There are five bakeries within walking distance of my front door. These are my neighborhood’s equivalent of crack houses.
I have never been much of a chip-man. And you can keep your greasy food like chicken wings and pizza. I want the combination of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. I pretty much like anything made with these ingredients. The place closest to my house has the best croissants I have ever had. I have never been to Paris, but these are pretty damn good. Looking into that glass case is like looking into heaven. And hell.
“Hello, my name is Rob and I am hooked on baked goods.
I can see the head-baker-guy coming over to me, cleaning a glass with a towel . . .
“OK buddy, you have enough. Why don’t you go home?”
“Come on, one more scone, half a scone. A cookie, for the road.”
“Sorry, but you have to go, I can not serve you any more.”
I would then be reduced to eating a muffin from Dunkin Donuts, the bakery world’s skid row.
While Congress rallies against internet gambling, and states place astronomical taxes on tobacco, bakeries are left unregulated. Free to fill us up with buttery goodness without having to answer anyone.
While this may be a bit sarcastic there has been a lot of talk in the last few years about how fat we Americans are getting. The movie “Super Size Me” showed what can happen to the human body when it is given nothing but garbage to live on. There was even talk of taxing junk food. All I know is that I am moving in a month and I am pretty sure there are no bakeries that close by. Hopefully, I can kick this monkey off my back.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
Sunday, September 10, 2006
I want my MNF
Football season is once again upon us and there are a few things to keep in mind this year. I am writing this after seeing the Patriots squeak by the Bills this afternoon. If the Pats do not get some receivers, it is going to be a long season.
Most of the changes this year deal with the TV schedules for Sunday and Monday nights. Monday Night Football (da da da daaa) is now on ESPN and the Sunday night game is on NBC. I am already confused. To make matters worse, some games this year will be on the NFL Network. I am not really sure if I get this channel. Does anyone get this channel? Did they just make this up? This is going to be as bad as when NBC changed from channel 4 to channel 7. This happened about 10 years ago and I still cannot figure it out.
I do like ESPN, but I don’t get it on the TV in my bedroom. A typical MNF game is approximately 18 hours long so, I doubt I will be watching many games past the half. Tomorrow, ESPN will actually have a MNF double-header. My friend sums this up best by saying,
“…If you live on the East Coast and can stay up past 1:30am for the end of Raiders-Chargers, you deserve either to receive a prize or to be locked up.”
The thinking behind all of this is to spread the NFL gospel and to allow some flexibility with the MNF games later in the season. That is fine, I just want to know when things are on. Is that too much to ask?
On a different note:
None of you deadbeats are clicking the ads that appear above these posts. No clicky, no money. These ads are legit, I think. I cannot click on them myself, I promised Google and if I make them mad they will make me disappear. They can easily delete any trace of me.
Most of the changes this year deal with the TV schedules for Sunday and Monday nights. Monday Night Football (da da da daaa) is now on ESPN and the Sunday night game is on NBC. I am already confused. To make matters worse, some games this year will be on the NFL Network. I am not really sure if I get this channel. Does anyone get this channel? Did they just make this up? This is going to be as bad as when NBC changed from channel 4 to channel 7. This happened about 10 years ago and I still cannot figure it out.
I do like ESPN, but I don’t get it on the TV in my bedroom. A typical MNF game is approximately 18 hours long so, I doubt I will be watching many games past the half. Tomorrow, ESPN will actually have a MNF double-header. My friend sums this up best by saying,
“…If you live on the East Coast and can stay up past 1:30am for the end of Raiders-Chargers, you deserve either to receive a prize or to be locked up.”
The thinking behind all of this is to spread the NFL gospel and to allow some flexibility with the MNF games later in the season. That is fine, I just want to know when things are on. Is that too much to ask?
On a different note:
None of you deadbeats are clicking the ads that appear above these posts. No clicky, no money. These ads are legit, I think. I cannot click on them myself, I promised Google and if I make them mad they will make me disappear. They can easily delete any trace of me.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Good luck and good luck.
Tuesday marked the first night in which Katie Couric hosted the CBS Evening News. It also marked the first time in which a woman was the lead anchor for a network newscast. According to the Associated Press, the ratings were very good:
"The ratings for her initial broadcast Tuesday were 86 percent above what CBS averaged on the same day last year, according to a preliminary measurement of the nation's 55 biggest markets by Nielsen Media Research"
Of course, this was for show #1. Time will tell how well Ms. Couric will do in the coming months. The reviews were mixed on her debut. I missed the whole thing because I was out doing my fantasy football draft (more on that later.)
I think that ABC, CBS, and NBC are back in the Stone Age with their nightly, thirty-minute newscasts, and many times they are simply used as teasers for shows like "48 Hours" that can devote two hours to a single story. These guys can not be blind to the fact that 24-hour news channels and the internet have hurt ratings for the old-boy network of the nightly news. There are simply so many news outlets now that it is very hard to draw in new viewers. I believe that within ten years, the 6:30 news will go the way of the dinosaur.
The true test for Katie Couric will be during her first "major" story as anchor. Dan Rather was always my go-to guy for breaking news such as the events of 9/11. Will the country put Couric's last 15 years of morning cooking tips and "perkiness" behind and trust her to inform them? Time will tell, but she'd better hurry up, TV and the web are becoming more and more integrated, and she may soon find herself up against hundreds of other nightly newscasts instead of just two. **Cheap shot warning** Well, if ratings get too bad, she could always let the camera up her butt again.... **I told you it was a cheap shot!**
"The ratings for her initial broadcast Tuesday were 86 percent above what CBS averaged on the same day last year, according to a preliminary measurement of the nation's 55 biggest markets by Nielsen Media Research"
Of course, this was for show #1. Time will tell how well Ms. Couric will do in the coming months. The reviews were mixed on her debut. I missed the whole thing because I was out doing my fantasy football draft (more on that later.)
I think that ABC, CBS, and NBC are back in the Stone Age with their nightly, thirty-minute newscasts, and many times they are simply used as teasers for shows like "48 Hours" that can devote two hours to a single story. These guys can not be blind to the fact that 24-hour news channels and the internet have hurt ratings for the old-boy network of the nightly news. There are simply so many news outlets now that it is very hard to draw in new viewers. I believe that within ten years, the 6:30 news will go the way of the dinosaur.
The true test for Katie Couric will be during her first "major" story as anchor. Dan Rather was always my go-to guy for breaking news such as the events of 9/11. Will the country put Couric's last 15 years of morning cooking tips and "perkiness" behind and trust her to inform them? Time will tell, but she'd better hurry up, TV and the web are becoming more and more integrated, and she may soon find herself up against hundreds of other nightly newscasts instead of just two. **Cheap shot warning** Well, if ratings get too bad, she could always let the camera up her butt again.... **I told you it was a cheap shot!**
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Steve Irwin, we hardly knew ye
So the interweb is abuzz with the news that Australian "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin died after being stung by a Sting Ray over the weekend. I am sorry for his family, but this is not all that shocking to me.
I have watched a handful of his cable TV shows over the years and he was very passionate about animals and nature. But he also screwed around with it. Can't you enjoy animals and work to protect the environment without having to play with deadly snakes and wrestle with grizzle bears? That was his schtick. That is how he made a living. That is what killed him.
I also see online that there is video footage of him actually being stung and dying. Do yourself a favor, do not watch this and discourage anyone you know from watching this. Watching a man die is not entertainment and the sites hosting this should be ashamed of themselves.
Steve Irwin was a colorful character that may have taken things a bit too far to get people to hear his message of protecting animals and the enviroment.
I have watched a handful of his cable TV shows over the years and he was very passionate about animals and nature. But he also screwed around with it. Can't you enjoy animals and work to protect the environment without having to play with deadly snakes and wrestle with grizzle bears? That was his schtick. That is how he made a living. That is what killed him.
I also see online that there is video footage of him actually being stung and dying. Do yourself a favor, do not watch this and discourage anyone you know from watching this. Watching a man die is not entertainment and the sites hosting this should be ashamed of themselves.
Steve Irwin was a colorful character that may have taken things a bit too far to get people to hear his message of protecting animals and the enviroment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)