The song (that) is stuck in my head.

So – here is a song that is quite catchy. It is by a band named “Peter Bjorn and John” and it is called “Young Folks.” I hear it in my head all (okay – some) of the time . . . especially the whistling part. That is all that I am going to say about it . . . mostly because I am nervous to see if this little Flash mp3 player is going to work . . . keep your whistlers crossed.

As a tiny extra side note – you guys seriously need to work on crossing your whistlers . . . I had a serious meltdown trying to figure out the XML and the configuration of the SWF to make that there player work . . . but take a deep breath and a wave of thanks in the direction of Mister Clunky Robot . . . because he saved the day.

Ant 87

A Book Review?!

I was so excited when a little bird told me that “The Children of Hurin” a new book by J.R.R. Tolkien was out that I ran out and bought it for her dad – who is a moderate to large fan of adventures in Middle Earth. He seemed genuinely surprised and happy at this newfound story to read and then he put it away – he hid it away – possibly never to be seen again – and I got antsy. The story is only 236 pages long – so I figured that he would read it and then I would be able to get my grubby hands on it – I am also quite the fan of stories of hobbits – and whatnot. I waited for a couple of weeks and then – when I couldn’t stand the pressure (from myself), I snuck in to his lair, grabbed it and ran for the train where I knew I would have ample time to zip through the pages – possibly before anyone was the wiser.

The book is edited by Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien, and is the end result of a story that appeared in various forms – most notably in Tolkien’s “The Silmarillion” – another book about Middle Earth (originally published in 1977) that was edited/published by Christopher Tolkien – which incidentally – I haven’t quite gotten around to reading – yet – mostly because I have heard that it is dense and a tough read . . . I mean I enjoy dragons and dwarves – but it has to be – at least – kind of entertaining. History for the sake of history is for stones and pebbles.

To the story!

First off – a warning. Unless you have some crazy condition that forces you to read every single page – I would advise you to skip both the preface and the introduction – because they embody everything that I am afraid “The Simarillon” may be – dry – and boring talk about the various histories of the story. And – seriously – you are going to need your stamina – because the first 15 (fifteen) pages – or so – of the actual story are pretty rough reading as well . . . a lot of he begat him – who – in turn begat this – who was in that battle with which-er-ma-roo . . . and stuff.

Once you get through that opening salvo of gruel . . . the adventure begins in earnest. It is the story of the family of Hurin the leader of the House of Hador in the land of Dor-lomin – don’t get too lost there – I am trying to keep it as simple as possible. Basically – after the “Battle of Unnumbered Tears” (against this big not-so-good-guy, Morgoth – of whom – Sauron (the main bad guy in “The Lord of the Rings”) was only a lieutenant) – which ends poorly – Hurin goes away – and the rest of the book follows the tragic and meandering life of his son Turin. There are elves, dwarves, bands of thieves, damsels in distress and even a dragon (named Glaurung) for good measure.
I enjoyed the book ten times – and really appreciated it re-opening the door to Middle Earth for me . . . and that is pretty much all that I can say. It is so short that if I give away (the part about the robots) then it might ruin (the part where gorillas come in and take all of the babies to the fair to eat candied apples and ride the Ferris wheel) the whole book – and I would never want to do that. One of my favorite parts was the map (all of these books have maps so that I can follow along with the story) and also the genealogical charts of all of the characters – including some that even show up in “The Lord of the Rings.”

I suppose that my next step is going to be reading “The Simarillon” . . . but my brain is going to have to be in the right place for that – a place where I will be able to enjoy “a complex work that explores a wide array of themes inspired by many ancient, medieval, and modern sources.”

Okay – now I have to go and sneak this book back under the pillow of a sleeping giant . . . shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Friday Photo [#24] – A Future to Strive For.

Burgers I've Made [#1]

So – last weekend I made approximately 2 (two) tons of food for somewhere in the area of 40 people. For those of you that are counting – that is roughly 100 (one-hundred) pounds of food per person. Surprisingly – there were some leftovers. I made 2 (two) kinds of salsa, cupcakes (from scratch!) with butter-cream, 3 (three) kinds of burgers and 10 (ten) pounds of brats boiled in Guinness (with some onions).

Today is burger #1 day . . . it is the day of the “Buffalo Blue Cheese burger.”

Okay smarty – here is what you will need.

  • Hamburger
  • Buffalo Wing sauce (make sure to get a good one – mine was questionable – and not hot enough)
  • Blue Cheese Crumbles
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Seriously . . . that is all that was in there.

Okay – all that was supposed to be in there – I ended up having to doctor my batch up a bit due to the Hot Wing sauce being crummy. I wish I could remember what kind it was so that I could steer you away from it – oh well.

Mix everything together – you kind of have to eyeball this to taste – and then throw a teeny tiny patty into a frying pan – so that you can get an idea as to what you have just made. Adjust the mixture accordingly, patty them puppies up and then throw them on the grill.

This was the simplest of the 3 (three) burger mixes that I ended up making – and oddly the one that got eaten the most. I have my personal favorite – but I’m holding that one for last – because that is how I roll.

Oh – and speaking of rolls – I have gotta tell you that the bun is such an important part of the burger . . . so get get some good good bread (rolls/buns), then put a little bit of butter on them and the toast them on the grill. Your burgers will thank you very kindly.

Yes – Your burgers will thank you very very kindly.

Here is a tiny history of “Buffalo Sauce” : The sauce is composed of only five ingredients: cayenne pepper sauce, white vinegar, butter, salt, and garlic [or just a simple mixture of hot sauce and melted butter]. Buffalo wings were first prepared by Teressa Bellissimo at the Anchor Bar in, Buffalo, New York on October 3, 1964. Two other Buffalo bars Duff’s and Rootie’s Pump Room, also both claim to be the originator of the Buffalo Wing. Oh – and – July 29 as “Chicken Wing Day,” in Buffalo. So you just missed that . . . but now you can make your plans for next year. Until then – make some “Buffalo Blue Cheese Burgers” – and eat them.