Saturday, January 22, 2005

Van-a-Month giveaway?

As much as I love watching Regis and Kelly (well, their first segment at least; I get a certain perverse pleasure out of watching Regis interview someone he's clearly never heard of, and I am almost certain the man never does any kind of research or prep), the rules for the Van-A-Day Giveaway contest seem unusually difficult. So, to give people at least a fighting chance, here are the five clues you need to enter:
  1. Rapids
  2. Dude
  3. Sharks
  4. Cliff
  5. Snowboard
Go to the Van-A-Day Entry website, enter to win, and if you win a van because of my clues, I should at least get to borrow it for a weekend or something.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Episode 4F22 lives again!

So something happened tonight that hasn't happened in three years, and I wasn't sure would happen again: my local station played the episode of The Simpsons where Homer has to go to the World Trade Center to get his car back after Barney abandons it there. Maybe this is a sign of healing, or a realization that attempts to "forget" the WTC by wiping it from our collective memories does no real good, but regardless, I was glad to see it again, and had forgotten what a funny episode it was.

By the way, this link to TVTome describes the episode and some of the editing it apparently underwent before being shown again in certain markets. The one they showed last night included all the WTC shots, but I was cooking dinner during the point where the guy in Tower 1 calls all the people in Tower 2 "jerks," so I am not sure if it was left in. They left in the Betty Ford Clinic musical number ("I'm Checking In") and references to the CHUDs, and that was enough for me.

Pokah!

Man, do I love some poker. Played again this past weekend after our successful brunch, and played well: good cards, some good bluffs, a couple successful all-ins. Nice.

So, to share some of the fun, here are some fun poker links:
  • Is anybody else trying to win a seat in the World Series of Poker? I play "Mr. Vegas" every time, thinking that one of these days it will work, but I have a feeling my chances are pretty slim regardless.
  • The All In Poker Fantasy Camp sounds like a GREAT vacation and learning experience...if you would like to sponsor me, I will gladly wear your hat and t-shirt!
  • Speaking of all in, the new poker magazine All In released its first issue last month, and looks like a lot of fun. We got a gift subscription for some departing friends in our poker group; we hope they enjoy it!
I realize that the first step is admitting you have a problem, but I'm winning...

Saturday, January 15, 2005

No self-respecting Southerner uses instant grits...

Mmmm...we're cooking part of a brunch tomorrow, and I decided to add a nice Southern touch by making grits. The only problem? Although I lived in the Deep South for many years, and enjoyed grits many times, I've never actually made them.

But thankfully, Alton Brown saved me yet again. I watched Good Eats the other night, and then tried his cheese grits recipe this morning as a "test run." Result? Quite easy, very tasty, and I think I actually prefer them plain rather than with the cheese (although they were very good with the cheddar as well).

My brunch boast is safe. Thanks again, Alton!

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Shameless self-promotion

I just completed a massive update to my brendonland website, including pictures of a visit from our friend Kathy, our trip to Aruba, my trip to Bardstown, and our recent vow renewal in Las Vegas.

Obviously, not every picture makes the site, in large part because it's a free Geocities website, and the bandwidth is pretty low. If you want more pictures, email me and I'll send some (digital or physical) your way.