NOVICE - Grilled Cheese Ep. 2

The continuing adventures of Grilled Cheese. . . 

March brought a trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas to see my older son and a visit to my first and favorite grilled cheese specific restaurant -  Hammontree's.  There are 16 sandwiches on the menu - so I really should have invited 13 more of you along.  Instead we were able to sample three of the sandwiches - all of which come highly recommended.

Caleb got the PARMAGEDDON without the mushrooms and on sourdough.  I got the SCARLET CHEDDAR on sourdough.  The 24 month vintage cheddar was incredible.  I can't recommend this highly enough.  The third sandwich is untitled because I just plain forgot to write it down in my excitement over the sandwiches.

In late March and early April we tried a couple other variations at home.

First we tried a very basic grilled cheese with bacon.  That's your basic topping and hard to do wrong.  The next attempt with pulled pork was even better.  The different meats all work quite well in the grilled cheese format.  I don't know that any single meat or combo of meats would be wrong.

Today, April 12th is National Grilled Cheese Day.  We celebrated with a little different take on the traditional sandwich.  The bread is dipped in egg like French Toast and coated with parmesan cheese.  The cheese inside is melted mozzarella.  I added tomato and jalapeno to mine and we dipped them in a vodka tomato sauce.  It's a nice little cheesestick style sandwich.

Still a novice we are just starting to expand horizons.  Nothing really crazy yet.  There are still some more breads and cheeses to judge.  So far the sourdough bread is the clear winner.

NOVICE - Grilled Cheese - Ep. 1

Novice.  Someone new or inexperienced to a situation or subject.

I've always had my little "projects".  In other days they were sweetly called "hobbies".  I've had moments where you might call them obsessions.  My OCD likes to defend them as learning.  I've learned about whiskey and I've spent a year sampling different cheeseburgers.  Part of my method has mostly been documenting the progress through Social Media.  See Instagram or Twitter or Facebook for my counts and countdowns.  What I've done but not documented is the process of my learning.

Last year I had over 500 beers in 11 months.  I learned more about craft beer and breweries than I ever thought I would know in my lifetime.  I started as more of a Beer Novice than I thought I was and border on being a Craft Enthusiast right now.  What I wish I'd done is document the progression.  What were the moments of "ah-ha" and when did I learn new important things.  It's easy to talk about the project at the end but I don't document the process enough.

The goal of this NOVICE project is to pick one or two or twelve things and write short to medium length blogs along the way about my progress.  Some will be just knowledge. Some will be trying new things.  Some will be larger adventures.  I'm limited by time, geography and budget in many cases.  So that's why there will be multiple projects at once.  I'm happy to accept challenges because there might be things I want to know about that I need a push on (thanks to Kim for encouraging me to watch all of "Sons of Anarchy").

GRILLED CHEESE

It's hard to call myself a "novice" regarding the first solid food I ever remember eating.  I've had them for 47 years and yet I've really never put much thought into the sandwich.  It's always just been whatever bread is available (usually white or wheat) and some butter and most of the time just some melted cheddar.  I've added some bacon and tried a couple different cheeses.  But in general it's been something I've not put much thought into.

For this purpose I'm talking about Grilled Cheese or Cheese Toasties.  Two pieces of bread, butter and melted cheese.  That's the base.  I'll get into different toppings and breads and cheeses as I go.  My first sandwich this weekend was my base.  It was a white bread from the bakery at Kroger, sharp cheddar and butter on the griddle.  I like my bread just a little golden brown.

I had tomato soup with the first batch but I am not making that a requirement for the project.  This is the classic for me.  This is the grilled cheese sandwich of my youth.  Melted cheese dripping off the plate.  Every future grilled cheese is measured against this classic.

The grilled cheese as we know it seems to have been around since the 1920s and the invention of sliced bread.  My very short research came up with the addition of tomato soup as a way to get children Vitamin C with their meal of the sandwich.

Next episode - different cheeses and different breads and maybe explore some toppings.

SB

2015 Beer School #1-250

I've had beer before.  I like beer.  I've been drinking beer probably since a young age when my father and his friends would give me a sip of their Michelob while they played poker at our house when I was young.  I graduated to drinking Budweiser and cheap beer like Schaefer's in college.  I was never a beer snob of any sort.

When I lived in California I would sometimes have Anchor Steam and when I moved back to Michigan it would be Bells.  But those were rare moments.  Normally it was the easy picks like Coors or Labatts or Molson Golden.  Mainly I was a liquor guy and beer was just a distraction in public.  Even moving to Texas I adopted Shiner but I wasn't very knowledgable about the product other than I liked the Bock.

I spent 2013 learning and sampling whiskey and 2014 learning and sampling vodka.  Those years taught me lots about what I liked and didn't like in those liquors and gave me more of a palate to discern the differences.  So 2015 it seemed time to do the same to beer.  So I started a journey that I thought would be 200 beers.  That goal came and wend and I'm looking to drink 500 different beers before the end of the year.

Methodology.  I'm only counting bottles or cans I have at home.  That way I slow down and really look at the product and take my time to read up on each beer.  I still drink at the bars and restaurants but I'm using those venues as a way to sample product I might want to purchase or revisit beers that I really like.  On June 30th I reached the halfway point and here are a few observations.

I've come a long way since that Shiner - Cheer on January 1st.  I feel like such a beer novice looking back on the first few weeks.  I was all over the board without any idea what I was drinking.  I'm looking over a list and these are some unofficial stats.

Beers By Style

1.  IPA
2.  Pale Ale
3.  Wheat
4.  Amber Ale
5.  Lager

I think this is influenced by the sheer numbers of different IPA's out there now.  It's definitely a beer style of the day.  And six months ago I wouldn't have necessarily known the difference between one style or another.  But now I can smell and taste and most likely tell you the kind of beer I'm drinking.

That said, what really excites me is the hybrids that are happening out there.  Not content to just make an IPA - there are brewers pushing the envelope and mixing different types and creating beers like the red or black IPAs that have really interested me.

Beers By Brewery

1.  Ballast Point
2.  Rahr
3.  Samuel Adams
4.  New Belgium
5.  Green Flash

This is hard because some great breweries just don't have many beers.  But what I've found is that once you find a brewery you like, it's usually a good idea to trust their other beers.  The list is initially heavy on beers from Texas and California.  Part of it is the availability of the beers in this area but also the two states are home to some great beers.  As a region, there are some great beers to come from the Midwest and Northeast.  Michigan and Wisconsin and Vermont have become areas of the country I've come to trust.

Let's get down to it.  Here's a ranking of my Top Ten Beers out of the first half.

10.  Kona Brewery - Big Wave Golden Ale
9.  Sierra Nevada - 2015 Beer Camp
8.  Magic Hat - #9 Pale Ale
7.  Breckenridge - OPhelia Hoppy Wheat
6.  Dogfish Head - Aprihop
5.  Founders - All Day IPA.  I had this one back on January 13th.  This Michigan IPA was the first time I really discovered that I loved IPAs.  It had a light fruity taste that I didn't expect from an IPA.  And I discovered that this Grand Rapids, Michigan brewery makes some incredible beers.

4.  Green Flash - Soul Style IPA.  On April 20th I discovered this favorite from San Diego, California.  There's a citrus taste to this that takes much of the hoppy taste off.  I could see this being "my beer" for a long time.

3.  Revolver - Blood & Honey.  I had this beer for the first time last Summer.  It was a favorite but I feel like I'm only learning why I like different beers.  I made sure this was one of my first - January 2, 2015.  This wheat ale from Granbury, Texas has great color and flavor.  I wouldn't have even known before that it was a wheat.  The beer smells wonderful and the blood orange just smooths out the taste.

2.  Community - Mosaic IPA.  Dallas, Texas represents.  Why did I even wait until May 25th to have this?  Smooth taste, great color.  It's not a beer to hide the hops.  There's a bitterness that I've learned to love.  I wouldn't have liked this beer six months ago.  But here's how I've changed - my tastes have evolved to love a little bit of bitter hops.  This is a perfect combination and one I'll have for a long time.

1.  Ballast Point - Grapefruit Sculpin.  I'm not alone in loving this beer.  In fact, almost every beer drinking that I've met has found that they love this beer.  It's one of those "I don't like IPAs but . . . " beers.  Mostly it's the perfect blend of the grapefruit with the IPA.  This isn't a fruit beer - the citrus just takes the edge off the bitterness.  This is a beer that will sneak up on you but one that you can drink all day too.

There are still a few that I've had and love but haven't made the list because I haven't had them at home yet.  Leading the list of favorites are the Green Flash / Peticolas Collaboration IPA and Bell's Oberon.   I'm learning more with each beer I've tried.  And the best part is being able to talk beer intelligently with people.  I've found so many more people who love their beer than when I was doing whiskey.  Keep your recommendations coming - I write them all down and I've found some awesome beers through it.   I can't wait to see what #215-500 bring.

Shawn

2014 Forceys

THE FORCEYS (Town and Country Resort and Convention Center)  This year's 9th Annual Forcey Awards took place on the last night of the 2014 Comic Con.  The new venue was more relaxed and the crew was enthusiastic.  We gathered with four other Strikeforce members represented and the return of Grace's friend who was impressed enough in 2013 to bring a boyfriend to the occasion this year.  We missed Cantankerous Chris this year and hope for his quick return to the fold.  The results were live tweeted to dozens of followers.  For those who somehow missed the overage - without further ado - your 2014 Forcey Award Winners . . . 

BEST MOVIE - Lego Movie.  This was a bit of an upset winner.  Previous years have leaned towards Superhero films (Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The Avengers) and more adult fare (Pan's Labyrinth, Let The Right One In).  For the first time, a truly all ages film won out over Captain America 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

BEST COMIC - Sandman: Overture.  Previous winner Hawkeye made a solid run at a two year run.  But the return of Sandman claimed the top spot over up and comer, Saga.  The old comic reader vote wins out.

BEST MUSIC - St. Vincent - St. Vincent.  Last year, Daft Punk was the runaway winner.  This year there was almost a dead heat.  Beck and Jack White and Queens of the Stone Age split many of the votes.  But the best music of the year came out of the Dallas, Texas and the Polyphonic Spree.  Annie Clark has been around for years but really broke out with this album and was rewarded with a Forcey.

BEST OF TV - True Detective.  With multiple past winners returning including The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, this category was taken by the only newcomer.  HBO brought a nontraditional story to air that really caught on.  Harrelson and McConaughey kicked ass as flawed cops.  A repeat of this magic seems unlikely.

BEST OF THE WEB - Netflix.  Only YouTube has won more than second time winner Netflix.  With the addition of quality direct-to-Netflix originals and a steady supply of binge worthy shows, this could be the start of a long run of victories for this voting block.

COOLEST ITEM OF THE YEAR - Legal Weed.  Beating out World Cup soccer, Marvel comics movies and even Pop Dolls it was the growing trend of legalized weed.  Keep the dream alive, fellas.

STRIKEFORCE HALL OF DOOM - the highest honor is also known as "The Kirby".  Last year we inducted a record six new honorees.  This year was a solid crop of 5 inductees.  Each very deserving of the honor.

John Williams. Composer.

Monty Python.  Comic troop.

Prince.  Musician.

Saturday Night Live.  TV show.

Star Trek.  Mega franchise.

Just missing the vote this year and hoping for further consideration - Bill Waterson, Clint Eastwood, Steve Ditko and Thelonious Monk.

THE KINNEY -  Edgar Wright Off of Ant Man.  The film didn't make it out in the wave of Marvel films that it should have and the man that could have balanced the humor and action was sent packing and/or quit.  Either way we wait another year and fear that the potentially fun character might be ruined.

BLAST FROM THE PAST - BEST REISSUE - Bone Artists Edition.  There is no arguing that this Mat Smith book is a modern classic.  Having read it in original issues it's funny to see it already winning as a Best Reissue but deserving.

The Forceys took place late in the drinking evening but there was still plenty of post-awards fun to be had.  Steve provided a nice mix of music to background some great conversation with old friends.

"And if the elevator tries to bring you down / Go crazy.  Punch a higher floor."  Stay hard.

sb

2013 Forceys

THE FORCEYS (EMBASSY SUITES)  This year's 8th Annual Forcey Awards took place on the last night of the 2013 Comic Con.  We gathered with four other Strikeforce members represented and a slightly confused friend of Grace's trying to figure out what was happening.  Cantankerous Chris commented on the weakness of this year's winners and Samsung Steve live tweeted the results to 10s of waiting fans.  Without further ado - your 2013 Forcey Award Winners . . . 

BEST MOVIE - Pacific Rim.  A write-in wins in a landslide.  Django Unchained and Skyfall can't even make a dent into the last minute Summer excitement of Pacific Rim.

BEST COMIC - Hawkeye.  There was a close push from Batman '66 and Superman Family Adventures.  But Hawkeye hit the bullseye and broke the hold that Buffy has had on this category.

BEST MUSIC - Daft Punk - Random Access Memory.  Black Sabbath put up a fight but it couldn't beat the juggernaut of Daft Punk.   The boys gave us the song of the Summer and brought home the Forcey.  Plus, there was a call for this category to lose the "Best CD' title and we'll just go with music, no matter how you consume it.

BEST OF TV - Game of Thrones.  In a sea of great TV shows, votes were all over the board but this one inched out a victory.  We are full of quality shows and I wouldn't have been disappointed no matter who won.  Votes came in for Network, Cable, Pay Cable and Netflix shows.  Making a push was Arrested Development, Justified, The Good Wife and previous winners Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.

BEST OF THE WEB - Netflix / Twitter.  Once again, votes were split amongst all nominees, but these two are worthy winners.  This is the 2nd win for Netflix.  Warner Archives and Comixology were strong in the runnerup status.  Previous three time winner YouTube.com did not even make the final ballot.

COOLEST ITEM OF THE YEAR - Aw Yeah Comics.  Chris tried to deflect this as a BS winner - that it qualifies under "personal" victories.  But he was shouted down, it's cool.  Others getting solid votes included Shout Factory's Scream Factory line, Supreme Court ruling DOMA illegal and Amercian Comic Book Chronicles.

STRIKEFORCE HALL OF DOOM - a record six inductees were added to our roster aka "The Kirby"

Ennio Morricone

James Bond

Jaws

Neil Gaiman

Rankin & Bass

Stephen King

All excellent choices and some that have gone years of coming close and finally got over the hump this year.  This brings the total members of the Hall to 36.  All worthy of their own wing.  Another year just out of the voting . . .  Star Trek, John Williams, Harrison Ford and Steve Ditko.

THE KINNEY - Women's Rights In Texas.  Once again, no clear cut winner and this one pulled in one more vote than many other choices.  Can't say we're proud of this victory in most of Texas.  This even beat out Hurricane Sandy.

BLAST FROM THE PAST - BEST REISSUE - Jaws Blu-ray w/The Shark Is Still Working.  Essentially this Hall of Doom winner got this award based on a most excellent "extra" on the disc.  A doc worthy of a separate purchase if I didn't get it on the disc.  And our first double winner is very important because of the affect it has had on so many of us from that generation.  Bond 50 set and Clint Eastwood 40 Film Collection could not touch the single film of Jaws.

The post-Forcey parties are always legendary.  This year included a great trip to the Hilton bar and after walking through parts of downtown San Diego I've never seen - we settled on some excellent after hours tacos.  Because other than copious amounts of whiskey, nothing really says Forceys like a late night taco.

And with that we cast an eye towards Forceys 2014.

"So lets raise the bar.and our cups the the stars."  Stay hard.

sb

Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (10/27/13)

I got a semi-full blog for you this morning.  I can't promise that next week because there's quite a bit on the plate - Halloween football game for North Texas and another football game for Christian on Friday and Caleb's last regular season game on Saturday.  This week had another well played game by Christian at QB but no defense led to a loss.  Caleb only managed a walk in his game but it was a great comeback win in the last inning.  Today, everyone is heading in a different direction and I'm not sure if I'm headed out or staying in yet - a nap seems in the cards.  But there's still a trip to the gym to be had.  For now, I'm looking into getting Doctor Who tickets to the theater showing of the next episode and listening to some tuneage . . . 

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

DAFT PUNK - ONE MORE TIME.  Before this Summer, was this the Daft Punk song that everyone knew that they didn't know was a Daft Punk song.  But think about the lag time - this was first out in 2000.  And it took 13 years until everyone knew them from "Get Lucky".  I'm a big fan of this still - remember when auto tuned was not a tired style.  How old is this song?  It was featured on an episode of "Daria".  Fun way to begin the day.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . . next time around.

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . .  Bud Adams was the owner of the Houston Oilers who I disowned when he moved them to Tennessee. . .  I never really appreciated Don James because he coached the Washington Huskies team that beat Michigan to win their National Championship . . .  Lage Fosheim was from the little known The Monroes from Norway - they had a couple ska hits in the early 80s.  "Sunday People" was a precursor to the English ska hits of the mid-80s . . . 

QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)

BEST TWINS IN FILMS OF ALL-TIME

10.  CHARLIE and DONALD KAUFMAN (Adaptation)  Nicolas Cage probably doesn't get enough credit for his roles in this film.  

9.  SHARON and SUSAN (The Parent Trap)  It's the greatness of Hayley Mills - not Lindsay Lohan.  Her dual role showed an acting talent beyond that which most modern actors could pull off.

8.  JULIUS and VINCENT (Twins)  I admit that I find this movie funnier than it probably really is.  C'mon - who wouldn't laugh with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as the title characters.

7.  ALEX and CHAD WAGNER (Double Impact)  Van Damme!!!  He'd do it again later in MAXIMUM RISK but this is Jean Claude at his non-acting, butt kicking best.

6.  THE GRADY TWINS (The Shining)  Who's going to be creepier than these two girls?  What they lack in the size of their roles they made up for in "Come play with us, Danny."

5.  NATALIE and NICOLA (Life Is Sweet)  Such an excellent film that more people need to know about.  Claire Skinner and Jane Horrocks do such a good job making sure that they let the story by Mike Leigh flow through their characters.

4.  FRED and GEORGE WEASLEY (Harry Potter franchise).  They had the Marauder's Map that helped Harry out so much.  And their shop is probably the best place to spend an afternoon.

3.  MARTY and JACKIE-O PASCAL (House of Yes)  This is a movie that not too many people have seen.  The acting by Parker Posey is top notch as Jackie-O and I've moved it up the list at least twice since I started writing this because I think it's just so creative.  Josh Hamilton as her brother is a little lost against her acting and that keeps this from making the Top Two.

2.  BEVERLY and ELLIOT MANTLE (Dead Ringers)  Twins played by the creepy Jeremy Irons - rarely has one actor made it seem like the twins are two distinct characters.  Combine that with the fact that the movie's awesome and that he plays twin gynecologists.

1.  LUKE SKYWALKER and PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA (Star Wars franchise).  Twins that are both Jedi and almost share a really hot kiss.  This is the dream twin pairing - that both are hot and kick butt.  

I've only known a handful of twins very well in my life.  I've recently come to be friends with someone who's a parent of twins and I've held back asking a billion questions.  Twins in films have always been a great device.  It works too because of the deep symbolism of twins and the ability of filmmaking to use it to make the connection even deeper.  The worst?  What about Bob and Walt Tenor as conjoined twins in STUCK ON YOU.  I could never even finish the film.  The worst I've never even tried to watch?  JACK AND JILL with Adam Sandler is one that even Sandler fans don't claim.  Just off the list - TWIN DRAGONS, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and those weird twins in THE MATRIX trilogy.

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . ROOM 237 covers all the crazy theories about Kubrick's THE SHINING (hopefully you've watched the film 100 times, like me, before) . . . both seasons of MY CAT FROM HELL are up now - it makes me feel much better about Desmond . . . the first RESIDENT EVIL is on "Watch Now" for your Halloween viewing pleasure . . . 

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#421 - From Hell
#705 - Coneheads
#1525  - Naked Gun 2 1/2:  The Smell of Fear

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -  working on many but updates to come.

SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)

#22     Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

It wasn't going to be hard to pick what Beach Boys album was going to be my favorite.  I just thought at first it might be ranked a little closer to #1.  Most importantly, it includes not just two of my favorite Beach Boys songs but actually two of my favorite songs period.  The same album has the beautiful "God Only Knows" that sums up forever love and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that captures young love as well as it's ever been sung about.  I heard this album when I was young but it took until after college for me to appreciate its place in history.  The instrumentation, the simple lyrics and different styles of music all rolled into one fun album.  There are 13 solid tracks here - it's a rare Beach Boys album that can say that.  Not a track that I'd throw away and I often listen to it start to finish.  Don't sleep on some of the great tunes like "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" (one of Brian's most fascinating songs), "You Still Believe In Me" and "That's Not Me".

"You Still Believe In Me"

"That's Not Me"

"I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"

Previous Rankings

#23 - U2 - Unforgettable Fire (1984)#24 - Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

#25 - Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul (1968)

#26 - Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1975)

#27 - Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY
SEDUCED AND ABANONDED (HBO)  Monday night on HBO has been Doc night.  So what do I make of this "doc" of Alec Baldwin and Ames Toback trying to make an Iraq set romance by raising money at Cannes.  I guess it's a doc by definition but I'm still confused by the trailers.

THE PETE HOLMES SHOW (TBS)  I didn't know who this guy was until it was laid out that he's the voice of the E*Trade baby.  A new show debuting on TBS by the voice of the E*Trade baby - yes, this is why you are TBS, TBS.

TUESDAY
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: WAR OF THE WORLDS (PBS)  I'm hugely fascinated by this radio play.  I've listened to the actual radio play a number of times.  I've read about it and watched other films on it.  I'm not sure I'll discover much new info here but I do like the PBS take on these events - so it's headed to my Tivo.

RIVER MONSTERS: UNHOOKED (ANIMAL)  Not just a normal "River Monsters" episode on the Loch Ness monster but something called an "enhanced episode".  

WEDNESDAY
THE LEAGUE (FXX)  Now that I'm getting closer to being caught up with this series -  it's  time I should be taping these episodes.  I'm still a huge fan of the show - favorite characters Taco and Andre recently.  

THE GETAWAY (ESQUIRE)  Do I get this channel?  I't Ryan Kwanten from "True Blood" doing exciting things, I think.  This week he does LA food joints and spends some time down at the local beaches.

THURSDAY
PARKS AND RECREATION (NBC)  I"m still a little behind this season but I know that the recall vote is coming up soon.  And as a bonus - tomorrow you can hit up Anziz Ansari's new special "Buried Alive" on Netflix.  That's something you can't pick up at Rent-A-Swag.

IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN (ABC)  Own it or not, there's something special about watching it on TV on Halloween night.  Sorry I'll be working and have to wait until the weekend.

FRIDAY
NFL IN SEASON (DISC)  This is like a mid-season "Hard Knocks" as the producers of that show follow the 49ers and Jags as they headed over to England for a game tonight (Sunday).

HIS GIRL FRIDAY (TCM)  I watched it earlier this Summer but it's hard to get enough of this film.  There are so many intricacies to the humor.  Probably be there watching it again.

SATURDAY
stuck with a bottle of bourbon for the night . . .  PAWN STARS (HIST) has a nice long, mindless marathon all night.  And CELEBRITY GHOST STORIES (LMN) gives you a few episodes.

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (TCM)  If you want to invest some time in an actual good story - here's where you head.  Very dramatic story of a mining town in Wales.  Walter Pidgeon, Roddy McDowall and Maureen O'Hara will rip at your emotions.

SUNDAY
COMIC BOOK MEN (AMC)  The 3rd season feels a little more scripted but it's still fun (with my insider knowledge to that type of store in general).  It's kinda the perfect companion to the evening on AMC - a little zombie, some zombie show talk and then comics.  Kinda like looking into my living room.

AMAZING RACE 23 (CBS)  It's kinda tiring that like previous seasons of "Survivor" they seem to be settling on a set "type" of characters.  The show will benefit from pushing beyond the predictable set of cute girl cheerleader types, male athletes, fighting exes, dating, married couple, African American couple, father-daughter, etc.  That said . . . what is up with my "exes" team this season?  Ugh.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . .  working on some humor for next week.



"I may not always love you
But as long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it."  - Beach Boys

God only knows.  Stay hard.

sb

Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (10/20/13)

Most of the activities for the week happened earlier.  Caleb had baseball on Thursday (a win) and on Saturday morning (a close lose).  Christian played a great game at QB on Thursday night but the defense couldn't hold the other team and it was a 36-21 loss.  So Saturday was mostly free and today doesn't look too bad.  Might head to the aquarium with Caleb today but for sure there's a workout ahead and maybe the Cowboys.  Week ahead looks similar to last.  I'm looking at some menus for lunch ideas and listening to some tuneage . . . 

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

NIRVANA - BREED.  It's 1991 and I've purchased "Nevermind" on CD.  This was the song of the first five that I would usually skip.  I never really appreciated this tune for years.  It was about 6 years later when I'd actually listen to the whole album all the way through that I learned to appreciate many of the "non-singles" on the album.  Today - this and "Polly" are ones that I love to go to - especially live versions on YouTube.

ZERO 7 - THIS WORLD.   With so many great songs on the Simple Things album from 2001, this is on the bottom half of my favorites.  But that's not necessarily a bad thing because the album is full of so many great tunes.  The Mozez vocals are great here.  It's not the quality of the Sia vocals but it's still awesome.  Appreciating it more today - the live versions are a little better even.

J. GEILS - I DO.  This live 1983 hit off the last "real" J. Geils Band album was a cover of a 1960s song by The Marvelows.  I don't know many of their other songs.  But this cover was extraordinary.  It's a break from the horn based rock-funk that was coming out of J Geils at the time.  This throwback to their influences is awesome.  I've forgotten how much I loved this in the Winter of Sophomore year in High School.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . . 

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . .  Stanley Kauffmann was a very interesting film critic.  He was part of the old school reviewers that I like that have a solid background in how films are made . . . Phil Chevron was a guitarist of the very influential Irish punkers - The Pogues.  His work is not given the due it deserves. . .  Tom Foley was a long term but relatively unremarkable Speaker of the House in the early 90s.  Oddly while Speaker he failed to win reelection . . . I loved coach Bum Philips when I was younger as the head coach of the Houston Oilers.  Can you imagine a coach today wearing a cowboy hat while coaching?  Unique and quite the character. . .  I could go on about Lou Scheimer - I've seen him at least four times at Comic Con.  He told some great stories of shows of my youth.  The Filmation pedigree is amazing - He-Man, Isis, Fat Albert, Groovie Goolies, etc.  He's one of the old school guys with amazing stories that will be missed greatly . . . you don't know Ed Lauter's name but you'd recognize his face - a role in Hitchcock's FAMILY PLOT and as an astronaut in "X-Files" episode "Space" among a hundred other appearances . . . Hans Riegel was the owner of Haribo and the son of the man who invented the gummy bear . . . Vixen guitarist, Jan Keuhnemund passed away last week. . . Kumar Pallana may be most famous around here for owning the awesome Cosmic Cafe in Dallas but you know him from the Wes Anderson films - BOTTLE ROCKET (as Kumar), RUSHMORE, ROYAL TENENBAUMS and DARJEELING LIMITED . . . Cal Smith was a fun old-time Country artist singing "Country Bumpkin" and "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking" . . . 

QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)

BEST XM CHANNELS

10. LITHIUM (Ch. 34)  A big dose of 90s alt rock - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Bush, etc.  They don't go as deep into the catalog as I'd like but it's a nice flashback to the era.
9.  HOWARD 100 (Ch.100)  The King of All Media has fallen off the radar by leaving Terrestrial Radio but I find that I miss his more serious interviews with actors and music artists.
8.  WILLIE'S ROADHOUSE (Ch. 56)  It's Country the way I miss real Country.  Just the other day - Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Patsy Cline all in a row.
7.  CLASSIC VINYL (Ch. 26)  You've got the usual Classic Rock artists like Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who.  But they go a bit deeper than the FM Classic Rock channels with some T-Rex, Van Morrison deep tracks and Traffic.
6.  ON BROADWAY (Ch. 28)  Just the perfect blend of classic songs I know from movies and stage shows I love from the 50s, 60s and 70s (Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, Funny Girl, etc) and some new ones for me to learn.  Guilty pleasure.
5.  THE BLEND (Ch.16).  Elton John, Phil Collins, Bryan Adams.  This is a channel that you can go to and usually find a great sing-along song.
4.  THE LOFT (Ch. 30)  I would normally think that The Coffeehouse would be in this spot but The Loft has a much better eclectic mix.  You get Dylan, The Band, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Norah Jones.
3. 80S ON 8 (Ch. 8)  You'll have to fight through some crappy pop hits but for the most part you're going to get the good stuff like Duran Duran, Hall & Oates and Pat Benatar.  It's worth it for every Taylor Dayne you sit through.
2.  BACKSPIN (Ch. 46)  Old school rap that never disappoints.  There are some deep cuts here that bring back some great memories.  Lords Of the Underground, Tribe, 2Pac and more just in one trip to work.  Tune in for the Ed Lover show.
1.  1ST WAVE (Ch. 33)  I would pay for the service just to get this channel.  It's the best songs of the early 80s.  They've yet to play a song I don't know and yet to play a song I don't like.  There are shows hosted by Richard Blade and the Swedish Egil.  Dark Wave on Sunday nights is worth taking a ride in the car - Bauhaus, Joy Division and The Cure.

Been living with XM Radio for a couple weeks including a road trip to Austin.  There are still a few channels I need to sample more - Grateful Dead Radio, Pearl Jam Radio, Sirius XMU and all the Talk channels.  The worst so far?  Other than the Christian channels I don't imagine listening to - HAIR NATION is one that will tire you out in a minute - Kix, Ratt, Skid Row, etc.  and FACTION is supposed to be this station with a mix of X-Games related artists that should be good with multiple genres but just doesn't deliver the right mix of Sublime, Green Day and 2Pac.

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . I love docs and writers - SALINGER combines my loves with a bunch of interviews from people who know the elusive author . . . MOVIE 43 intrigued me from the trailers and then got compared to KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, so I'm on board to check it out . . . AIN'T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: LEVON HELM was a key member of The Band and this doc covers his breakdowns and troubles after the breakup of the band. . . 

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#5   The Birds (pretty high for this Hitchcock flick but still awesome)
#634  Commando
#1292   Blade

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -   I'll spend the rest of the year updating some of the smaller projects I don't get to much.  The CASTLE project.  I caught up just before last season started.  I've been caught up and a vocal person against many of the formulaic episodes last season.  This season has started with some better plots.   I didn't like Becket being in DC but (spoiler alert) - that's been taken care of.  I've even considered reading the tie-in books.  All that being said - the concept of the outsider working with the police department to solve crimes is currently being done much better by ELEMENTARY.  For the first time, I'm watching ELEMENTARY before I watch that week's CASTLE.

SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)

#23     U2 - Unforgettable Fire (1984)

I feel like this 1984 is a largely forgotten album for these Irish boys.  Bringing on Eno as a producer was a great move because it moved them away from being the next big Rock group into being something completely new.  He added a touch that he brought to the Talking Heads - this album really pushed their boundaries.  This is a group that had a style and depth that wasn't happening in 1984.  I was in love with this album from the very first listen.  The subtle beauty of "A Sort of Homecoming" showed that this band had found a soul in the last couple years since "War".  "Pride" is the anthem of the album but "The Unforgettable Fire"  is probably one of my Top Three U2 songs.  This album has remained one of the few albums that demands a listen from beginning to end.  There are ten songs and not a weak moment in the bunch.

A Sort of Homecoming

The Unforgettable Fire

4th Of July

Previous Rankings

#24 - Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

#25 - Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul (1968)

#26 - Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1975)

#27 - Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)

#28 - The Clash - London Calling (1979)

#29 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY
CASTLE (ABC)  Finding it's way into my heart again.  This week has a Doctor Who-like character saying he's a time traveller  back to change history.  

INDEPENDENT LENS: THE WAITING ROOM (PBS)  Doc on the crazy ER room in Oakland where the wait time can be as long as 14 hours.  With Oakland-type injuries too!!!

TUESDAY
AMERICAN DAREDEVIL (HIST)  Spanky Spangler is a stuntman and this doc series follows him training his son to take over for him.  Great name, Spanky.

RAVENSWOOD (ABC FAM)  Dee is a huge fan of PLL but she's even a little skeptical of this spinoff.  It seems to be aimed a little more at the "horror" angle of shows like "Grimm", "Sleepy Hollow" and "Once Upon a Time".  You can tell that they want to aim at "fans of Buffy" too.

WEDNESDAY
ARROW (CW)  Planning on catching up with this current season today.  I rewatched a couple episodes from last season and I'm ready to get onboard with this new season - I found last year that it plays well at 2-3 episodes at a time.

CSI (CBS)  I haven't watched in a few years but Marg Helgenberg returns for the 300th episode.  I never would have guessed in those early seasons that it would  last this long.  It's pretty formulaic but it manages to hook audiences in still - I grew tired of the similar mysteries (looking at you "Castle") but I do see the appeal in general.

THURSDAY
THE HOUSE OF WAX / THE MAD MAGICIAN (TCM)  Two classic Vincent Price horror films to get you in the mood for the holiday.

THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW (NBC)  I like Michael and I like Betsy Brandt from "Breaking Bad" but I watched a few moments of this last week and it's not anything I'd like to watch on a regular basis.

FRIDAY
THE CARRIE DIARIES (CW)  This show is still on?  And the new season is premiering?  I probably should go back and review my initial comments - I might have to eat a shoe or something.

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (TCM)  One of Roger Corman's best combinations of horror and comedy.  Dick Miller is brilliantly cast as the sculptor - I won't give away anything else if you haven't see it before.

SATURDAY
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (TCM)  I make a point to watch this 1935 sequel at least once a year - usually on my disc but I'd watch it here on TCM equally well too.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS (PBS)  Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear perform.

SUNDAY
AMERICAN BLACKOUT (NAT GEO)  This is a show about the real "Revolution".  What if there was a real blackout across the States.  The show combines real life footage from Hurricane Sandy and computer generated effects.  If this was History Channel it would be cheesy, but somehow on Nat Geo it turns out very cool.


WORLD SERIES GAME 4 (FOX)  Or as I am calling it - Anybody But The Cardinals . . . 

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . .  Shasta beverages just don't taste as good as you remember but the ads . . . well, they haven't aged that well either . . . 

This Bank of America commercial seems to take a cue from the beginning of UP! but it's just a fun collection of family portraits and it gets to me . . .

Another Bank of America because Benny is a huge fun doggy . . . 

"If I could you know I would

If I could, I would let it go, this desperation, dislocation

Separation, condemnation, revelation

In temptation, isolation, desolation."  - U2

Wide awake, I'm not sleeping.  Stay hard.

sb