…I married my best friend.
Happy Anniversary, Alli.
8 Years Ago
10
Monthly Archives: July 2008
A Quiz of Absolutes
For no reason whatsoever, I was reading blogebrity Jason Kottke’s About page and as is often the case when reading Kottke, I was struck with the idea for a post of sorts. Actually, it’s more of a meme of absolutes. The inspired passage went something like this:
I prefer red wine to white, movies to films, jeans to khakis, vanilla to chocolate, Pixar to Dreamworks, the subway to taxis, nonfiction to fiction, and Safari to Firefox.
And it got me thinking…when it comes down to the either/or questions, which do you prefer?
Vanilla or Chocolate? vanilla
Dogs or Cats? dogs
Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi
The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? The Beatles
Microsoft or Apple? Apple
Nike or Adidas? Nike
Coffee or Tea? coffee
Spider-Man or Batman? Batman
Ketchup or Mustard? ketchup
Pen or Pencil? pencil
Soup or Salad? salad
Books or Magazines? magazines
Indiana Jones or James Bond? Indiana Jones
Summer or Winter? winter
New York City or Los Angeles? New York City
Google or Yahoo? Google
CNN or Fox News? CNN
Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune? Jeopardy
Mountains or Beach? mountains
Yoga or Pilates? yoga
Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars
The only rule is that you have to choose one. It may be close or you may not like either, but it’s my quiz…NOT YOURS. Copy and paste your responses on your blog if you are so inclined. Or just do so in the comments. It’s your preference, really.
Pass it around.
Kitchen Confidential
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by Anthony Bourdain
RATING: 8 out of 10
Anthony Bourdain is chef-cool for a lot of reasons. He gets mad respect in the community of chefdom, although many may only recognize him from his excursions on the Travel Channel. The truth is, back in the day, he was a chef at Brassiere Les Halles in New York City, the culmination of a food career that is so degenerate and depraved that it would make some sailors blush.
This middle-class-to-well-off lad “with the French name” has held every job in the kitchen, from dishwasher to line cook all the way up to executive chef and now, “Chef-at-large” (whatever that means). Along the way, mistakes were made, mostly due to excessive cocaine and heroin use, but Bourdain somehow managed to come out alive.
Kitchen Confidential is – at its core – the autobiography of one fantastically interesting character. However, along the way, Bourdain manages to skewer, slice, dice and whatever-other-cooking-euphemism-you-prefer the restaurant business, exposing what has been his experience up to 2000 (when the book was originally published). He pulls no punches (divulging the secret to never order fish on Monday and doesn’t like Emeril all that much) and writes lovingly of the debauched behavior of kitchen staffers (sex, drugs, etc.).
People like Anthony Bourdain are truly amazing. Here is a guy who is well-respected as a chef (although he would admit he can’t hang with the Eric Riperts and the Tom Colicchio) yet manages to tell a story that not only totally compelling, but also brilliantly written. You can hear the sounds (usually curse words in Spanish) in Bourdain’s ears, smells the aromas of his kitchen; it’s written so well that you can almost taste the food.
There was a time in my life where I wanted to be a chef. I think it’s one of the most amazing crafts and that great chefs are truly artists of the highest kind because they have the ability to touch every single one of your senses. After reading Kitchen Confidential, I don’t. What a life these guys lead…
I really liked the book a lot. If you like Bourdain or you watch Top Chef (my favorite reality show) or a lot of Food Network programming, I suggest you pick up the book.
WALL·E
Alli and I went and saw WALL·E last night and I gotta say Pixar has once again put together a masterpiece. The way that they’ve taken the small concept for robot tasked with cleaning up Earth and yet turning it into an unlikely love story of epic proportions is nothing short of magnificent. John Lasseter and Brad Bird and Andrew Stanton and Steve Jobs and everyone at Pixar can once again be proud of their little animation studio.
Every year, I look forward to Pixar’s latest release with great anticipation. With the exception of Cars, I’ve yet to be disappointed. (Even Cars is still better than a lot of the dreck that gets thrown up on screen.) When putting WALL·E into the pantheon of Pixar’s pictures, it falls somewhere above Cars and somewhere behind Finding Nemo and Toy Story.
What sets WALL·E apart is that it is largely a statement film, critical of mindless consumerism and environmental carelessness. (Sound familiar?)
Similarities to Short Circuit and Idiocracy aside, WALL·E is a brilliant and beautiful movie, full of stunning imagery on Earth’s landscape of desolation and isolation as well as the vast expanse of space.
Pixar explores some very adult themes with the movie, but presents them in a way that’s approachable, albeit a little bit obvious. They’re certainly not subtle in their criticism, but I found it interesting to be sitting in front of some kids who immediately were able to recognize, “Look at all that TRASH!”
At its most basic, WALL·E is a love story between two robots. As far-fetched as that may seem, it works on every single level and you walk away with an elated feeling, maybe holding your spouse’s hand a little tighter, but definitely smiling.
Go and check it out.