asbestos in it! Isn't that silly? One other cool thing I saw (besides the wall) that was still in use was Checkpoint Charlie.

This morning I scanned one of my favorite photos from Berlin during my trip (pictured below). I believe it's of me and an East German guard at the Berlin Wall, at least that's how I labeled the picture almost 20 years ago, though, I could be wrong and it could be a West German guard. Gotta love that late 80's/early 90's hairdo, rolled up shorts, braided belt and paisley shirt!

Sunday Funday Monday Part IV

It's been a while since I did a Sunday Funday Monday post. I haven't had anything new to report in a while on my favorite day of the week. Lately I've just been hanging out at the Park and catching some football every now and then at Old Chicago. Yesterday I was looking forward to an uneventful day oozing around the house watching football and reading until I was abducted by Kim. She had fifty dollars in gift certificates to Red Pin Bowling that had to be used last night.

It's been a while since I've been to Red Pin Bowling. The environment is kind of fun, they have a full bar, kitchen and of course bowling lanes. If you bowl there I would recommend taking your own equipment, i.e. shoes and ball. The bowling ball I finally settled on using was not the best quality. I bowled well below my average the two games we played. We were able to listen to some (outdated) dance music while we bowled and we were able to watch both the Thunder game and Cowboys game simultaneously on the big screen TV's above the bowling lanes. The only down side to the experience was the cost. For us to bowl two games, shoe rentals, and a couple of beers cost over 50 dollars! Luckily we did have the gift certificates.

After bowling we made a stop at Sipango Lounge and then back to bricktown to Maker's Cigar Lounge. Maker's is not the kind of place that I would usually hang out but our friend Lacy was singing there so we thought it would be a fun destination. We settled in on a big comfy leather love seat and enjoyed some mellow music. All in all the lounge wasn't too smokey from cigar smoke nor as stinky as I anticipated. Given the choice, though, I would pick Sipango's anytime. I just love hole in the wall bars.

I really dig hanging out with Kim. We seem to get each other's dark sense of humor which always makes for an interesting adventure no matter where we're going. Unfortunately we don't get to see each other too often these days. When we do get time to hang out we just pick up where we left off, two peas in a pod.

It's Friday Night!!

Let's get this party started!


Get The Party Started - P!nk

Hoover Dam Bypass Project

Dad sent me an email with information on the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. Very interesting stuff. The last time I drove to Vegas I believe they were just starting the project as I remember the large support structures going up and traffic being a mess. Below are pictures and information.




"THE WIDER VIEW: Taking shape, the new bridge at the Hoover Dam Creeping closer inch by inch, 900 feet above the mighty Colorado River , the two sides of a $160 million bridge at the Hoover Dam slowly take shape. The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck of the old road which can be seen twisting and winding around and across the dam itself.

When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevada and Arizona .

In an incredible feat of engineering, the road will be supported on the two massive concrete arches which jut out of the rock face. The arches are made up of 53 individual sections each 24 feet long which have been cast on-site and are being lifted into place using an improvised high-wire crane strung between temporary steel pylons.

The arches will eventually measure more than 1,000 feet across. At the moment, the structure looks like a traditional suspension bridge. But once the arches are complete, the suspending cables on each side will be removed. Extra vertical columns will then be installed on the arches to carry the road. The bridge has become known as the Hoover Dam bypass, although it is officially called the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, after a former governor of Nevada and an American Football player from Arizona who joined the US Army and was killed in Afghanistan . Work on the bridge started in 2005 and should finish next year. An estimated 17,000 cars and trucks will cross it every day. The dam was started in 1931 and *used enough concrete to build a road from * New York to San Francisco *. The stretch of water it created, Lake Mead, is 110 miles long and took six years to fill. The original road was opened at the same time as the famous dam in 1936. An extra note: The top of the white band of rock in Lake Mead is the old waterline prior to the drought and development in the Las Vegas area. It is over 100 feet above the current water level."

The Good Guy

Imagine you've had a long day at work and you pop into your favorite watering hole for a couple of beers. After settling in, a stranger with an obvious case of mistaken identity presents you with an envelop full of cash and a picture of an attractive young lady and her address. The cash is payment for a hit and the picture and address is the target. What would you do? This is the dilemma that Timothy Carrier faces in Dean Koontz's novel "The Good Guy".

Amazingly I've never read a book by Dean Koontz until "The Good Guy". The novel starts off at break neck speed and never relents until the thrilling conclusion. My mom gave me a hardback copy of the book a couple of weeks ago to give me something new to read at work. I'm impressed. Koontz's style is very quick and easy to read as well as easy to lay down and pick up later. I'll definitely check out some of his other works. I've been told that "Whispers" is one not to miss. Any other recommendations out there?

Top Chef: Reunion?

I guess I should watch the previews more closely week to week after each new Top Chef: Las Vegas airing. I had no clue that the show would be on break last night, replaced with a reunion special featuring two chefs from each past season. Boo. I tried to get into the show but couldn't and decided to go to bed early.

On a completely unrelated note, my blog is rated 33% evil. I'm a little disappointed in the rating! I thought (hoped) there would be more evil around here.

A Lion Among Men

"The Wizard was revealed as a mere mortal, and a bit of a charlatan at that. As clever with his hands - all those tiktok inventions, those terrifying images he projected - as he was with his diktats and fiats and fatwahs. Oh my."

"A Lion Among Men" is the third volume in the "Wicked Years" series by writer Gregory Maguire. The book follows the stories of various characters in a retold land of Oz, most notably, Brrr, the Cowardly Lion and Yackle, a mysterious figure who crossed paths with both Elphaba and Lirr in "Wicked" and "Son of a Witch".

Once again I was unable to put the book down, when I had time to pick it up. Maguire weaves a story that chronicles the two main characters from the beginning of "Wicked" to approximately ten years after the events in "Son of a Witch". Unlike the previous two books, there are some story lines that are tied up near the end; however, as with the other books, there is an ongoing arc that I'm eager to read more about. For me the latest entry was a little slower and uneven than the other books but it took off with a fury and ends with an explosion of events the last third of the book.

"A Lion Among Men" was published in 2008 which means my readings into Maguire's land of Oz is going to have to take a hiatus as there are no other chapters to read at the moment. I have read some rumors online that another installment is being written by Maguire, but I haven't heard anything about a projected release date. Supposedly the next book will feature Glinda... I can't wait!

Halloween Pictures

Butters and the LawMan representing their favorite food group.

J-Ho and Slade.

Party on Garth!

Jenny only dances like this when she's drunk!

This is what happens when I dance with Jenny.

Kimmy my favey.

Son of a Witch

Apparently my blog is turning into Oprah's book club!

My mom surprised me with "Son of a Witch" on Saturday afternoon. The book is the sequel to "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" and the second in the "The Wicked Years" penned by Gregory Maguire.

"Ten years after the publication of Wicked, bestselling novelist Gregory Maguire returns to the land of Oz to follow the story of Liir, the adolescent boy left hiding in the shadows of the castle when Dorothy did in the Witch."

"Son of a Witch" picks up directly after the events in "Wicked" following the story of Liir, the unclear son of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. The book chronicles Liir's journey from adolescence to adulthood and his attempt to find his place and way in the land of Oz. Liir transforms from a fearful boy with a feeling of no purpose into a strong adult who eventually, through wicked and goodness, can answer the question of who he is.

I couldn't put the book down, much like "Wicked" before it. Maguire is masterful at weaving a new story in a place we already know so well. Many critics found his second venture into the land of Oz uneven and no where near the level of "Wicked". Even fans of "Wicked" are split on the second entry. I couldn't disagree more. I found the book every bit as engaging as "Wicked" with previous and new themes to explore, most notably the struggle of commitment to oneself and to their community. Again the story to me is both heroic and tragic. The last chapter alone left me feeling heartbroken and triumphant at the same time for our hero Liir.

I'm officially hooked to this retold land of Oz. I'll purchase "A Lion Among Men" before the week is out.

Top Chef: The Phantom Menace

Last night's episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas was pretty bland. The quick fire challenge was based on TV dinners. Really? Each contestant was given a television show and was supposed to make a TV dinner based on that show. Kevin won the challenge with a meatballs with polenta, roasted cauliflower, and roasted pear dish inspired by the Soporanos.

The elimination challenge moved the contestants to Chef Colicchio's restaurant in Vegas where they were to cook any dish of their choice using the restaurant's great selections of meats, or so they thought. Right before the competition began they were visited by celebrity guest judge Natalie Portman who declared that she like all kinds of flavors but was a vegetarian. The chefs essentially had to cook a vegetarian dish on the fly for her and her friends. Once again Kevin came out on top with a duo of mushrooms, smoked kale, candied garlic and turnip puree.

That about sums up the episode for me. Here are this week's other observations:

Kevin is really taking command of the competition. Beating out everyone else regularly with the exception of the restaurant wars fiasco last week; however, he was the strongest member on his restaurant team. I still think more than ever that he's going to win it all barring some catastrophe.

Michael Voltaggio proved himself to be classless yet again with his reaction to Kevin's win, saying if he had chose to cook a simplified dish like Kevin he could have won the elimination challenge. He was imaginative with his banana polenta concoction, I will give him that but there's no reason to act like a child.

Eli also finished in the top three of the elimination challenge. I guess he's a big fan of Natalie Portman from her work in the Star Wars prequels (craptastic movies, thank you George Lucas for ruining fond memories of my childhood). Of course he is! As with most Star Wars nerds he lives in his mommy's basement. He's wrong though, Portman's best work was in V for Vendetta. After acting like a human being last week it was good to see Eli revert back to his usual douschbaggery.

Jennifer, Robin and Mike I. all finished in the bottom of the elimination challenge. I could really care less who would be picked to go home. Mike I. has been a tool from the get go but he has rarely been at the bottom of the pack. Jennifer's constant whining and self doubt is really starting to get under my skin. Obviously the pressure is getting to her. I found her to be more annoying than Robin this week. Again, Robin was being Robin. Her crystal meth inspired, rambling explanation of her food in the elimination challenge was truly cringworthy. Ultimately it was Mike that was chosen to go home much to his chagrin. Whatever, whatever. Maybe there is a god? Bye bye.

Hopefully next week we'll see Eli bite the dust but I have to imagine that Robin should be next!

The Longest Sentence I Ever Wrote

I was going through my postings over the years trying to decide if I wanted to go back and tag them (something I only started this year). I came across an unpublished post from 2/7/2006. I remember the post but I can't remember why I never published it. Since I have nothing of interest to publish today I figured I would publish this long lost post. Keep in mind the politics of 2006 were a bit different than today, barely...

I was caught in the middle of an email exchange between my dad and one of his childhood friends. During the course of the conversation the friend of my dad sent an email saying the following:

"Okay, here's the plan:
Back off and let those men who want to marry men, marry men.
Allow those women who want to marry women, marry women.
Allow those folks who want to abort their babies, abort their babies.
In three generations, there will be no Democrats!!!
Damn, I love it when a plan comes together."

My response included the longest sentence I ever wrote:

"... and once we're down to no Democrats (i.e.dissenting voices) we'll be stuck with a totalitarian government where personal privacy is abolished thanks to government sanctioned, illegal and unconstitutional monitoring of it's CITIZENS all under the guise of Homeland Security, where our government spends tax dollars like drunk sailors on shore leave in Taipei even though there's a war going on and NO OTHER ADMINISTRATION in the history of the United States has EVER cut taxes and WAGED a war at the same time, and where we have a government that is more concerned about the WAR ON CHRISTMAS, the WAR ON DRUGS, and the WAR ON MARRIAGE to be concerned with the health care crisis in this country, the deficit crisis in this country and the poverty crisis in this country... Oh wait, we're already there thanks to years of conservative control of two and now three branches of government. Look on the bright side at least CHRISTMAS will be safe, no one will be SLEEPING with the same sex, and the ORPHANAGES will be full. No offense but whomever sent this sounds like a typical CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE throwing stones again and I would much appreciate being out of the loop of this kind of garbage in the future. Have a blessed day!"

The response I received said I was an atheist liberal. I deleted the email.

Moving Fun

I helped Shimmy move Saturday (All. Day. Long.) and all I got was to wear the hat of his people! Where are the Oklahoma City rice patties again?

The Princess and the Frog

I love animated Walt Disney movies. I've always been more of an old school animation fan as well. I do enjoy the later movies realized fully in CGI but nothing beats the hand drawn classics. This is why I was extremely excited to hear about Disney's "The Princess and the Frog." Video below:

Disney's The Princess and the Frog
Uploaded by DisneyAnimation. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

Fun With Signs

So while working today (browsing the Internet), I came across Says-It.com. It's a nifty little website where you can create your own funny photos and graphics. I chose the church sign maker option. Have fun with it kiddos and try not to offend god, Jeebus, the virgin Mary or the space aliens you're waiting on to take you off to the promised land!

Going Rouge

"The most honest, revealing account of the Palin story to appear this fall? You betcha!"

Sarah Palin is going to have a little competition next month when "Going Rouge" hits bookstores on November 17! The cover and title is genius. Click here and here for more information.

Top Chef: Teamwork

Last night was the long awaited "Restaurant Wars" episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas. I guess it's one of the most popular challenges in the series. I know I always look forward to it simply because there's usually a meltdown by one or both teams. It makes for some good television.

The quick fire challenge centered around the same theme as the elimination challenge: teamwork. The contestants were split off into two teams, Michael and Bryan Voltaggio, Robin and Eli representing one team and Jennifer, Kevin, Mike I. and Laurine representing the other team. After being split they were to cook and plate a dish together with each team member only being allowed 10 minutes to work on the dish while the rest of the team was blind folded. Initially I agreed with Kevin that the challenge was ridiculous but as the challenge progressed I found it to be a lot of fun to watch. Each team was able to successfully add to the team members work before them and the dishes from both teams turned out rather well. Kevin's team (I can't remember the team colors) won the challenge and was rewarded with a 10,000 dollar chip that they could either keep and split or let the money ride into the elimination challenge and collect a 10,000 dollar chip each, provided they win that challenge. They opted to let it ride. If it were me I would have voted to let it ride as well. When in Vegas...

Finally, the elimination challenge: "Restaurant Wars" (insert dramatic music here)! Two teams enter, one team falls apart. Team Revolt (Michael, Bryan, Robin and Eli) versus Team Mission (Jennifer, Kevin, Mike and Laurine). I thought for sure team Mission was going to take the challenge. I just knew that Robin, Eli or the brothers would ruin their chances through conflict or personality clashes. I couldn't have been more wrong. Team Revolt totally kicked ass! In fact Tom Colicchio said it was the best performance in any "Restaurant Wars" throughout the series. High praise. So what went wrong with Team Mission? What usually does in this challenge, a poor front of the house performance, not to mention some pretty bad food. Everything seemed to fall apart for team Mission with the exception of a couple of dishes. Laurine got the boot for her poor front of the house execution as well as some under cooked lamb. This surprised me a bit after the beating Jennifer took at Judge's table. Basically everything she attempted to do fell extremely flat. Was she left on the show because she is a better chef than Laurine even though her performance may not have been on this episode? I wonder.

This week's observations:

It was nice that the teams weren't responsible for their restaurant decor this time around. I hope this decision continues in future seasons of Top Chef.

Laurine's performance running the front of the house was cringeworthy, especially to me having been a service and bar manager in the past. Just dropping off the plates to the judges and running off was particularly bad! I guess they were expected to figure out on their own what they were eating. I also agreed with Tom's assessment that she was hiding out in the kitchen and probably was just holding on until their restaurant nightmare was over. Eli's performance running the front of the house for his team was quite good. The only thing that bothered me was him using the word "guys" to address the judge's table. Ugh. It's so informal, I think, unless of course it's a couple of guys bellying up to the bar to have some brewskies and watch the game.

Michael Voltaggio was kind of a dick in the kitchen this week. There's nothing wrong with being a strong leader but his attitude stinks. In the end he did direct the team to a win and did offer to share his monetary reward for the individual win with his teammates which I thought was classy. I wonder why Michael became so angry with Robin cursing at him? Everyone on the show runs around cussing like a merchant Marine! I guess he didn't like it being directed toward him. Now he knows how his brother feels.

Mike I. and Eli were minimally annoying this week. The reaction Mike I. had to Natalie Portman being a guest on the previews for next week was hilarious. Close that mouth Mike and grab a drool rag!

Is it me or is Padme a complete hag this season? Maybe she always has been and I'm just now starting to realize it. She was more annoying than Toby this week. Usually (to me) no one is more annoying than Toby. Or maybe she's trying to be especially annoying as this is her last season (so rumor has it).

Prediction for next week: one of the top four is eliminated in a shocking upset while Robin continues to hang on for life.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

I've had an interest in reading "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" for some time now but my interest was piqued even further after seeing Wicked the musical a couple months ago in Tulsa. I finally had the opportunity to pick up the book while visiting Borders Sunday afternoon.

Wicked was published in 1995 and written by Gregory Maguire. It is the first of (currently) three books involving "The Wicked Years," a revisionist take on L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other works. The two books to follow Wicked are "Son of a Witch" and "A Lion Among Men."

The book follows the life and times of Elphaba, later to be know as the Wicked Witch of the West, starting with her bizarre birth all the way to her untimely death at the hands of an out of place 12 year-old Kansas girl, Dorothy Gale. In this retelling we meet familiar faces and see familiar places from Baum's books and MGM's 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" as well as all new characters. I won't go into too much detail other than to say the people and goings on in the story are not nearly so wonderful in the wonderful land of Oz.

The book was amazing. I've been meaning to read it for years but I always forgot to buy it or borrow it from friends when offered. Be warned, though, while the musical adaptation may be based on the book, the two are hardly similar. They share common characters and themes but about a third of the way into the book I knew I was in for something different from what I had witnessed on the stage. This both surprised and eventually delighted me. The book is dark and (to me) tragic and sad with many themes to ponder: wickedness and goodness, perception and reality, religion and atheism, and destiny versus choice among others. I have considered these arguments the book lays out for the past couple of days. It's always nice to read something that makes you think a little. Highly recommended.

One For The Money

In order to break up the monotony at work I usually keep myself busy by writing a blog entry, texting, tweeting, browsing various news sites or visiting facebook and myspace. On the rare occasion when it's really quiet I'll read a book or two. It's not that I don't have the time, it's just that I need to be free from distraction to really get going. My last couple of shifts have afforded me the luxury (and quiet) to get some reading done. I finished one of the two books I'm currently reading today, "One For The Money" written by Janet Evanovich.

One of our programmers at work is apparently a heavy reader. He has a bookshelf full of mostly paperback books that he's read ranging from the classics to science fiction and everything in between. He leaves the books here for anyone else in the office to borrow or read during slow times on the job. Most of the collection isn't by authors that I would normally read, mostly because I haven't heard of many of them. On a slow day last week I set out to find a book and started reading "One For The Money" on his and my cousin's recommendation.

Supposedly Janet Evanovich is a New York Times bestselling author. I had never heard of her until reading the cover for the book. Apparently she started out as primarily a romance writer publishing several books before starting a whole series based on a character named Stephanie Plum, an out of work lingerie buyer for a department store who finds work as a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company in Trenton, New Jersey. What can I say? It's not Melville but it isn't a bad read and an enjoyable way to waste some time!

The book is a super easy read, told from heroine Stephanie Plum's perspective. It chronicles her bumbling rise and eventual success as a bounty hunter. "One For The Money" is the first in an ongoing series of 15 books to date. I highly enjoyed the humor and fast paced storytelling that was provided and if I come across the next installment I'll definitely give it a read.

From the book's jacket:

"Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash - fast - but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last of the truly desperate: family...

Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants, to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water - wanted for murder...

Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight - and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man..."

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

It's been a while since I made a posting about a Nintendo related product. To be honest there hasn't been a lot to be excited about this year concerning the Nintendo Wii. There are a ton of games I'm interested in but they're not scheduled for release until next year. The one exception is New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Set for release on November 15, 2009.

"This New Super Mario Bros. is a throwback to the style of the original Super Mario Bros. and allows four players to play the game together.
Players can navigate the side-scrolling worlds alone as before or invite up to three others to join them at the same time on the same level at any point in the game for competitive and cooperative multiplayer fun. With the multiplayer mode, the newest installment of the most popular video game franchise is designed to bring yet another type of family entertainment into living rooms and engage groups of friends in fast-paced Super Mario Bros. fun."



If the game is anywhere as fun as New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS, it should be enough to pull me out of the Wii desert I've been experiencing the last few months.

Top Chef: Swine and Wine

Going in to last night's episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas there were two chefs left that I was really rooting for, Ash and Kevin. Now I'm down to one.

The quick fire challenge was as boring as the elimination challenge was interesting. Incorporate some glorified potato chips into food and compliment the flavors. Eww. Product placement anyone? Unfortunately Eli won the quick fire challenge and was granted immunity in the elimination challenge. I was really hoping he'd be voted off the island this week. Maybe next week he'll be sent packing back to mommy. I've come to loathe Eli more than Mike I. and that's saying a lot!

The elimination challenge was a lot more fun, pairing pork with Pinot Noir. Jennifer, Kevin and the brothers Voltaggio seemed to have really nailed the challenge. These four chefs are definitely leading the pack of contestants. I give a slight edge to Kevin right now just based on the amount of wins he's accumulated. One of these four will be your Top Chef winner this year.

On the bottom of the elimination challenge was Ash, Robin and Laurine. No surprises here. Like I said I have been rooting for Ash because he seems to be a really nice guy but he's failed to step up to the plate for several episodes now. Robin is being Robin by holding on each week by not being the worst of the worst. I figured Laurine was toast when her food was compared to cat food! Surprisingly it was Ash who was sent packing. I guess cat food trumps a cold and slimy, one-dimensional pork dish.

So this was the week of infighting and for once the previews from last week didn't disappoint. Robin and Eli going at, Michael V. and Bryan going at it, and Ash taking a swipe at Padme on his way out. It's all petty and disgusting, I love it! Pretty much everyone showed their ass this week, except Kevin, especially by rooting for Robin to be cut when the bottom three were in front of judge's table. Classy. I guess their punishment is that Robin is still around to annoy them.

Next week is the dreaded restaurant wars episode. I can't wait. Here are a few predictions for the next couple of weeks:

Robin and Laurine should be heading home barring some kind of catastrophe by the better contestants. Eli and Mike I. hang on a little longer much to my chagrin.

At some point the brothers Voltaggio are going to have a meltdown based on their overly competitive feelings toward each other. Hopefully it won't be enough to send one of them home as they seem to be two great chefs.

Jennifer needs to calm the fuck down when cooking. She's too tough on herself at times and this could be her downfall or a trip to the ER with chest pains.

Coming Soon

2010 California Marriage Protection Act

"Hell is eternal, just like your marriage is supposed to be."

I found the video below while reading The Huffington Post today.

Thoughtfulness Album Couture®

"Thoughtfulness Album Couture® is an independent design studio based in Chicago and San Francisco. Its core product is the limited-edition graphic t-shirt. Always daring in theme and unusual in design, each garment reflects the company’s fierce commitment to equal rights for all---particularly the underrepresented, the marginalized, and the disenfranchised. It’s all about graphic with and calligraphic charm and DIY. It’s all about high glamour and low art. It’s all about you. Each design is hand printed using nature-friendly ink on soft and comfortable t-shirts from American Apparel®.

© 2009 Thoughtfulness Album Couture. All Rights Reserved."

Michael was nice enough to give Dann and I each a shirt this weekend (pictured above). I told him I would provide a link to his myspace site in return. I believe the shirts can be purchased at Brief Encounters on 39th and Penn (I couldn't find a website link).

The shirt has a backwards Oklahoma graphic with the phrase "Shame on you, Sally Kern." The S in Sally and K in Kern is replaced with swastikas. Thanks again for the shirt Michael!

Feeling P!NK Today

Please Dont Leave Me - P!nk

National Coming Out Day

Today is a busy day for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) community. The National Equality March is taking place in Washington D.C., Oklahoma City is holding their annual AIDS Walk and finally today is also National Coming Out Day.

"Whether you're lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or not, be proud of who you are and your support for LGBT equality this National Coming Out Day."

I can't help but think of my coming out years ago. The first people I told in my family was my mom and dad. Their reaction was pretty much, "oh okay". Everyone in my family knows my sexual orientation and it has never been a problem. If anyone does have a problem with me being gay they have wisely kept their opinions to themselves. It would be their problem, not mine. I have been incredibly lucky, I know people who are adults who don't feel they can be themselves with their family, friends or co-workers.

Last night President Obama addressed the Human Right Campaign. It was a great speech directed to the LGBT community. He acknowledged that work has been slow on our issues. He did pledged to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and "The Defense of Marriage Act" in the coming months. He also said he would support legislation that supports LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace. Essentially he's still saying all the right things. We'll see if he and Congress delivers. To see a replay of his speech and events going on in Washington today, visit C-SPAN online.

200th Post Extravaganza!

This posting is number 200 for this blog! It only took a little over four years to reach the milestone, granted I have been a lot more active this year than in previous years. In honor of the occasion I thought I would provide a list of my top 10 postings over the years. Here is the Top 10 postings from Dave's World (Bitter Party of One Your Table is Ready!):

#10 - Fuck you... fuck you very, very much... The posting that started it all, again. Earlier in the year I had planned on giving up the blog as I had nothing interesting to say. This changed when I ran across the video in the posting. Suddenly I was back and more productive than ever. Other postings that contain the word fuck in the title can be found here and here.

#9 - Technical Support Horror Story of the Day A series of sorts. I love reading about the misadventures of support people and restaurant war stories because they are so true and usually funny. This is my contribution. There are two other support horror stories that can be found here and here. I plan to continue with these kinds of posts as soon as I'm given some more material from the fools I talk to at work every day.

#8 - With Friends Like This... I always seem to talk about the same people, Dann, Shimmy, J-Ho, Butter, etc. These are my friends! Without them I wouldn't have an audience to write to or about. In this particular post I think it's funny that we have a string of birthdays that never seem to end starting in November and ending in April.

#7 - Seven Tips for Camping Out for a Wii or PS3 So this post isn't original to me but it's still one of my favorites. I actually did camp out at Best Buy in November of '06 for a Nintendo Wii. It was a blast and a great memory. Shimmy also wrote a blog posting about it here.

#6 - My Jury Duty Experience I like reading postings like this. Short, sweet and to the point, detailing an everyday event we all experience that usually turns out to be wretched!

#5 - The Chinese New Year Has Gone To The Dogs Poor Shimmy. He has been the butt of many posts and jokes over the years... I love it!

#4 - Palin to resign as Alaska governor! It's easy to have something to post about with Sarah Palin around. I have one other post about the self anointed "hockey mom" that can be found here. I'm sure she'll be providing a lot more material for me to comment on in the future.

#3 - Would you like some ranch with that? I hate ranch salad dressing. I hate people who have to eat it on everything. I hated serving it to people when I waited tables. I just hate people.

#2 - Great Big Stuff! I get a kick out of this post every time I go back and read it. Not only is it kind of funny (at least I think so) but I also enjoy the interaction from others on the topic/post. Part of the reason a blog appealed to me initially was having some sort of spring board for discussion. I really miss Bruce blogging and commenting, sadly he has disappeared from this realm of my life. I do get a chance to see him from time to time in person though.

#1 - Loralei How could I not pick this post as my favorite? Casey is one of my favorite people in the world (if not my favorite)! I can't believe my little niece is a real person who is a married mommy with responsibilities and a life and all that shit.

Honorable Mention - Dave's World The first post I ever made. It all started with an email from my niece Brandy. The rest is history...

I've had a great time maintaining this blog over the last four years. Thanks to everyone who continues to read and comment. If anyone out there has some favorite moments of their own from this blog or anything else to add, please post a comment!

Oklahoma in the News

I usually cringe when I see a story about Oklahoma in the national news or on one of the political program shown on MSNBC or CNN. More times than not the news or story is not flattering to the Sooner State. What is usually reported is some backwards law the state is considering or has passed or we get to hear about some off the wall quotes provided by one of our two bat shit crazy Senators, Tom Coburn or Jim Inhofe. Case in point: The Rachel Maddow Show ran a story about a new abortion law that starts on November 1st. While I was aware of the law, it pained me to see our legislative ridiculousness aired for the whole country to see.

The new provision requires an official record of all abortions performed in the state so that it can be posted and viewed publicly online. Here is what's being reported:

1. Date of abortion
2. County in which abortion performed
3. Age of mother
4. Marital status of mother
(married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never married)
5. Race of mother
6. Years of education of mother
(specify highest year completed)
7. State or foreign country of residence of mother
8. Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother
Live Births
Miscarriages
Induced Abortions

Does the information violate the privacy provisions in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)? What happened to doctor/patient confidentiality? It's probably only a matter of time before the courts knock down the legislation. In the meantime we can continue to be the laughing stock of the Union while women in Oklahoma are discouraged from exercising their rights.

Below is the segment I saw last night:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

I headed to my computer at home this morning after waking, droopy and tired as I always do. I usually check the news of the day before showering and starting my day. I was shocked to see that President Obama had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. My first reaction was "for what?". After reading the details I can understand the decision but I still think it's a little early.

"President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism."

President Obama joins only two other sitting Presidents to win the Prize. He joins President Theodore Roosevelt who won in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson who was awarded the prize in 1919.

So is this award a repudiation of the Bush years by the left leaning committee? Does Obama deserve the reward for his work on lowering carbon emissions or for his work with Russia in lowering nuclear stockpiles or for his efforts to open up dialogues with the Middle East? I'm not sure. He at least has just over three years to prove the committee right.

Link

Hate Crime Legislation Passed in the House

After nearly 10 years of trying, the House passed the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" today.

"The act allows for added charges and harsher jail sentences for those convicted of what is deemed to be a hate crime, a crime against somebody's race, religion, sexual orientation, etc."

Finally a branch of the government I can be proud of, specifically the House of Representatives. As a gay man I am so proud of our "liberal" Congress, especially to Speaker Pelosi who has been working on this cause for many years even before the Matthew Shepard incident in Laramie, WY. Basically what it means is that the federal government can assist in the prosecution of expanded hate crimes where local authorities are unwilling or unable.

The measure was attached to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill. Conservatives are whining about its inclusion to the defense bill. I have no sympathy! It's not like they never did the same thing to try to push through their own agendas during the Bush years.

Next up: The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT).

Link
Link

Top Chef: Home Cookin'

Last night saw the return of Top Chef: Las Vegas after last week’s rerun. I actually thought it was kind of a boring episode but there were a couple of surprises. For the first time in the competition we saw Jennifer at the bottom (in the quick fire challenge) and Michael on the chopping block (in the elimination challenge). Jennifer had some issues with being sick and Michael had some issues with equipment. Jennifer bounced back to win the elimination challenge and Michael escaped from being sent home.

Kevin ended up winning the quick fire competition and the choice of 15 thousand dollars or immunity in the elimination challenge. He chose the money. That would have been my choice as well. The quick fire challenge ingredients were determined by the spin of a slot machine. What made Kevin’s win even more impressive was the fact that he never cooks Asian food. He’s looked strong from the beginning and I’m still confident he’ll make it to the finals.

The elimination challenge required the chefs to draw knives in order to team up and to determine what they would be cooking. It was literally a grab bag of food provided by the guest chefs who are all involved in the Macy’s Come Together program to provide 10 million meals for Feeding America. Once again Kevin was at the top along with teammate Jennifer. Jennifer was voted best on the team and won a 10 thousand dollar gift card from Macy’s. Lame.

Ashley and Eli were the losing team with Ashley getting most of the blame and sent home for some undercooked prawns and salty food. I understand completely, there’s not much worse than undercooked sea food. I was disappointed to see her leave as I thought she had turned the corner and was starting to get a rhythm, plus she seems like a really hard worker.

Some other quick thoughts:

It was funny to see Robin and Mike Isabella teamed together. His reaction was priceless! I really hope he gets some justice next week and is sent home. Unfortunately I think it will be Robin, again. I’m still surprised she’s made it this far but I still don’t like the beating she’s taking from the other contestants.

The judges seemed to be in a mellow mood this week. Even Toby wasn’t his usual d-bag self.

You’ve got to love the Bravo previews for next week. It looks like Eli and Robin will be going at it again and maybe we’ll see the brothers (Michael and Bryan) turn on each other. Probably not, in typical preview fashion it will be a lot less dramatic than advertised.

Just as I was over ceviche early in the season, I'm now starting to grow weary of scallops. Every week at least a couple of people prepare them in both of the challenges.

My first episode picks are all still alive. I think I'll remain safe for at least two more episodes.