I'm in love

Paul and I bought new bikes over the weekend. This is my new sweet ride.

And this is Paul's.


It's basically been raining monsoon-style since we brought them home, so I haven't gotten to ride much. I did take mine out the day we bought them though, and it totally revealed how woefully and ridiculously out of shape I actually am. Not a good thing when your house is surrounded by big hills on all sides. I've resolved to ride often though, and belatedly make good on my New Year's resolution to exercise more. My goal is to be able to ride the 5 hilly miles to the Olde Hadley Flea Market in June.

Right now, sadly, I couldn't make it up the first hill at the end of my street. Kind of embarrassing, but I will do better!

I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long

5 years ago today,one of the only stand-up comics I really ever liked passed away. Mitch Hedberg was too young and too cool to die, but ce la vie.



"You should never make cookies untouchable." Agreed!

It stinks that he's gone, and Carlos Mencia still has a TV show.

Cathedral - 1985

The same day I picked up the other owl at the salvy, I also found a copy of "Cathedral" by David Macaulay. His books are gorgeously illustrated guides to mechanics of architecture. I distinctly remember watching this movie version of the book during indoor recess one rainy fourth grade day. It really shows you the huge amount of patience and resources that went into creating these huge structures.

Gothic Architecture is my favorite sort. Gotta love the pointed arches, high ceilings and gargoyles.

Your Friendly Mittelos Bioscience Representative

This season of Lost has been pretty darn amazing. This weeks episode "Ab Aeterno" was particularly cool. It was so exciting to finally learn the origin story of the mysterious Richard Alpert. I wonder if Nestor Carbonell ever thought that he would get his own episode. He really showed his capabilities as an actor too, in a really wonderful way. I was really impressed with his ability to do an accent in transition, as he transformed from19th century Ricardo the Modern day Richard Alpert.



I like to think that this episode is one designed to be a red herring, just like the Season 2 episode "Dave". That episode plants the theory that the Island and all the people on it are delusions of the psychiatric ward alumni, Hurley. "Ab Aeterno" focuses on the theory that everybody on the island is dead and the island is hell. I like to think that it's a little more complicated than all that.

I also love the part at 33:30 when Jacob "baptizes" Richard, because it's basically an homage to this.



Mark Pellegrino is a dunking expert. That's why they hired him to play Jacob.

To celebrate this awesome episode, check out these awesome blank resin statues of the four-toed statue, aka, the devil who guards the island (16:20). Each one can be customized by you to your liking!





Awesome!

Story Time!

I've noticed that there's a village in our service region called "Dingley Dell". I absolutely cannot look at that name without thinking of this:



Maybe I'll pay it a visit. ;)

Victory Bread

I made some beer bread this afternoon. I'm really pleased with how it came out, and the recipe is so so easy! You could really whip this together on the fly, and totally come out looking fancy.

I got the recipe from here. It only takes 3 ingredients, all of which you may already have in your house: Flour, sugar and beer.

Preheat the oven to 350, and grease a 5x9 loaf pan.

Mix 3 cups of flour with 3 Tbsp sugar. Then add 1 bottle of beer and mix well, first with a wooden spoon, then with your hands, until the dough is firm and sticky.

Bake for 50-60 minutes.

I used one of my favorite beers to make this bread: Victory Storm King Stout

This yummy dark beer makes an earthy, sweet bread. I think the heaviness of the stout also made the bread a little richer. We had it still warm from the oven w/ dinner. It was very yummy buttered. I actually also think it would be good with PB&J or a mild swiss cheese.

This recipe is a great way to magically turn your favorite beer into a food!

The Curse of Castle McDuck - 1987

Between the ages of 3 and 9 I could not get enough Ducktales. It had adventure, mishaps with futuristic inventions, magic, and a sweet theme song. Not to mention a whole town made up of dog-people.

Looking back though, this show was like the ultimate epitome of the 80's mindset. Who's the hero? The millionaire who hoards his cash in a gigantic money bin that dominates the landscape of Duckville. When he's not literally swimming in his pile of gold coins, he uses them to take his trendy orphan wards on adventures. This show was all about showcasing the awesomeness of the millionaire lifestyle, and the supreme importance and power of money.

The 80's financial mindset is totally showcased in one of my favorite episodes - "The Curse of Castle McDuck", in which uncle scrooge takes the children to visit his cursed childhood home. I was totally fascinated by the druids featured in this one. They were a little scary, but also very mysterious and cool. I think the primary reason I remember this episode so well though is the glow in the dark dogs.




In the end, the thousand year old land battle between uncle scrooge and the druids is solved with good old fashioned cultural exploitation. Let's put our differences aside and capitalize together on the commercialization of our heritage. Yay!