Shane Life

For the past couple hours, I’ve been sitting in front of my computer.

I have a sermon to write for this Sunday. I have work to do for Alli’s art show on Friday and Saturday in Gardner. I have yet to work out today. I have a new blog design that I could code, updates to the church website and A SERMON TO WRITE FOR SUNDAY.

But I’ve been staring at an empty WordPress text box for as long as it would take me to do each of those. Occasionally, I’ll pop over to my Tumblr dashboard and see what’s going on there and I’ve got Tweetie keeping me lathered in tweets. But for the most part, I’ve been sitting here. Staring.

It’s how I tend to get when Alli’s gone. Oh, did I not mention that? Yeah, she’s at dance camp. The one time every year that we’re apart. And I can barely function.

Well, I can function, but I don’t want to. I’d rather just sit here and listen to Glen Hansard.

There are lots of things to write about. I’ve got two really interesting (at least I think so) posts sitting as drafts. I could write about the travesty that is the Big 12 11 6? I could talk about the season finale of Glee (although I did that briefly over on my Tumblr). I could talk about how I went to play with the new Sprint HTC Evo tonight (impressive, but it’s not the iPhone). None of this interests me. Everything is very meh.

Even just writing this out is boring the crap out of me. I know that if I open up Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook, I’ll never stop. So instead, I’ll complain to you, my fine Internet friends. I’ll threaten to move my blog entirely to Tumblr again (the only thing I can’t quite sort out how to do elegantly is archiving all my old WordPress content).

The lesson in all this? Don’t pay any attention to me. I’m just a miserable cur because Alli’s out of town.

The survivors of Oceanic 815 have captured our hearts and minds for the past 6 years. The day after, it’s difficult to assess just how the show’s end will fall into the annals of television history. Some people hated the finale. Others, like me, thought it was fitting and touching.

Cuse and Lindelof created a world that sparked controversy and debate. Was it purgatory? Who were Jacob and the Man in Black, really? OMGWTFPOLARBEAR? They should be commended for such a huge accomplishment. I predict multiple Emmys in the show’s future (too little too late?).

There are people who are indignant about the way the show ended and to them, I say, please remember that it was still just a TV show. It was a special one, but just a TV show. It entertained, made us think, theorize and discuss in a medium where people typically just sit back and enjoy their half-hour nuggets and then go about their lives.

Monday morning, I woke up and I was still thinking about the show and its end. I feel like it paid respect to us as viewers that we have the ability to fill in the blanks. We don’t need everything explicitly spelled out and explained because what’s the fun in that? If Cuselof would have laid out exactly what everything meant, wouldn’t that have been a disservice to the show that meant so many different things to so many different people?

At the heart of the show, it was always about people. It was about relationships and how we are all flawed and how those flaws are really what makes us interesting and beautiful. The mystery of the island provided this fascinating backdrop that made us ask questions and stay engaged. But ultimately, through a combination of flash-forwards, flash-backs, flash-sideways and excellent storytelling and top-notch acting, the characters of the show became real and tangible to us.

The people on the island were all flawed in one way or another. The show lasted as long as it did and succeeded because we saw ourselves in the survivors of Oceanic 815 and their very evident flaws. That’s why I loved the show and the finale.

The fact that I’m still thinking about it more than 24 hours later means one of two things: A) it went way over my head and I’m still trying to sort it out, or B) it was completely awesome.

I’m going with Option B.

The bromance is a stalwart tradition of the sitcom world. Some of the greatest relationships of television were not the Ross & Rachels of history or the Sam & Dianes, but rather the Chandler & Joeys and the Norm & Cliffs. The hilarity of comedy usually hinges upon the hijinks of two or more dudes.

This probably could spiral into a discussion about how there are not nearly enough good girl-girl relationships on primetime TV, but let’s avoid it for now, okay?

These are some of my favorites from recent years, in no particular order:

Chandler and Joey — Friends

Roommates. Best Buds. Hilarious.

J.D. and Turk — Scrubs

The only ones who have a song together. I give you…”Guy Love.”

Andy and Bobby — Cougar Town

A newer bromance…not a shocking one, though, considering Bill Lawrence created both Scrubs and Cougar Town. I’m guessing there’s some sort of bromance in Lawrence’s past.

Michael and Ryan — The Office

This may be a little more one-sided, but it’s pretty funny.

A.C. and Zach — Saved by the Bell

I originally thought this one should be Zach and Screech, but after watching this hilarious fan video, this was more accurate.

Hurley and Sawyer — LOST

And another fan video, and also in honor of the series finale tonight.

Mac and Dennis — It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

These guys would redefine bromance if they weren’t both so narcissistic.

Vince/Turtle/Eric/Drama/Ari — Entourage

Can’t wait for the new season! June!

Bert and Ernie — Sesame Street

Bromance? Or more…you decide.

Kermit and Fozzie — The Muppet Show

The whole bit in The Great Muppet Caper where Kermit and Fozzie are identical twins…so funny.

Troy and Abed — Community

Honestly, this bromance was the one that inspired me to make the list. Community is one of my favorite new shows and the Troy and Abed vignettes at the end of every episode are freaking awesome.

I know that I’m forgetting a lot of bro-love. Can you help me out?

Sometimes, my life is just far too awesome for words.

Sunday night, I was invited by a friend to attend an amazing event at The National Golf Club in Parkville — a 6-course dinner prepared by season six Top Chef contestants Eli Kirshstein and Kevin “Beardy” Gillespie and The National’s Executive Chef, Eric Barkley.

You may remember a few weeks back when I talked about the Top Chef Tour coming to Kansas City. In that post, I said:

[My friend] Eric [who is the Director of Food & Beverage for The National] is actually bringing back Eli and one of my personal favorites, Kevin “BEARDY” Gillespie for a special 6-course event (two by each Top Chef and 2 by Chef Barkley from The National) at their clubhouse in May.

Well, I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest to this amazing event. Alli and I were seated next to the pastry chef and executive chef (and 4-time James Beard Award nominee) of bluestem in Westport, which was really a treat. Not only were we treated to an amazing meal, but we had some great company and got some insight into the cooking side of things from Colby and Megan.

And now, the food…

The first course was prepared by Chef Barkley. It was a walleye served on a bed of sweet corn topped with ramps (wild leeks), morels, black truffles with a white wine foam. There were a lot of things that I just typed that I had never eaten before Sunday night, particularly ramps, which are apparently a very difficult to acquire vegetable (unlike normal leeks). As a lead-off dish, this was bright and interesting, but kind of large. The sweetness of the corn counteracted the acidity of the pickled ramps and the richness of the walleye and black truffles. I liked it a lot.

The second course was prepared by Chef Kirshtein, a scallop served on top of black garlic with Enoki mushrooms. I was really looking forward to having some scallops, but was a little disappointed in this dish. The scallop itself was nicely cooked and the black garlic was delicious, but I couldn’t get into the mushrooms. I want to be adventurous in my eating, but these were a little out there.

This next dish surprised the crap out of me. I did not expect that Chef Kirshtein’s chicken with broccoli gremolata and lily bulb puree would be my favorite course of the night. I have never tasted a chicken that was cooked better. The skin was crispy and the meat of the chicken was rich and tender and in stark contrast to the vinegar-y broccoli gremolata. Another wonderful surprise about this dish was the lily bulb puree. This was a point in the meal where it was extremely helpful to have chefs Garrelts at our table. I learned that lily bulb was actually a fancy name for onion. So basically, it was like a potato puree, only with onions. And it tasted awesome.

The fourth course was our first from Chef Beardy Gillespie, and it was actually a Top Chef challenge winner from last season’s Pigs and Pinot challenge. What was it? It’s difficult to tell from the picture, so let me help: it was a pork terrine with a pickled cherry and a mushroom salad (not like a green salad, but like a chicken salad…it’s that gray stuff on top of the pork terrine slice). I really liked this dish. It wasn’t amazingly appetizing to look at (although it was extremely cleanly plated), but it tasted salty and sweet and balanced. Yum.

Our next dish, from Chef Eric Barkley, had my favorite side item of the night. Served with a wagyu Kansas City (they called it New York…I refuse to do so) strip loin topped with a vidalia onion compote was a completely EPIC gorgonzola bread pudding with bacon. (Okay, so the dish was technically centered around the strip loin, but not for me.) So much awesomeness here. If I described it more, you might become insanely jealous and hunt me down.

The final savory dish was from Chef Beardy and was quite an experience. Now, I’ve had lamb loin before at Perilla in New York. I have not, however, had lamb loin with sweetbread (most mis-named food EVER) fricassee, lemony greens and potato cream. I wasn’t too hip on eating the thymus and pancreas of an animal, but I figured I had to give it a shot. Really weird. The lamb was pretty good too and the pomegranate brown butter that it was served with was quite tasty.

I didn’t actually photograph the 7th bonus course, which was prepared by the Herndon Career Center from Raytown. The dessert plate was a myriad of deliciousness — a Meyer lemon verbena sponge cake, chocolate two ways, homemade orange “pop rocks” and some nitro ice cream in a macadamia nut cone. The cone was the best part, but considering that it was concepted and prepared by high schoolers, I was really impressed.

After the meal, the chefs came out and answered some questions and told stories of their culinary background and their experiences on the show. I’d heard some of Eli’s stories from the Top Chef event from last month, but it was really fun to hear some of Beardy’s stories, since he was my favorite from last season.

I can’t thank my friend Eric enough for inviting me and Alli to attend this event. It was such a great experience to each such delicious food. I know that The National is working on another Top Chef-inspired event in September. Be sure to follow me on Twitter and I’ll be sure that you know about the event if you’re interested. If you love food and you love Top Chef, you really shouldn’t miss these special events.

I know that I’m glad I didn’t miss this one.

This originally appeared as a guest post on Zach and Simon’s Westside Studio blog.

I’ve always loved taking pictures. I actually even won an award for my sports photography in high school for the Blue Valley Northwest yearbook (back before these fancy DSLRs, I shot on film and developed it myself). I’ve done my best to continue to shoot photographs throughout my adult life, but oftentimes the busy day can hinder the ability to get out there and shoot. I got out of the habit of having a camera with me, so even when I’d see stuff that I wanted to photograph, I wouldn’t have anything with me at all.

About a year ago I read about this photographer named Chase Jarvis who was somehow managing to get some crazy shots out of his simple 3-megapixel iPhone camera. I’m not sure if it was him who coined the phrase (Jarvis has since trademarked it and subsequently released a book, iPhone app and website), but he said:

The best camera is the one you have with you.

When I started working for AMC, I began spending the lunch hour walking around downtown Kansas City with my friend Justin and I began to notice some of the really interesting shots that I might be able to get if only I had my camera with me.

So I started bringing it with me everyday. I just got a new DSLR last year, the Canon Rebel T1i, and I have a nice compact sling bag that make it pretty easy for me to carry the camera, a flash and a couple lenses. I found that I was being drawn to the interesting typography and signage of Kansas City. One of the first shots I remember taking was this sign outside the parking garage at 1025 Main Street. First off, I’m a sucker for Clarendon and most slab serif typefaces. I always thought this was such and interesting choice for a parking garage.

Then behind my office, I found this fabulous Union Carbide Building.

I began to realize that I was being really inspired by James Patrick Gibson‘s New Type York. I began to wonder if I’d be able to start a Kansas City-focused type photoblog. After a day or two and some encouragement on Twitter, I found there was enough audience and interest. Plus, there was definitely enough typography to shoot.

So armed with Tumblr and Twitter, I started KCType.com. I haven’t had a lot of time to spend on designing the template or worrying too much about the details, I’ve just been out there shooting in the places where I find myself on a day-to-day basis. I’ve had a couple guest posts from my brother and my friends Ramsey, Phil and Steve, but there is so much interesting typography and signage in this city to shoot that I rarely have trouble posting on a daily basis.

Usually, I’m shooting with one of two lenses: either my Canon fixed 50mm f/1.4 lens (which is freaking amazing) or a 75-300mm zoom lens that I’ve had for about 15 years. One reason I continue to stick with Canon is because I’ve got so much invested in lenses now that it would be silly for me to switch.

If there’s one piece of advice I could give to people wanting to get into photography (even though I’m grossly underqualified to give photography advice), it’s that you should always have a camera with you. You never know when you’ll have the opportunity for a great shot and there is amazing stuff all around us, even in something as simple as typography and signage.

See more of my pictures on Flickr. Also, be sure to check out my KC Type blog.

Once every 3 years or so, my family has this ridiculously excessive tradition. We wake up early on a Saturday and have a donut tasting.

And it is exactly as awesome as it sounds.

However, this is an amazingly un-local thing. The local-est place that we go is Lamar’s, but we also tried Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ Donuts this year. After my devotion

Then, there’s this.

Meesha is organizing a meetup at John’s Space Age Donuts in downtown Overland Park on May 19, the same day that the new Dunkin’ Donuts opens up just down the street. I’ve got some friends who freaked out when Dunkin’ Donuts came to town. After my donut day, I can categorically say that Dunkin’ Donuts is very MEH and they certainly can’t hold a candle to Lamar’s. I’m going to try and make it to John’s on May 19 and give them a try.

It seems like they’re the awesomest. What are your KC suggestions for my family’s next excessive donut day?

I got to check out the Kansas City stop of the Top Chef Tour last Friday.

Eli Kirshtein from Season 6 and Nikki Cascone from Season 4 came into KC and showed off their culinary chops and answered some questions in four sessions outside Cosentino’s Market. The first 15-20 minutes were spent making a quick Scimeca’s Sausage meatball with sauerkraut, aioli and topped with some gala apples.

By themselves, I like very few of the components in this dish. Sauerkraut? EW. Mustard? No thanks. But as a dish, it totally worked. The flavors worked together to create something really simple and tasty.

My favorite part of the event was the Q&A, though. As someone who’s been watching Top Chef since season one (and I’ve talked about it plenty), I was interested in hearing about the show and their experiences. One of the things that cracked me up was Eli and Nikki talking trash on some of the more well-known chefs of the world, particularly Bobby Flay (“Just throw it on the grill with some chipotle in adobo and some cilantro.”).

I was actually really surprised at how open and honest they were, pulling no punches about the contestants they competed with (Eli still hates Robin, it seems) and the challenges they competed in.

It was a really nice event and I have to say thanks to my friend Eric from The National, who got me the tickets. Eric is actually bringing back Eli and one of my personal favorites, Kevin “BEARDY” Gillespie for a special 6-course event (two by each Top Chef and 2 by Chef Barkley from The National) at their clubhouse in May. As amazing as the event sounds, the price tag might be a little out of my range.

For the rest of my pictures, check out my Flickr photoset.

One of the main reasons I was able to get my awesome new job at AMC was my connection with their social media manager extraordinaire, Justin Gardner. Justin and I have become friends over the past couple years and we have now been working together for almost 2 months.

I was so thrilled to be able to watch as he and Trevor Hawkins of MAMMOTH MEDIA worked to premiere their short film, We Will Make You Whole Again on Tuesday night at AMC Mainstreet. The trailer:

For these guys, this has been a labor of love, a film that they’ve been working on for the past two years. Completely shot in Kansas City (with KC actors and an amazing score by KC’s Olympic Size) on a Nikon DSLR camera (a pretty cool feat unto itself).

The movie is really great. They’ve did a terrific job telling a compelling story about 6 strangers that feel disconnected from the world and each other because of things like age, race, sexuality, gender, language and culture, while revealing the common, everyday actions and emotions that unite them all. I was really proud of my friend Justin and his film. For someone to get out there and create something…that’s something to admire. (Not surprising for someone married to an artist who is constantly creating work that requires her whole self.)

Give the trailer a look and become a fan of the film on Facebook. Justin and Trevor are currently prepping the movie to be available for purchase via digital download and are scheduling other screenings in Kansas City. The Facebook page is the best place to find information.

Whether you do it this way or in your own way, art is such an important of education and communities. Please support art in Kansas City or your own community.

Hey everyone. It’s been a while. I’m trying to continue posting over at shanelife.tumblr.com…I can’t seem to find the motivation to write longer posts here these days.

That’s kind of the point here. I’m considering a permanent move over to Tumblr and wanted to do a quick poll as to how you consume my blog. If you can’t see the poll for some reason, a comment will suffice. I’m just trying to get some quick idea as to how people read so I know how best to make the transition.

Thanks a lot for your participation!