THE NEXT GREAT DEBATE

I read about a little issue involving the Denver Thuggets - I mean Nuggets – and the playoff schedule. Apparently, Game 4 of the Lakers-Nuggets series is scheduled for next Monday. Problem is, last August, WWE scheduled an event for the very same night. The “wrestling” match date was re-confirmed as recently as March, and tickets went on sale a month ago.

Nugget officials are stating the game will be played as scheduled, but nothing has been resolved as to when and if the WWE event will be rescheduled. Vince McMahon stated that WWE has already sold over 10,000 tickets for the event, and plans on selling out. He added fire to the pot by saying that because the event was scheduled for this time of year, the Nuggets owner didn’t have enough faith that his team would still be playing this late in May. Given the Nuggets's playoff record in recent seasons, plus the fact that The Answer was definately not the answer for team sucess, the outlook on this season wasn't too bright pre-Billups.

My thoughts are: the NBA knew the Pepsi Center was being used that night, and scheduled game 4 regardless; so the Nuggets and the NBA should be scrambling to see if a local college (or high school for that matter) court is available (meaning that no other events are scheduled for next Monday) so they can still hold their game that night.

Your thoughts?

The Creature From The Burrito - Chapter 3

Before I start, I'd like you all to know that I think I've kicked this writer's block thingamajigger. Also, the sauna worked, and I'm back to my old self. So, without further delay, I give you CHAPTER 3.




Chapter 3

Goat turned of the car as they reached their destination. It was nighttime now, so they decided to camp in the parking lot before starting their trek the next day. The forecast for the next few days showed little chance of rain, so they decided to sleep under the stars that night.

As they grabbed their resting sacks, Goat mentioned something about being glad that he didn’t have to pull out his tent tonight. Hairy was cursing under her breath because she had forgotten her shaving gel. Smells was a few yards away trying to get some flatulence out of his system before turning in for the night.

Ernie, though, was paying little attention to everyone else. He thought to himself, How could I just snarff down that burrito like that? I was drawn to that stand as if I had no other choice… A mini-debate was going on in his head as he tried to rationalize with himself why he was so impulsive with getting that burrito. At least he thought he was debating in his head until he looked up and saw that the other three were quietly staring at him while he muttered to himself.

“You had another burrito at the gas station, Ernie?” asked Hairy, “I thought you just got some turkey jerky or something.” Ernie had to think quick, they wouldn’t believe me since the vendor disappeared right after I finished the burrito. “No, no, no, you must have misheard me. My stomach’s not feeling well, and I think it’s from those burritos we ate at lunch,” replied Ernie. “But we didn’t buy those from a street vendor, and I distinctly heard you say something about a mysterious street vendor,” interrupted Smells.

Ernie couldn’t think of anything to counter Smells, so he answered “You guys won’t believe me, but…,” Ernie started, as he recounted his experience with the crazy comfort room, the bodacious burrito, and the vanishing vendor. “That’s impossible,” said Hairy, “I saw you across the street – BY YOURSELF, ALONE, SOLO!”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me, but it really did happen, and it was the best darn burrito I have ever had the pleasure of tasting,” Ernie replied.

“Assuming this really did happen (and we all know what assuming does), how are you feeling now?” questioned Smells. “If there’s anything I know about, it’s upset stomachs and frothiness. I’m worried you might have food poisoning because you look kind of pale.”

“I think I’m okay. I mean, my stomach’s rumbling and all, but it’s not a sick feeling. I can’t really explain it, but it’s kind of like when your stomach’s full of water and you can kind of feel it sloshing around combined with that butterfly feeling you get when you’re nervous. I really do think I’m fine, it’s more that I’m weirded out by the taco guy disappearing and all. I should be good-to-go tomorrow after a night’s sleep in the clear air out here. The Namnama area sure is beautiful and serene.”

Goat replied, “If our trip is ruined by having to go home early simply because of your burrito fetish, I swear I’ll…”

“You wouldn’t do anything to Ernie,” snapped Hairy.

“Of course I wouldn’t do anything, that was simply my lame attempt at lightening the mood,” said Goat with a smirk as he ran over to Smells and put him in a headlock. He quickly released though, as it was still quite apparent that Smells was still digesting lunch from earlier that day.

Updates

For all of you that are fans of my "Creature From the Burrito" saga, I just thought I'd let you know that I am working on the next few chapters. Unfortunately, I (like most writers do at some point) am experiencing a mild case of writer's block. Combine that with some carpal tunnel along with hairy knuckles, and you can see my perdicament.
The Good News:
When I was diagnosted, they informed me that I am one of the lucky ones, as my condition is not terminal. As long as I follow my perscription of Dr. Pepper and spicy foods, I should be able to kick this thing and get back to writing. Apparently, the 23 flavors (thanks Sean)have some sort of reaction with spices which cleanse the brain - sort of like a detox (or so says Dr. Quinn). Anyway, it feels like it's already working, so more chapters should be forthcoming.
The Bad News:
By writing this post, I have used up any creativity I may have gained by going through my detox program. This is a major setback, and I have no idea how long it will take me to regain my now-lost progress.
The Other Bad News:
My detox program has an awefully awkward side affect, as you can see by my picture.

I recently won a chili cook-off contest, and it was my first time ever making chili.

Is Everybody Having A Good Time?

Hello Everyone

Random Photos

Just a few of the things that have been going on lately. Janie eats food now (she had carrots yesterday), Kyra likes to dress up, and Sammy had a blast at the auto expo. I'm not trying to play favorites with Sammy or anything, but I wanted to post the expo pics.

Caramel Apple Upside-down French Toast

I've decided to come out of the pantry, and declare my food hobby. Ever since I was a kid, I remember coming up with food concoctions. By concoctions, I mostly mean milkshakes and sandwiches. For the most part, as far as I remember, my creations were edible. (NOTE: Bologna and sprouts, seasoned with a little ketchup, between two slices of bread does NOT translate into a tasty sandwich.) Nowadays, I would love to come up with an extravagant meal for the family, but am often content to simply whip up something quick and tasty to satisfy me. Good food has always interested me, though, and thanks to the wonders of cable television, I now have access to the Food Network. I shamefully must admit that other than Jazz games, I probably watch food shows the most. I know I just said I’m usually making something quick and easy, but every once-in-a-while I am possessed by the right combination of ingredients, stamina and desire to create a meal. Recently, I watched a show that gave me this recipe for some fancy French toast. I tried it out on my new cast iron skillet I got for Christmas, and it turned out pretty good.

Follow me, now, on my journey to some ultimate French toast:

First, I made a simple caramel sauce (butter, brown sugar, and cream), and added some dried cranberries and pecans.

I then added a layer of sliced apples, and spinkled on some cinnamon and brown sugar.

The apples were then covered with a couple slices of bread soaked in my french toast batter (ingrediants not revealed) and into the oven to bake.

This is what it looked like after it was done baking.

This was the tricky part. I pressed the skillet against a cookie sheet and then had to do a little whoop-dee-doo (a.k.a. flip the pan over), to get the goodness out of the skillet. Just look at that sweetness. It goes great with a ham and cheese omlet. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this magical mystery tour. Until next time. Adieu.

Prophetic Blogger

Those of you that have been with me from the begining may remember that my 2nd entry explained how I would have links to "other" blogs while I was trying to figure out, and I quote, "how in the heck to make my own blog." Well, although I will never claim this to be perfect, I believe I have pretty much figured out the gist of this whole blogging thing.

I realize that some of you may be offended. Let's be honest, though, how many of you have actually used those links from my blog anyway? I believe 94.8% of you would say you've never used my links. The other 4.2% are lying (with 1% left to variance). Though you won't admit it, but once you view this blog, there's no reason to view another. Also, judging by the thousands of comments I get on my posts, it would be a near-full-time job just updating the links list. Half of those are invite-only blogs as well, so if you were to spite me and try to link to another blog, I would likely be leading you on a wild goose chase anyway.

So, I have decided to fulfill my own prophecy. The Other Blogs Less Interesting Than This One section of my blog has now been and forever will be removed.

Here's some pics:

Rickey Henderson

I’m not entirely sure when or how it all started, but it was in the late 80s when I got my first intro to Rickey Henderson. As a youth I was just getting into baseball, both as a player in little league and a fan. My earliest recollection of a World Series was in 1989, when the A’s sweep of the near-by San Fransisco Giants was overshadowed by the earthquake. At the time the A’s were a very good team, with a young nucleus of power hitters Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, and Rickey Henderson had just rejoined the team after a stint with the Yankees. Since Utah had/has no major league team, I naturally latched onto the team that was the best at the time. The A’s were world champions, and they were now my team.
Next on the agenda was to find a favorite player. This part is a little fuzzy to me, but I went to a local store to get a poster. Considering my naivety, my brother was (at the time) a sports’ guru compared to me. My goal was to get a “cool” poster, preferably one sports related, but I was flexible. As I was flipping through the posters, I remember noticing a Karl Malone poster and a Bash Brothers poster of Jose and Mark. Then, another A’s player poster showed up. I’m pretty sure I didn’t know who he was at the time, but if he had a poster, he must be good – Rickey Henderson was his name.
My brother probably informed me that he was a really good player, that he was fast, and inherently skilled at stealing bases. That was enough for me, I was sold.
Over the years, I would collect Rickey’s baseball cards wherever I could. It got to the point that, even though my team was still the A’s, I cheered for whatever team Rickey was on, Toronto, San Diego, New York, Anaheim, Seattle, Boston, Los Angeles, and several return trips to Oakland. I loved learning about Rickey’s accomplishments. My Sunday morning ritual would be: put some Eggo waffles in the toaster, grab the paper, pull out the sports section, and quickly scan to see what Rickey’s year-to-date stats were while meticulously eating my Eggos. You can probably bet my excitement when I found out that Rickey’s minor-league record for stolen bases in a single game happened on my birthday. Even after the lockout almost completely destroyed my passion for MLB, the fact that Rickey was still playing kept me a fan.
Congrats to Rickey for being called to the Hall of Fame.