My Review: Little Miss Sunshine

My wife and I both love going to the movies, so we go as often as we can. She enjoys the whole experience and only seldom is she overly disappointed. She's very good at tempering her expectations. I, on the other hand, often go into films with extremely high expectations, and am very often extremely disappointed. I would say that 6 out of 10 films I see I think are rather awful. 2 out of ten are decent, and 2 out of ten are really, really good. Forgive my math, but occasionally, once in a great while, a film is so exceptional that it reminds me why I love going to the movies. Little Miss Sunshine is not one of those films, but it is really, really good.

Little Miss Sunshine is blessed with a great cast, and a terrific script. Steve Carrell, who we love from The Office and The Daily Show, is very funny, almost as much as Alan Arkin as Grandpa. Greg Kinnear is perfectly cast as a motivational speaker who can't even convince his son (Paul Dano) to speak or his wife (Toni Collette) to not look at him like he's a schmuck. But the real stealer of the show is Little Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin, as Olive. The whole film is great, but the last fifteen minutes of the movie are downright classic.

Yes, there are plot holes in Little Miss Sunshine. But it is a comedy, after all, and you're not supposed to analyze comedies for things like that. But probably the best compliment I can give this comedy is that it is so good that it makes you want to analyze it like an art film.

Grade: A-

Hysterical Ringtones

Most of the time when I listen to my iPod I just leave it on shuffle mode, as kind of my own personal radio station. I can listen for hours and never hear a bad song! It's fun listening to Beastie Boys segue into Tom Petty into Prince into For Squirrels into a mashup I found on Hype Machine. But I still get the biggest kick out of when between songs my iPod picks a mini-track from They Might Be Giants a992 album Apollo 18. In addition to the great songs on the CD are 21 tracks called "fingertips" that are each about 8 or 9 seconds long that can only be described as "random". I can't explain them, just preview the tracks on Amazon and you'll get what I mean.

I was thinking about TMBG this morning and visited their website. They have three hysterical ringtones available for download on the homepage for $1.50 each. The best is "Call Connected Thru The NSA," but "Ring Ring" is also awesome. Even if you don't buy them, they are worth listening to online. If you do decide to buy them you're guaranteed to have the funniest ringtones in the office.

New Music!

Other than Tom Petty's Highway Companion, I don't even remember that last CD I bought. But this month I bought two great ones:

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat. Jenny Lewis, our March 2006 Hero Of The Month is the lead singer of a group called Rilo Kiley, but she's just released her solo album and it is absolutely incredible. If I could pick one word to describe Jenny Lewis's writing style, it would be "sardonic". Don't be frightened by the gospel feel and country style. This music is more edgy than any hard rock band around. The lyrics will have you pondering life while laughing aloud. I have to admit I have developed a crush on this incredible talent. Add this to your collection immediately! Oh, and dont forget to check out her cover of the Travelling Wilbury's "Handle With Care!" Grade: A+

Jackie Greene - American Myth - This CD was made for me, it seems. Some songs sound like outtakes from a Josh Ritter CD, others sound like Tom Petty, or alternative rock. Every song sounds like the work of a gifted songwriter and a talented musician. I discovered Jackie Greene from Internet radio station mvy radio when they played his amazing song Sweet Somewhere Bound. I picked up his latest collection from Amazon.com, and it's an instant fave. Check out his myspace page for free downloads! Grade: A

Mookie Of The Month - August 2006

We went to the Outer Banks this weekend and Mookie got to check out the ocean for the first time. She wasn't too sure. I think she knows she can't swim!

This Is Hilarious - Dogs will Be Dogs

In England, there is a collection valuable teddy bears on display at some park. The display is very popular and they recently added a bear once owned by Elvis Presley worth $85,000. The collection was so valuable that in a stroke of brilliance the museum hired a doberman to guard the display. Big shocker here about what comes next - Like most dogs, Barney The Guard Dog loves to chew on stuffed animals - so he tore the head off Elvis's bear and destroyed a bunch of other bears in the collection.

When it was over, about 100 bears in all had been damaged. "He was pulling arms off, heads off," [the park's general manager Daniel] Medley said, and there was fluffy stuffing everywhere.

Too damned funny. Thanks to Mr. Met for the link.

Mars Won't Be Big As The Moon This Week

I got a couple e-mails that got me all excited to watch the sky this month. The e-mails were titled "Spectacular!" and if you read it quickly they made it seem like Mars would appear as big as the moon to the naked eye on August 16th. I thought that was pretty cool until I looked it up on snopes.

The truth is that way back in August 2003, if you had looked through a 75 power telescope, you could have gotten a great view of Mars. But to the naked eye, the casual observer wouldn't have even noticed. And that was in 2003. This year, the e-mail is completely untrue, with someone having switched out the years. Too bad.

What is true, is that all month you can watch a meteor shower if you can find a high spot on a clear night, away from city lights. Peaking on August 12th, the Perseid meteor shower will allow us earthlings to observe as many as 100 "shooting stars" per hour this month.

Die Hard Part Four Release Date Set

Bruce Willis will star in the fourth installment of the Die Hard movies, titled Live Free or Die Hard, scheduled for release on June 29, 2007. Best news I've heard all week!

A few months ago, news came out that there would be a movie based on Kiefer Sutherland's 24. My reaction was that they already made that movie, and it was called Die Hard. MTV makes the same comparison in this article, which also tells us the new Die Hard movie "centers around an attack on the computer infrastructure of the United States government" on the 4th of July. The article also says that several high-profile cast members will be announced over the next few weeks. The first castmember to be announced may be Justin Long, who you may know as "A Mac" in those funny Apple commercials.

La Jolla, California - Seals and Brown Pelicans

click below to see slide show...

A Tree Split Right Down The Middle

These pictures must be able to be used as a metaphor for something, I just can't figure out what... (click to enlarge).


There was a big storm a couple of weeks ago, and all around the neighborhood trees were literally torn apart. None of us could figure out whether it was lightning, mini tornadoes, or what could do so much damage, but it's hard to imagine anything but lightning splitting this particular tree right down the middle like this.

Short Slideshow of Seal Beach in La Jolla

Here's a few pictures I took after work was done out in San Diego, California!

Almost Home

I've been in San Diego since Wednesday, but I return home on the red-eye tonight, and my travel schedule for the rest of the year is thankfully a lot lighter. Unfortunately I picked the wrong day to read the USA Today left outside my hotel room door. There was an article in Thursday's issue called Fatigue In The Cockpit that examined the issue of pilots having difficulty staying alert during overnight flights. The author is a pilot, and he is advocating the airline industry allowing pilots to take naps during flights so that they are refreshed during landings, the most dangerous part of flying. I'll have to ask my pilot tonight if he or she is feeling okay before we take off...

More Things I Learned From Rolling Stone

Here are some more tidbits I picked up from the July 13 issue of Rolling Stone (with Johnny Depp on the cover):

A cool place to find new music and .mp3s: The Hype Machine (http://hype.non-standard.net/)
Ever since I read about this site I've been addicted. It scours blogs for .mp3 postings and then has a little radio station thing that plays the songs most recently added. YOu can also listen to the most popular .mp3s for teh week, so do a search for an artist or song. An excellent tool to find new music!


A movie called Who Killed The Electric Car?. Remember that movie Tucker, about a guy who invented a car with all kinds of cool features but the Big Three automakers put him out of business? Seems history repeats itself. There's a documentary out that examines what happened to GM's EV-1, an electric car with no emissions and no gas or oil that was leased to Californians in 1996, "only to mash its fleet into scrap metal in the Arizona desert six years later." Check out the trailer at www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com and check out the movie when it's released next month.

You can buy cover reprints of classic Rolling Stone magazine covers at www.rollingstone.com/covers for $25 each. I think I'm going to decorate my office with the August 1991 issue with Tom Petty.













You can watch the R-rated version of Buckcherry's video for Crazy Bitch at www.rollingstone.com/crazybuck. (Not Safe For Work!)

Mookie Of The Month - July 2006

Learning To Fly

For my birthday, my wife arranged for me to take a flying lesson. I flew a Cessna from Air Harbor airport to Shiloh Airport and back again. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. Here are some pics:



Cessna 8 Whiskey Mike. You might wonder why I agreed to go up in a plane with a guy named "Whiskey Mike," but I'm pretty sure that's just the way you say "W" over the radio for aviation purposes. I'm pretty sure.



The cockpit.



Scariest sight in the history of aviation: Mike V piloting an airplane.



View out the left wing



Coming in for a landing at Shiloh Airport



Just about to touchdown at Mike Piazza's runway?



A fuel stop. Gas was about $4.00 a gallon



Keep your eyes on the sky!

Did A Missle Down Flight 800? Is The Government Concealing Evidence

Even before September 11th, 2001, for years I often had an eerie feeling everytime I saw a plane in the sky. That's because in 1996, a plane mysteriously exploded off the coast of Long Island. It was TWA Flight 800, headed for Paris, and for months, no explanation could be attributed to the explosion. Was it bomb, a missle, or some mechanical failure? Because of teh mystery, I sometimes would wonder if any particular plane I was looking at in the sky at any given time might suddenly and inexplicably explode.

But I remember most people initially thought it was a missle that downed Flight 800, especially when eyewitnesses reprted seeing something that resembled a missle hit the plane. These eyewitness reports were eventually squashed by the idea that it was actually an optical illusion these people were seeing. "Experts" said that the people actually saw the aftermath of the explosion, and fireballs shooting out of the plane somehow just looked like they were heading towards the plane for a reason I've never grasped.

The official conclusion by the NTSB was that the explosion was caused a by a spark in the fuel tank.

Now, ten years later, a group in Massachussets has filed a lawsuit to force federal officials to release information about a piece of debris from Flight 800 that it hopes will show that a missile downed the plane.

Tom Stalcup, who heads the East Falmouth, Mass.-based Flight 800 Independent Researchers Organization, which filed the suit, said he is "very certain" that federal investigators found the piece of debris and are now concealing evidence of its existence.

Radar data show the piece of debris falling at high speed from the plane and a Navy salvage map shows it was later recovered, said Stalcup, 36, a physicist and owner of a West Falmouth, Mass., company that makes wireless weather stations. Despite this evidence, federal officials won't explain what happened to the debris once it was recovered from the ocean off Long Island, he said.

"All of the data requested is of great importance to the public understanding of the crash of TWA Flight 800," Stalcup's lawsuit says.

"One piece in particular landed closer to JFK Airport than any of the other thousands of recovered items ... after exiting the airframe at apparent supersonic speeds," the suit says.

We'll have to stay tuned to this one...

Things I Learned This Weekend From Rolling Stone Magazine (Part One)

Because I spend a lot of time on airplanes, I read a lot of magazines. Lately I've tried to save some money by borrowing books from the library, but I owe them a few bucks for some overdues so I need to go in and settle up before I can borrow some more. In the meantime, I'v ebeen spending quality plane times with my magazines of choice, namely Esquire, Popular Science, Newsweek, and occassionally The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Spin, and GQ. It's funny that I read two mens fashion magazines even though I am far from a clothes horse. The articles and interviews just happen to be really good in those mags.

This past weekend we were on the beach, another great place to read a magazine, so on the way to the beach we stopped at a drugstore and picked up some. I grabbed the latest Rolling Stone and it was a great pick-up. It's sometimes hit-or-miss with Rolling Stone, but this issue happens to be great. It has Johnny Depp on the cover if you're looking for it. So anyway I was going to list all the interesting stuff I found in the magazine in this one posting, but I thought many of them deserved their own post so I'm going to spread them out over the course of the week.

For this post I'll write about who else but Tom Petty, who is featured all overthe magazine, including a full length interview by Neil Strauss. On a side note, a big deal is made of the fact that Tom says in teh interview that "This is the last interview I am doing for a long time." Well, apparently Neil got a little carried away, because Petty clarified on his website this week that by "a long time" he meant a few weeks, while he was touring but that he would definitely be doing some interviews later this month as his new solo album Highway Companion is released on July 25th. Misunderstanding aside, the interview did include quite a few gems:

-Tom does not care one bit about this whole Dani California/Mary Jane's Last Dance hoopla:

"I serously doubt there is any intent there. And a lot of rock & roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took American Girl [for their song "Last Nite"], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it, That made me laugh out loud...I think there are enough frivilous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."

-Tom's new solo album, Highway Companion, is his much more truly a solo album than Full Moon Fever or Wildflowers were. Tom actually plays drums and piano on this record, whereas his previous "solo" efforts were really more like Heartbreakers records sans Stan Lynch.

-In addition to the solo record, Tom has " a good sixty percent" of a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers album "just sitting there waiting to be finished." It should come out next year and it "is going to be a big one." Tom's bandmate Mike Campbell is also producing a live Heartbreakers album.

-Tom also wants to get his original band "Mudcrutch" back together at some point for a project.

You can listen to the interview at www.rollingstone.com/pettytalk

Dog Days Of Summer

Posting has been light lately because of various summertime activities that interfere with blogging. Here's a bonus shot of Mookie with her "cousin" Sodja to hold you over while I get my act together.

My Review: Superman Returns

I saw Superman Returns on opening weekend but took a while to write this review. I had had a lot of anticipation for this movie, which usually for me means I'll be disappointed. I was never a real huge comic book geek, but I did read quite a few Superman comics, and as a kid I loved the Superman movies.

Last year's Batman Begins was an excellent film, and I hoped to be as satisfied with this movie. Brandon Routh plays a good Superman, and he looks a bit like Christopher Reeve, so I can't complain about him. Kevin Spacey did a great job as Lex Luthor, but unfortunately Luthor's plot in this film is pretty damn lame. Surely in all the comics that have been written about Superman, a better scheme has been written that could have been lifted for this movie? But from a character standpoint, the major disappointment for me was that Kate Bosworth was a pretty lousy Lois lane. There was barely any palpable chemistry between her and Supes. Plus, her giant forehead was distracting.

Otherwise, this movie was waaay too long and had too many quiet, "dramatic," moments that were supposed to be awe-inspiring but were more like sleep inspiring. All in all, it could have been a lot worse of a movie, but it could have been a lot better too. Hopefully the next movie will have more action and less of the sleepy stuff. Honestly, the best part about going to see this movie was that the preview for Spiderman III looked REALLY good.

Now, some reviews of this film will tell you Superman Returns is a sequel to the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie, while others will tell you that it's a sequel to Superman II. Why is there confusion, even though Director Brian Singer has explicitly said in interviews that this is is a sequel to Superman II? My theory is that the confusion stems from the unstated fact that Superman Returns is truly a sequel to Superman II, but not the movie we all know. I believe Superman Returns is actually a sequel to the Superman II movie that was mostly filmed, but never finished, by the original director Richard Donner. The original idea for the Christopher Reeve film was a two part movie. Richard Donner filmed Superman and Superman II basically at the same time. But the studio got nervous about having the first film end in a cliffhanger and instead had Donner have more of a resolution for the first movie. Then, once the film was a success Donner continued to work on the sequel but got into some arguments with the studio and was then replaced by Richard Lester who, many movie fans feel, screwed everything up. When you watch Superman II, some scenes were shot and edited by Donner, and some by Lester. A lot of the original Donner material was cut altogether. For example, the Donner version of the film has an R-rated love scene between Supes and Lois Lane that never made it to the final version. Most people don't know this, but as a big Superman fan, Superman Returns director Brian Singer does. I think he had this unfinished movie in mind when he made this new movie. At some point this year a new DVD box set will come out that will supposedly include for the first time, the Richard Donner version of Superman II. I believe at that point my theory will be confirmed. You read it here first.

Oh yeah, my grade for Superman Returns is B-.

Why Mets Fans Can't Stand Yankees Fans (And It's Not What You Think)

The Mets lost last night. They got swept in a three game series by the Red Sox and I couldn't be happier. Why? Because it messes with the Yankees chances of making the playoffs. And with the Mets maintaining a healthy lead on the wife beaters, the only thing sweeter than the Mets making it to the World Series would be having the Yankees not meeting them there because they couldn't even sniff October.

Do you want to know why Mets fans can't stand Yankees fans? It's not because of their arrogance. Every team has arrogant fans, and there are many arrogant fans who wear orange and blue. Maybe I'm arrogant.

The real reason Mets fans don't like Yankees fans is because we don't respect them. When you see a person wearing a Yankees hat or shirt, they are most likely:

A) A fourteen year old girl who never watches games but thinks Derek Jeter is cute

B) An out of towner who never watches games but wants to glam on to New York in some way

C) A bandwagon jumper who couldn't tell you the starting rotation or who played 1st base before Tino Martinez (or Jason Giambi for that matter).

Are there real Yankees fans out there? I mean real fans, who can actually recite the 25 man roster and wax poetic about the Jesse Barfield days? Yes, of course. But even most of those fans are in complete denial about their scarcity. Yankees fans think everyone should be Yankees fans. They look around and see a sea of pinstripes and think everyone else must be crazy. They'll welcome any clown and accept him or her as a "true" Yankees fan, just like George Steinbrenner will accept any enemy (Roger Clemens, Johnny Damon, Wade Friggin' Boggs) into pinstripes and annoint him a "true" Yankee. Well, except for A-Rod. Gotta love that.

Mets fans are different. We feel very confident that when we see a dude with an orange and blue cap that he's a real fan. That he can cry with us about The Worst Team Money Can Buy, about Juan Samuel or Gregg Jeffries or Generation K. That he'll agree that Keith Hernandez should be in The Hall and that Mex was the best first baseman in New York. When it comes to real baseball fans, the Mets own New York. We don't crave quantity. Yes, the Yankees have won more World Series and sell more hats, but the Mets lead the world in Grand Slam Singles, losing last place, and balls that Get By Buckner!

When an impartial observer is around, a typical Yankees fan will tell him or her "You gotta be a Yankees fan. You gotta be. Look at all the rings and look at all of us!" Meanwhile, a typical Mets fan will say to the fan on the fence "I don't care what team you pick. If you don't care, you might as well pick the Yankees. It's a good time to jump on their bandwagon because it's moving real slow right now. You should only be a Mets fan if You Gotta Believe"

Note: Of course this applies to anyone besides the Mets fan's girlfriend or wife because we don't need no stinkin Yankees games playing in our house. So if your girl is on the fence it just makes life easier if she develops a crush on David Wright.

So there you go. The Mets did their job of screwing over the Yankees by laying down for the Red Sox. If we have to, we'll beat the Sox in the Series. Surely fans remember how that went last time? Now, it's time to turn it on. It's the back end of our rotation (El Duque, Trachsel, Soler) head to head with the back, I mean front, I mean is this seriously the Yankees rotation?

Lets Go Mets!

Minnesota Envy

My two favorite bands are on tour together. I have never before in my life wished I could be in Minnesota...

6/29/6 - Tom performs with Eddie Vedder and more from St. Paul

By Doug Miller / excerpt of full-length article on TomPetty.com

... the tour moved into overdrive June 26 with the first of two nights of non-stop music and fun from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Pearl Jam. It's tough to put all the backstage sights, sounds and experiences into words, but here's a rundown of some of the highlights:

Tom and Eddie together: This evolved over the course of the two-night stand at the Xcel Energy Center and eventually paid off hugely for everyone in the building.

Tom and Heartbreakers manager Tony Dimitriades confirmed to me that Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder and Heartbreakers lead guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench met in the corridor outside the Heartbreakers' dressing room 15 minutes before the Heartbreakers were due on stage Monday night.

They went into the dressing room, where they did a quick run-through of "American Girl." It seems that Eddie, who already knew all the words, was invited to join Tom and the Heartbreakers on stage for the encore to sing the lead vocal of the second verse, and a quick run-through was obviously all that was needed.

The show featured incredible sets by both Pearl Jam and Tom and the Heartbreakers and both bands were accepted by the other's fans as if they were their own. But when Tom brought Eddie on stage for "American Girl," which was to be the last song of the evening, the place erupted.

Most people probably thought Eddie would sing the choruses with Tom, so when he took the lead on the second verse and nailed it, everyone -- the audience, the musicians on stage and the road crews of both bands -- was beaming in the presence of something unique and special.

More Tom and Eddie: It got even better Wednesday night. The seeds were planted in the wee hours of that morning at the hotel bar. Still adrenalized from the collaboration during "American Girl," Vedder shared a nightcap or two with Tom, Ben Tench, and Heartbreakers multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston and drummer Steve Ferrone.

Somewhere in the early hours of the morning, all agreed that Eddie could sing on a second song in the set, "The Waiting," which the Heartbreakers had not performed live for some time.

This led to an acoustic rehearsal session in the Heartbreakers' dressing room Wednesday night about 10 minutes before Pearl Jam began their opening set.

You could tell Vedder loved the song because he sang out all the words without hesitation while the signature finger-picked intro riff to the song rang through the hallway.

A few hours later, right after the ninth song of the set, the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care," Tom introduced the band and then brought Vedder back on stage for what seemed to me to be a rousing rendition of "The Waiting."

I was standing at the side of the stage and I could hear Eddie's strong vocals through the stage monitors, which is how the musicians on stage hear themselves. What I and the musicians did not know until later was that there had been a microphone/computer malfunction and Eddie's vocals were not coming through the PA.

It was a bitter disappointment to everyone, I am sure, but I am also sure they will do this again and I am looking forward to the Milwaukee and Denver shows, when the audience will get to hear it the way they should...

But redemption came when it was time for the encores.

Vedder came back out and stood at the side of the stage, dancing and singing during "You Wreck Me" and "Mystic Eyes."

Right before the final number, Vedder came back on stage and seemed overwhelmed to be in Petty's presence. He clasped his hands together to greet Tom and nailed the second verse and the harmonies once again.

But that wasn't all. When Campbell blistered through the solo at the end of "American Girl," Vedder ran from the back of the stage, did a knee slide right next to the guitarist, and saluted Campbell with a repeated "We're not worthy" bow.

The song ended and Tench grabbed Vedder to join the Heartbreakers in their bow to end the evening. Fantastic stuff.

Mookie Of The Month - June 2006

Finally figured out why it's bad luck to stand under a ladder....

























At least when there's a person on top of the ladder, painting, it's a bad idea to stand underneath.

Prince Performing Fury on SNL - .mp3

I haven't watched Saturday Night Live on a regular basis in ages, but I did tune in this season when Steve Martin hosted and Prince was the musical guest. Prince's performance of "Fury," of his new album 3121 was unfrigginbelievable. Download the .mp3 of the performance here, or the video on YouTube here.

Some commercials that annoy me:

On the radio, the commercial that really burns me up is the one for UPS. They have a 60 second spot about how boring baseball is. This is the commercial they run during baseball games, with an audience of baseball fans. I guess this is why I always use FedEx and the good old U.S. Postal Service for me shipping needs.


This really shouldn't get under my skin, but the television spots for Verizon are really stupid. It's a bunch of guys supposedly filming a documentary about Verizon customers. They stop people on the street, or invade their home, and ask them how they like Verizon. This would actually be a funny idea, if it wasn't completely, and utterly obviously, fake. Why does this annoy me so much??? It's not even an original concept. I remember radio ads for some other company that did man-on-the-street interviews. I remember they were much more realistic, but since I can't remember what the commercials were supposed to be advertising, it goes to show how innefective the ads are. Lame.

Can you believe they are still running ads for Craftmatic adjustable beds after all these years? The ads I remember best are when they gave away a free camera just for trying a Craftmatic. Old people saying "I Got My Free Camera!"

Links I've Visited Lately

How can a guy go into the R&R Hall of Hame three times? As a solo artist and with two bands, like Eric Clapton.

Jay-Z is a dummy.

The end of the (Times New) Roman Era

As blonde joke's go, a pretty funny one.

Pat Burrell's wife. Pat Burrell's daddy.

A house mysteriously explodes on Long Island.

Songs under one minute.

Games under four seconds.

Beware The Eyes Of Mash

Are the eyes of potatoes poisonous?

Last weekend we were at a friend's house, and said friend was peeling potatoes for dinner that night. I was shooting my mouth of as usual and told her to make sure she got all the eyes out because they were poisonous. I said that "if you ate a bowl ful of potato eyes you would drop dead."

Some nincompoop once said that to me in a former life and I thought it was such a funny notion that I now repeat it as fact. But are the eyes of potatoes poisonous?

I did some web searching and found two links that support my idiotic statement:

When potatoes were first introduced to the Europeans, they were recognized as belonging to the nightshade family along with eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, and tobacco, and were considered poisonous. In fact, potatoes do contain poison in the form of glycoalkaloid enzymes which are always present within 3 mm (1/8 in.) of the surface of the potato, with the highest concentrations in the eyes or sprouts.... Light causes potatoes to turn green and accelerates the production of solanine... Grocery store fluorescent lighting can induce potato greening in 12 hours to 5 days, with potato greening occurring most quickly at room temperature (68° F). When potatoes are exposed to light and UV radiation, the rate of solanine formation can increase tenfold.
http://www.promolux.com/english/retail_produce_greening.html#nightshade

the leaves of rhubarb, tomatoes and potatoes are poisonous if eaten. Not just the leaves of the potato, but if the potato is green or has spouts, do not eat it. The sprout is the beginning of a new potato plant - new poisonous leaves will come from these. The sprout is also known as the eye of the potato.

http://www.hcmga.org/Poisons.html

I don't see any reason to continue searching, do you?


So, if anyone ever puts a bowl ful of potato eyes in front of you - don't eat it or you'll drop dead.

A Five Minute Video Depicting The End Of The World

Want nightmares?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JHdYBet_4Q

This video makes Deep Impact look like a comedy.

Damn meteors.

Tom Petty's Streaming His New Single

Listen to Tom Petty's new single, "Saving Grace" at www.tompetty.com or right here (wmv).

Tom's new solo album Highway Companion drops July 25th.

Joey Bag O' Donuts

Last week I had lunch at Moe's Southwest Grill for the first time. If you've never been there, the menu is simialr to Qdoba, Baja Fresh, or, in New York, Green Cactus. You know the type of place I'm talking about: made-to-order southwest style burritos sold as health food. Promoted as using all fresh ingredients, with no frozen foods, no canned goods, no preservatives, no microwaves and no lard or animal fat.

So anyway, the offerings at Moe's are a bit more extensive, with quesadillas and fajitas as well as frozen margaritas, but what really makes Moe's unique is how they name their menu items. I have to be honest here and admit that there's few things a restaurant can do to appeal to me more than creatively naming their menu items. Moe's menu is hilarious! It's filled with jokes and pop culture references - for Seinfeld fans there's a burrito called the Art Vandalay and a salad called the Close Talker, for Friends fans there's a taco called The Ugly Naked Guy. For fans of the movie Fletch, order the John Coctosan, the Fat Sam or the Alfredo Garcia. There's also the I Said Posse quesadilla, and a hilarious fake menu item called a "Cup Of Fat" for $9.99.

But what had me cracking up the most was a burrito called the Joey Bag Of Donuts. I thought this was the funniest thing in the world, even though I wasn't sure I completely "got it." Almost everything else on teh menu is a pop culture reference, but what movie or TV show had a character called Joey Bag O' Donuts? Sounds like a mob name, but I don't remember it from Goodfellas or The Godfather. Is it a Sopranos reference?

So, the question: where does the name Joey Bag Of Donuts come from? I did some searching, and have so far been unable to come up with a conclusive answer. For instance:


- Remember the commercial for the classic rock radio station where there's an obese guy dancing in front of a brick wall? This exact same film clip ad was run against various songs for many different stations around the country, but the original use is credited to a station in Chicago called The Loop (WLUP) and the character name of the guy dancing (actually actor Eustachio Robert Marena, or is it Robert Miranda?) is supposedly named Joey Bagadonuts. Sorry, but that nickname seems to have been attached retroactively to me, since the ad has no mention of a character name.

- Wikipedia says it's a reference from My Cousin Vinny, but I think they're wrong.

-A rapper named Joey Bags claims he got his nickname from a doughnut shop in New York called Joey Bag A Donuts. I can't find any restaurant with that name. By the way, Joey Bags Productions allegedly brings REAL hip hop to the table. Judge for yourself.

-South Philly's "Waffleman" Joe Sbaraglia calls himself Bag-a-Donuts for some unexplained reason.

-There's a "set dresser" who works in Hollywood named Joe Monaco who, when he worked on the memorable Keanu Reeves film The Watcher, was credited as Joey 'Bag O' Donuts' Monaco.

-Seems like a lot of other people are wondering the same thing as me.

- The most likely origination is that it may have come from one of stand-up comic's Dom Irrera's routines. I've never seen his act but apparently part of it is telling stories about the old neighborhood and one of his old buddies was nicknamed Joey Bag O' Donuts. Irrera says that John Madden nicknamed Frank Winters "Frankie Bag of Doughnuts" after seeing his act, but comics always seem to claim that everyone is stealing from them.


Well, wherever the name originated, it seems to have seemed into our collective consciousness. Any stereotypical Italian guy, especially an overweight one, might be stickered with the moniker. In fact, if it's YOUR nickname, you can now even buy a T-Shirt with the phrase. I still think it's hysterical and will be laughing to myself when I order it at my next trip to Moe's.

Where Does The Phrase, "Cool Beans" Come From?

A freind of mine asked me this question yesterday - if I had heard of the phrase "cool beans," and if I knew where it came from. It turns out we both had the same experience with the expression: We heard someone else say it, thought it was a dumb thing to say, and then caught ourselves using it occasionally and hating ourselves for it.

So, what is the etymology of the phrase? The jury is out, but here's the best theory I could come up with doing a web search:

In Boston, where baked beans are famous, the phrase was used to announce when the beans had cooled down enough to enjoy. The phrase became popular in the eighties, when Bush Baked Beans had a talking dog named Duke in their commericials who used the phrase. The flaw in this theory appears to be that Duke doesn't say "Cool Beans" in the ads - his famous line is "Roll that beautiful bean footage." Odd. And anyway, why would you announce that beans served hot, were now cool? Who wants to eat cold baked beans?

A second theory is purported here:

Known to of first become common in the US during the early 1980s (mostly among teens), made up of two terms: the pre-existing cool (which became common slang earlier in the 20th century, though was based off a term from one of Chaucer's poems), and the late 20th century American teenage habit of combining slang/common words together. Hence bean (slang for head/hair) or beans (gumption, toughness, balls), was in use to say someone was cool, in a tough/good looking kind of way. And is the nature of slang it evolved and came to be associated with the actions of said individuals. Some report that it was a way of differentiating between describing someone as cool vs the action (or proposed action) as in: being 'cool with it'.

I personally have never heard anyone use the word 'beans' to describe a person's toughness, but you can make up your own mind.

Now I feel even dumber about using the expression.

Recipe for Thai Turkey Burgers - Spicy!

Thai Turkey Burgers with Coconut-Mint Mayo
Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo
1/3 cup flaked coconut
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

1 lb. ground turkey (85% lean)
1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup peanut sauce
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teasoon soy sauce
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 tablespoon hot sauce

4 hamburger buns

Directions:

Dressing

Mix together mayonnaise, coconut, and mint. Cover, and refrigerate for an hour.

Burgers:

In a large bowl, mix together ground turkey, panko crumbs, Thai peanut sauce, curry paste, green onion, parsley, soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, and hot pepper sauce. Be careful not to over-mix. Divide into 4 equal size balls. Flatten into patties about 1/2 inch thick.

Grill or fry burgers at medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until well done.

Serve on toasted buns with Coconut-Mint Mayonnaise.

My Review: Tom Petty In Charlotte, NC

This was my first time attending a show at the VerizonWireless Ampitheatre in Charlotte, and probably the 13th time I've seen Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers perform live. Charlotte's amphitheatre is nice - the atmosphere of an open air concert is always great on a nice night - but I could have done without the roof overhead. I'm sure it's great for when it rains, but part of the fun of looking up at the stars during the concert was lost.

Tom and the gang are touring in celebration of their thirty years as a band. Except for the drummer, Steve Ferrone who replaced Stan Lynch about a decade ago, and the addition of musician extraordinaire Scott Thurston, the band has the same lineup as when they made their first eponymous record way back in 1976. Mike Campbell has a new look, donning facial hair and deadlocks (picture a skinny Adam Duritz), and Tom isn't quite as bony as he used to be, but that Heartbreakers sound is unmistakable. The huge crowd was really into the show, with an inordinate amount of young hippies in the crowd probably there to see Phish's Trey Anastacio open up.

The band rolled through many of the hits they've amassed throughout the ages. They opened with "Listen To Her Heart" from 1978 and followed it up with "You Don't Know How It Feels" from '94. The songs I've heard him play countless times, "Free Fallin," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Refugee," "American Girl," sounded great, but Petty had some real treats for this leg of the tour. Besides playing some new songs "Square One," and "Saving Grace" from his new album Highway Companion which comes out next month, and the unrecorded as yet "Melinda," he also brought out Stevie Nicks to sing on "Stop Draggin My Heart Around" and "Insider," songs I've never heard performed live before. Stevie also took over vocals for "I Need To Know," and sang backup for "Learning to Fly." This was the first show of the tour, and Stevie and Tom haven't quite gotten the harmonies down yet, but it was still a terrific performance to see. It's interesting to note that no songs from the last two albums "The Last DJ" or "Echo" made the setlist.

Part of the Tom Petty concert experience is hearing fantastic versions of cover songs. Van Morrison's "Gloria" was part of the encore, The Yardbird's "I'm A Man" was mixed in, but most interesting was a kick-ass version of "Oh Well," an old Fleetwood Mac song that predates Stevie Nicks joining the group.

It's difficult for me to rank this concert with all the other times I've seen them, but I'm so glad I went. My wife had surprised me with the tickets, and it was the first time I've caught them live in several years. We don't get as many big acts down here in N.C. as we did in N.Y., and it was a great night for some great rock and roll. Tom Petty's still got it.

Spreading The Love

I'd like to give a few props to some sites around the web...

John is regularly updating V Photos again. Check it out if you love photography. This one is my favorite of his more recent shots.

Len and Murdertron_3000 have launched a Denver Broncos and New York Mets blog called Orange and Blue 2. Len takes a break from the sports talk to opine on other subjects such as tennis, Boston Terriers, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers on his solo-blog called Manhattan Mutts.

Brian Sack continues to deliver at Banterist. His latest Grammar Cop entry is hilariously enraging.

...happy surfing!

Tom Petty Dragging Stevie Nicks Around

This is pretty cool. Stevie Nicks is joining the first eight shows of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers "Highway Companion" tour this summer - she'll come onstage with the band to sing "a handful of songs each night." I can only guess this means live versions of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and maybe even the version of "Apartment Song" that appears on the Playback boxed set.

Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks go way back. The two sang the duet "Insider," on Petty's Hard Promises album, and "Needles and Pins" on the live album Pack Up The Plantation. Nicks also covered "Free Fallin" for the soundtrack of the TV show "Party of Five."

These are the shows Stevie Nicks will appear at:

June 9 - Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Amphitheatre)
June 10 - Bristow, VA (Nissan Pavillion)
June 12 - Portsmouth, VA (Ntelos Pavillion)
June 14 - Columbus, OH (Germain Ampitheater)
June 16 - Manchester, TN (Bonaroo)
June 17 - St. Louis, MO (UMB Bank Pavillion)
June 20 - New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)
June 21 - Mansfield, MA (Tweeter Center
June 21 show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Mass.

More TV Commercials From The Grave

I remember that when I was a young kid, there were these weird commercials for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. One person would be eating peanut butter out of a jar for some reason, out in public like at a movie theatre, and another person would be eating a chocolate bar. Something would happen, and the chocolate bar would wind up in the peanut butter. This would agitate both people - "You got chocolate in my peanut butter!"; "You got peanut butter on my chocolate!" until both people would realize they'd created a marvelous new combination.

I was thinking about that old ad thsi weekend, and I was wondering if Reese's ran these ads to convince people that this combination of the two ingredients was a good idea. Were chocolate and peanut butter desserts uncommon before these commercials ran? If so, they have really taken off in the last 25 years. At my company last month there was a bake-off and at least three entries were peanut butter and chocolate pies.

I decided to look into it. I went to the Reese's homepage and see that they've reprised the commerical I remember to promote the new Caramel Reese's cup. This time race-car drivers Kevin Harvick and Tony Kanaan bump into each other. Harvick is walking down the street eating a Reeses cup, and Kanaan is moseying along with a jar of caramel. They collide, and magic ensues. This means I'm not the only one to remember the old ad, but doesn't really answer my question.

Wikipedia says that the Reese's Peanut Butter cup was created in 1928 by an employee of Milton Hershey. 1928! I can tell you I was not around in 1928 to see television commercials - the ads I remember ran in the late 70's. Since the candies had been around for about 50 years by the time those commercials ran, I wonder why the creators decided they needed to emphasize the point that this combination was a good idea, and furthermore act like this was some kind of "new" idea.

I'm hungry.

Funny LL Cool J Lyrics

I was listening to some LL Cool J on my iPod this weekend, and this rhyme had me cracking up in the car:

as I turn the corner,
starin' in your cornea
you're gettin' hornier and hornier

Too funny.


By the way, that lyric comes from "Back Seat"

TV Commercials From The Grave

Hey, remember it wasn't that long ago that you couldn't turn on the television without seeing a commerical for one of those 10-10 dial around services? Carrot Top, Alf, Mike Piazza, Dennis Miller, John Stamos and other "celebrities" all were hocking these services where you dialed 10-10, three other digits and then whatever long distance number you were trying to reach, and for about a dollar, you could talk for twenty minutes. Now, you never see or hear those ads anymore. Weird.

In Effort To Thwart Scalpers, Tom Petty Cancels 1200 Concert Tickets

Approximately 800 tickets to a June 20th Madison Square Garden concert were invalidated by Tom Petty, and have been put up for resale to members of his fan club. A large block of tickets had originally been set aside for a pre-sale exclusively available to members of the club, but Petty worked with Ticketmaster and MSG to identify those which had either been resold or acquired by scalpers, violating the club membership agreement.

Another 460 tickets for concerts in St. Paul, Minnesota were also invalidated when they were found to have been acquired by scalpers. In addition to refunding the money to the original buyers, the fan club memberships of those who illegally tried to resell tickets were also cancelled. In cases where fans bought tickets from a scalper, they must try and get their money back from the scalper.

The fan club, "Highway Companions" was set up, in part, to give fan club members access to the best tickets for shows, and help minimize scalping.

Mets Vs. Yankees Tonight!

It's times like this I feel like I'm a million miles from New York. The Mets are going head to head against The Evil Empire, The Junkees, The Friggin Yankees! So where's the excitement?

Tonight is the first game of the "Subway Series," and the only word I've heard about it today is from a couple of Braves fans who are hoping the Mets lose at least two out of three this weekend so Atlanta can pick up a game or two. I'm missing out on the baseball mania up in New York! I am missing out on the boasting and proclamations of sweeps in either direction. There's no one here I can harass.

Instead, I'll boast a little bit right here:

The Mets record is 24-16, second-best in the National League.

The Mets are in FIRST PLACE, two games up over the Phillies, and three-and-a-half over Atlanta.

Despite the pitching dilemma, the Mets have the 4th-best ERA in baseball, and opposing batters have the lowest batting average against Mets pitching than any other team.

Lets Go Mets!

The pitching matchups for this weekend:
5/19 Jeremi Gonzalez (0-0, 5.40) vs. Randy Johnson ( 5-4, 5.13)
5/20 Pedro Martinez (5-0, 3.19 ERA) vs. Mike Mussina (6-1, 2.56 ERA)
5/21 Tom Glavine (6-2, 2.43 ERA) vs. Shawn Chacon (4-1, 5.21 ERA)


Tonight's pitcher, Jeremi Gonzalez, has a lifetime record against the Yankees of 1-2 with a 4.30 ERA . The Yankees have Randy Johnson starting tonight against the Mets. In the last three seasons, Randy Johnson has gone 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA against the Mets. In Johnson's last four starts this year he's allowed 22 runs - 17 earned - in just 21 1/3 innings.


Since I don't get WPIX (Channel 11) down here in North Carolina, I'll be watching the game on DirecTV, on the YES Network. Hopefully I can stomach the announcers - I may have to listen on the computer instead. Things will be better tomorrow, when the games are on the national FOX and ESPN broadcasts.

What Happened on Lost Last Night?

I totally missed Lost last night. My wife was watching teh season finale of Amazing Race, and I took it for granted that TiVo would record Lost for me. I completely forgot that the two shows would overlap. Aaargh! Luckily, ABC.com is streaming complete episodes right now on abc.com, and I plan on catching up tonight. Just go here. They also are streaming episodes of Desperate Housewives and Alias. Season finale of Lost is next week!

Buzz: The Da Vinci Code Movie Stinks!

The DaVinci Code premiered yesterday at the Cannes film festival (how do you pronounce that again?), and the word on the scene is that the reaction from the crowd was less than favorable. And, while this movie is supposed to be a Hollywood blockbuster, and not necessarily a work of high art, it surprises me that Ron Howard was unable to capture the suspense and drama of Dan Brown's novel. After all, when I orginally read the book, I often felt as though I was reading a screenplay. The book seemed made to be turned into a film. I'm still curious, as I'm sure many, many people are to see the film, but the panning of the movie at Cannes will undoubtedly hurt DaVinci's box-office numbers.

More Good Press For Alabama

When I told my friends I was moving to The South, I heard a lot of jokes about rednecks and whatnot. There is a perception that there is a lot of deep-rooted racism in this region, and 50 years after the civil rights movement, this perception about the South continues to be pervasive.

The irony of this generalization is that I have more minority neighbors now in Greensboro than I ever did on highly-segregated Long Island. In fact, a study was done that found Long Island was the most segregated suburb in the United States.

As a region, the South has an uphill battle when it comes to erasing perceptions about Southerners. And now there is a politician in Alabama whose political views won't help matters at all. Larry Darby is the Democratic candidate for the position of Alabama Attorney General, and among other controversial viewpoints, he denies the Holocaust occurred. "There was no systematic extermination of Jews. There's no evidence of that at all." said Darby.

He spoke this past weekend in New Jersey for National Vanguard, an organization that claims the United states can become "a clean, orderly, progressive, safe, and incomparably richer and more beautiful nation if it becomes a proud White nation again." Darby says that "It's time to stop pushing down the white man. We've been discriminated against too long,"

There are racists and bigots everywhere, but the most startling angle to this story comes from a recent poll about the race for Alabama Attorney General. The survey showed 21 percent favored Tyson to 12 percent for Darby, but 68 percent of respondents were undecided. It's quite sad to me that nearly 80 percent of those polled are considering voting for Darby, considering the statements he's made.

All of this reminded me of Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd's song battle "Southern Man" and "Sweet Home Alabama," both of which focused on the generalization that Southerners are racist. Thrashers Wheat, a Neil Young fansite, does an excellent job of chronicling the history of the two songs here.

Neil Young (from Southern Man):

Southern man
better keep your head
Don't forget
what your good book said
Southern change
gonna come at last
Now your crosses
are burning fast

Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet Home Alabama):

In Birmingham they love the governor
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth

7up Claims To Be All Natural? Dubious, At Best.

7up has launched a new ad campaign, claiming that 7up is now made up of only all natural ingredients. Five simple, 100% natural ingredients to be precise. An all natural soda? Could this be true, or is it a lie? If someone were to ask me what the five ingredients of an all natural lemon-lime soda would be, I would guess: water, sugar, lemon juice, lime juice and perhaps salt, only because I know that salt is sometimes used in beverages where you wouldn't expect them.

Well, let's take a look at the five ingredients in 100% natural 7up:

Filtered carbonated water
High fructose corn syrup
Natural citric acid
Natural flavors
Natural potassium citrate


Let's take these one at a time. What's the difference between sugar and high fructose corn syrup? Well, for one thing, corn syrup is a lot cheaper, partially because corn is subsidized by the U.S. government. Many people will tell you that a soda made with sugar tastes better than with corn syrup. If you go to the Dr. Pepper museum in Waco, TX you can taste Dr. Pepper made with real cane sugar. Coca-Cola imported from Mexico in glass bottle has become popular because the soda is made with cane sugar there. But back to the original question at hand: Is corn syrup "100% natural"? This is how corn syrup is made:

Stainless steel steep tanks hold about 3,000 bushels of corn for 30 to 40 hours of soaking in 50 degree water. During steeping, the kernels absorb water, increasing their moisture levels from 15 percent to 45 percent and more than doubling in size... As the corn swells and softens, the mild acidity of the steepwater begins to loosen the gluten bonds within the corn and release the starch... starch, suspended in water, is liquified in the presence of acid and/or enzymes which convert the starch to a low-dextrose solution. Treatment with another enzyme continues the conversion process. Throughout the process, refiners can halt acid or enzyme actions at key points to produce the right mixture of sugars like dextrose and maltose for syrups to meet different needs. In some syrups, the conversion of starch to sugars is halted at an early stage to produce low-to-medium sweetness syrups. In others, the conversion is allowed to proceed until the syrup is nearly all dextrose. The syrup is refined in filters, centrifuges and ion-exchange columns, and excess water is evaporated. Syrups are sold directly, crystallized into pure dextrose, or processed further to create high fructose corn syrup. For more, check out this link.

Enzymes, acids, maltodextrin, and dextrose? Doesn't exactly sound 100% natural to me, but I'm not a lawyer. I'm sure 7up paid a lot of lawyers very well to cover their asses on that. But here's another lovely fact about high fructose corn syrup, according to Wikipedia:

A University of Minnesota study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2000 found that fructose "produced significantly higher fasting plasma triacylglycerol values than did the glucose diet in men". The researchers, led by J.P Bantle, concluded that "If plasma triacylglycerols are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, then diets high in fructose may be undesirable.

Let's move on to natural citric acid. This is a preservative found in citrus fruits, and 7up seems pretty clean on this ingredient.

As for "natural flavors," well things are a little dicey here. According to wikipedia

According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, a natural flavor is "the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or any other edible portions of a plant, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose primary function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional."

An excerpt from the excellent book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser:

For the past twenty years food processors have tried hard to use only "natural flavors" in their products. According to the FDA, these must be derived entirely from natural sources -- from herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, yeast, bark, roots, and so forth. Consumers prefer to see natural flavors on a label, out of a belief that they are more healthful. Distinctions between artificial and natural flavors can be arbitrary and somewhat absurd, based more on how the flavor has been made than on what it actually contains.

"A natural flavor," says Terry Acree, a professor of food science at Cornell University, "is a flavor that's been derived with an out-of-date technology." Natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods. Amyl acetate, for example, provides the dominant note of banana flavor. When it is distilled from bananas with a solvent, amyl acetate is a natural flavor. When it is produced by mixing vinegar with amyl alcohol and adding sulfuric acid as a catalyst, amyl acetate is an artificial flavor. Either way it smells and tastes the same. "Natural flavor" is now listed among the ingredients of everything from Health Valley Blueberry Granola Bars to Taco Bell Hot Taco Sauce.

A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one. When almond flavor -- benzaldehyde -- is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived by mixing oil of clove and amyl acetate does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price. Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature.

So what exactly is "natural potassium citrate"? Again we look to wikipedia:

A white, slightly hygroscopic crystalline powder. It is odourless with a saline taste. Uses: Potassium Citrate is rapidly absorbed when given by mouth and is excreted in the urine as the Carbonate. It is... [as a medication] chiefly employed as a non-irritating diuretic (any drug that elevates the rate of bodily urine excretion).

???!!!????! Why is this in the soda?? According to many sites, potassium citrate is sold as a supplement to help those with high blood pressure, and this legal document lists potassium citrate as a "flavor enhancer" and says it is used most often for pH control. It also says that potassium citrate is "synthesized from a concentrated solution of citric acid and potassium hydrogen carbonate." Okey dokey.

So, how do the ingredients in 7up compare to the ingredients in Sprite?

Carbonated water
High fructose corn syrup and/or sucrose
Natural flavors
Citric acid
Sodium citrate
Sodium benzoate

Sucrose is common table sugar. I'd like to give Sprite a bunch of credit for this, but the phrase "and/or" makes it seem like they are not even sure if it is actually in the product. So we'll move on to the other two ingredients that are different from 7up:

Sodium citrate is the sodium salt of citric acid, has a sour and salty taste (sour salt), and is used as a food additive as a preservative and to give drinks a sour taste.

Sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of benzoic acid and is produced by reacting sodium hydroxide with benzoic acid.

It doesn't really seem like 7up is all that different from Sprite, or any other sodas, now does it?

Here's a tip - if you're concerned about only drinking all-natural beverages, choose water, coffee, tea, or juice. If you're picking a mass-market, commercially produced soda for it's health benefits, you've got some problems. I've got nothing against soda - I love a good Dr. Pepper - but the point here is to not be misled by some ridiculous ad campaign. 7up is as high-fructose-corn-syrup-laden as it's been for years.

E-Mail Forward Of The Day - Cool Illusion

Most e-mail forwards are decidedly uninteresting, at best. I got one today that was actually pretty cool, so I'm posting it here. Feel free to start your own email chain by sending people to this post!










If you watch the above images from your seat in front
of the computer, Mr.Angry is on the left, and Mrs.Calm
is on the right.

Get up from your seat, and move back 12 feet,
and PRESTO! they switch places!

Eating in New York

What a great day in New York! I'm attending a three day seminar in the Big Apple and made the most of my time there. This morning I got up early so I could grab some coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. Ahhhh, sweet nectar of the gods...

For lunch I dropped into a deli and had a great sandwich. Feel free to recreate the sandwich at home. They key is getting high-quality cold cuts, and a true bagel. Nothing from your local supermarket, Panera Bread, or Breugers, okay?

Here's the sam'ich:

Black Forest Ham
Brie Cheese
Thin-sliced green apple
Honey Mustard
Bagel

Ahhhh... delicious!

For dinner I had a terrible sandwich and soft pretzel at Shea Stadium, but the Mets won, so the great day was complete!

Mookie Of The Month - May 2006

Mookie turned two years old on April 30!

A Night To Remember

If the season goes as it seems to be going, with the Mets finally capturing the NL East flag, last night's game may be looked at as the defining moment of the season. The Mets went into Atlanta and decisively defeated the Braves. It wasn't the first time the Mets have won at Turner Field, but it was one of the few times, and was sort of step-on-their-neck-ish in that no matter what happens the rest of this weekend, the Mets will have a healthy lead on the Braves heading home from Atlanta.

It will not be hard for me to remember this game - this game will be ingrained in my memory - even though I was unable to watch a single inning. I did hear the last nine outs of the game on Gameday Audio, but I was not able to watch the telecast even though it was on SNY, I have SNY, and I was home last night. No, I was not able to watch the game, but I will remember this game, as it happened on the night that I fell from the attic, through the ceiling, of my house.






















Early Friday morning I was awoken by a strange sound. My wife and I figured out it was coming from the attic - it sounded like a small animal, like a mouse. So Friday evening, after work, we went up through the crawl space to investigate - we just wanted to see if there was any sign of the critter, and then we'd just set a simple trap as long as there didn't seem to be any issues that required a professional. It was our first time up in the attic since buying the house a year ago. I don't have a lot of experience with attics, and my only frame of reference is my mom's old house on Long Island, which could accomodate some storage, as plywood planks were installed so boxes, etc. could be stored up there. I guess I thought all houses had this. Despite my wife's warning that there were very specific places up there where I should be stepping...









I indeed misstepped and came through the sheet rock, creating a very large hole in our ceiling, and causing a tremendous amount of insulation to fall onto the floor and stairs below. Luckily I was able to react quickly enough to hold onto a beam and not break my neck or something, but it was quite a mess.














Lesson learned: listen to your wife, leave home inspections to professionals, and never, ever, miss a Mets game.

Counting Crows Touring With Goo Goo Dolls

This is somewhat of a strange pairing with strange timing. Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows are going on tour this summer, together. Goo Goo Dolls have a new album out, but Counting Crows haven't released any new material since including a few new tracks on their Greatest Hits album back in 2003. In a March 7th posting on his website, Adam Duritz says only that the band "may even see the inside of a studio soon," so it doesn't sound like any album is quickly forthcoming.

Pearl Jam Video

A video of an in-studio performance of "Life Wasted" from Pearl Jam's new album can be viewed by visiting the Amazon.com homepage. The new album comes out May 1, and the dates and venues for their tour can be viewed here.

Why is the sky blue?

"Solar radiation sunlight is scattered across the atmosphere by a process called diffused sky radiation. The sky is blue because much more short-wave radiation -- blue light -- is scattered across the sky than long-wave radiation -- red light."

Other facts you should know by now if you've graduated high school.

USA Today: Use Less Gas, and Prices Will Crash

According to a recent article in USAToday, If we REALLY want to see gas prices go down, there is a solution that is surprisingly simple: drive less.

According to the Oil Price Information Service, cutting back on gas consumption just a little bit could cause gasoline prices to drop dramatically. "If everyone decided to drive 3% less the next 30 days, prices would crash," says Tom Kloza, senior analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

Unfortunately, history shows that Americans have always just adjusted to higher prices at the pump and then resume driving the way they always had.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-04-19-gas-use-usat_x.htm

Find Cheap Gas Where You Live!

Just enter your zip code and this site tells you which gas stations on your area have the cheapest prices (and the most expensive too). Supposedly it's updated every evening:


http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=N! etx

Mookie Of The Month - April 2006

The Return Of Guns N' Roses

Last month, Chuck Klosterman wrote an April Fools review of the long-awaited CD from Guns N Roses, Chinese Democracy in SPIN magazine. The article was a complete fabrication, and the album has yet to be released, but the real band, led by Axl Rose, has scheduled two real gigs at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom on May 16 and 17. Tickets for the May shows cost $63 and go on sale April 21 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster locations. Call 631-888-9000 or go to www.ticketmaster.com.

Things To Do When You're Bored, #176

Practice makes perfect!

What To Do If The Avian Pandemic Flu Hits?

The government has created a website to help individuals be prepared in case the Avian Flu becomes a pandemic:

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/tab3.html

Based on what I saw on the Oprah Winfrey show about a month ago, the American economy, and infrastructure in general, would go completely into the toilet if this happens.

Here's some additional links:

Center for Disease Control Avian Influenza site

WGAL Bird Flu site

USA Today questions and answers about the bird flu

Awesone Pork Kabob Recipe

It was a bit cold this morning while we did some yard work, but it turned out to be a nice warm, clear day. A perfect day for grilling. I found this recipe for pork kabobs on allrecipes.com, and it turned out to be a great one. Real tasty with a nice kick to it! Goes great with some couscous and corn on the side...

INGREDIENTS:

• marinade:
  
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
  

• kabobs:
• 1 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 portobello mushrooms, cut into quarters
• 1 large red onion, cut into 12 wedges
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 12 bite-size chunks fresh pineapple
  

• sauce:
  
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can low-sodium beef broth
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 
  

DIRECTIONS: In a shallow dish, mix together 3 tablespoons soy sauce, olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Add pork cubes, and turn to coat evenly with marinade. Cover, and refrigerate for 3 hours.In a saucepan, combine beef broth, cornstarch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, 2 cloves minced garlic, and ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Thread pork cubes onto skewers, alternating with mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, and pineapple chunks.Cook on grill for 15 minutes, or until meat is cooked through. Turn skewers, and baste often with sauce during cooking.

Ahhhh...

My Review: Inside Man

I wasn't feeling too well on Saturday when we went to the movies, but I really enjoyed what we saw. Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster is a much better movie than I expected. The acting is as good as the script, which is a nice change of pace for a cop movie. It was especially cool watching a movie set in New York City in New York City, especially because some of the jokes in the movie were jokes that just couldn't have gone over as well in other cities. In all, a memorable that I recommend, even in New York where the ticket prices have reached $10.75.

Grade: B+

I wasn't feeling too hot that day so I slept through the previews, but fortunately the trailer I had wanted to see can be seen on the Internet (they have the Internet on computers now) by clicking here.

Baseball Obsessed

I'm having trouble coming up to stuff to write about in this speace lately, mostly because I have baseball fever and can't think of anything besides the Mets. I've been posting quite a bit over at my other blog, www.tranplantedmetsfan.com, though, so if that subject interests you please stop by!

We visited New York this past weekend and it was awesoem to see our friends and family for the weekend, as well as to indulge in our favorite New York treats - H&H Bagels, Angelo's Pizza, and the New York mass transit system. It's good to be back in N.C. though, as today my friends back home are suffering through a snowstorm and it's warm enough down here to walk around outside without a jacket.

I was outside a little bit more than usual this morning, as I had to clean up after Mookie. Mookie killed her first rabbit this morning. Michelle found a baby rabbit sleeping under our deck, and then Mookie found it. Needless to say, the two animals did not become friends, and I had to go home and dispose of the rabbit's body. So, Easter will be cancelled this year at the Mookie household, as it turns out Mookie killed The Easter Bunny's kid.

Dogs will be dogs, I guess.