Finally, A Reason to Ski.

clipped from www.thebarleyblog.com

Bones from Morton’s + Dogs = Endless Happiness

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A visit to Morton’s is not complete without asking the waiter for an extra bone.  I couldn’t come home with just one.  The waiter earned himself a big tip by coming back with four bones.  The dogs have never been happier.

The Best Show On Deep Deep Deep Cable You’re Probably Not Watching: Later… with Jools Holland

Later…with Jool Holland is a show that could not exist in the United States.  The sorry state of music in these the Taints is such that only those music acts shoved down our throats via the Dark Sith Lord known as Top 40 can be shown on TeeVee (see Blackeyed Peas, Miley, Jonas Bros.). 

Not so with Later.  Each episode has an eclectic mix of five or six musical acts playing in a circular “stage”.  And, one by one, each plays a song.  Some get to play a second song and bigger acts may play a third.

But the key here is ECLECTIC.  Just look at some of the acts that played on a single episode:

(10.10.08): Coldplay / The Hold Steady / SIA / Glen Campbell / Amy Lavere / John Mellencamp / Cage The Elephant

Half the acts I’ve never heard of and what the fuck is Glen Campbell doing with Coldplay in 2008??

And then the next week we get:

(17.10.08): Tom Jones / Snow Patrol / Eliza Carthy / Friendly Fires / Camille O'Sullivan / Stephen Stills

Crazy, but awesome.

Here’s a quasi-random sampling:

 

 

If you like to discover new acts or just want to see the acts you’re already a fan of AND (big AND) you have deep, deep, deep cable channel Ovation, you must check out Later…with Jools Holland.

Eating Uptown: State & Allen Lounge

Synopsis	My never-ending quest for gastro-pub nirvana took me to Uptown and the well regarded State & Allen Lounge.
The Food	We ordered two entrees, the fish tacos and the steak and frites. The steak and frites topped with a generous amount of blue cheese was (were??) very good.  But lets be fair.  That’s a dish that’s hard to screw up.  Steak and just about anything is a home run. Steak and bird dong is at least a infield single.  The frites weren’t so much frites as they were bar fries – good, but not frites.  The accompanying mac & cheese -- which the waitress promised was “to die for” (could we stop using that phrase please.  the only food that I know of that is “to die for” is Fogo) -- was good, but I can make better and it isn’t even half as good as the mac & cheese at The Libertine.  In fact this whole dish was not nearly as good as the comparable dish at The Libertine. The fish tacos on the other hand were horrible.  Apparently S & A think that the flavor in fish is some kind of enclave of Chechen rebels that must be smoked out at all cost leaving only a dry rubbery barren schoolhouse in its wake.  I might need to start working a little harder on my metaphors.
What I Liked	The cleavage of the hostess was something you had to see to believe.  The beers on tap were not the usual beers on tap you see at a place like this.  They even had some I had not heard of or tried. The steak & frites were good, but not nearly as good as what you get at The Libertine.
What I Disliked	The fish tacos were terrible. The mac & cheese was average at best.
Conclusion	This is yet another Uptown “gastro-pub” that doesn’t live up to the hype.

C+

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This Week in Steve: 2010 Week 2

I guess it’s not a good omen that I bring back a long forgotten weekly milestone and I can’t even get it out in a prompt and timely manner the second week.  Well I do have a bit of an excuse.  Work has been taking up an unusually large portion of my waking hours the passed two weeks.  So there has been little time for blogging.  Which explains the plethora of YouTube clips I’ve been posting.

I’ll have more on the work I’ve been doing and why I need to rant about it next week (which will probably be written tomorrow).  It' will not be a rant about the work itself, but about how it’s been so hard to find a job recently because I didn’t have this one skill that I now possess.

 

This Week’s Highlights

• The week long after glow of a Cowboys victory.
• My first bike ride of the 2010 – once around the lake.  Good Christ I’m out of shape
• Another beautiful winter league Saturday that ended in a victory.

 

Key Stats

• 2 – The number of points I scored at winter league this week.
• 60 – The age of the guy I scored my first point on. 
• 13 – The number of miles of my first bike ride.

Preparing for the End: Lost a la 24

Or here.

The Onion Talks About Me Again

Final Season Of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever

Live Blogging the NFL Playoffs: Cowboys @ Vikings

Pregame:  This is a very important game.  The Cowboys must win it in order to maintain any hope of going to the Superbowl*.

Pregame:  Can we get Jimmy Carter out of retirement to broker a deal to put an end to the relentless AT&T/Verizon map wars?  Or at least can we get George DeJohn to put Luke Wilson on his detox program?

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Q1 15:00 – Fuck this.  There’s a MonsterQuest marathon on the History Channel.  How exactly is bigfoot history?  And was bigfoot in cahoots with Hitler?

Q1 15:00 Cowboys win the toss!! GAME OVER!!

Q1 13:50 – Cool.  Miles  Austin with the running first down, using MB3 as the decoy.

Q1 13:02 – Roy Williams with his first incompletion.  But to be fair that was uncatchable for any receiver.  I just like to bash.

Q1 12:10 – This time Witten is the decoy for Creighton’s first down.  But I didn’t like seeing Romo point to where Williams needed to go after the huddle.  Yes, more bashing.

Q1 10:50 - [Fumble Recover Williams]  Romo coughs up third down fumble after being very careful with the ball for most of the season.

Q1 9:59 - [SACK by Ware]  Way to go  Dallas defense to get a quick three-and-out after the Romo fumble. 

Q1 9:50 – 8 yards for Jones.  Leonard Davis pulled to the left and just slobberkocked a dude.

Q1 8:11 – Another first down for Jones.  Griffin will have to wait until halftime to find his jock.

Q1 7:40 – Nice 4 yard power run by MB3.  A nice change up to Jones.  Obvious point I know, but I felt like I needed to make it.  Plus not a whole lot has being going on in the first quarter and I just wanted to write a longer item.  So there.

Q1 7:10 – Oh shit!  Fumble recovered by Romo.  Guys, let’s try to hang on to the ball, please.

Q1 6:30 – Oh shit!  Nice recovery by Austin on the tip.

Q1 5:38 – Really???  FG try with a shaky kicker?  Of course he missed.  Another nice drive by Dallas with no points to show.  This has been happening all year.  Will it cost them?  Against Fahvrah, you can’t leave points on the field.

Q1 5:02 – Nice stretch by Rice for the first down.   Also, nice pickup by the Vikings on the blitz.

Q1 4:04 - [TD Rice] What the fuck is Sensabaugh doing?  He’s not even trying to tackle Rice.  And this is why you can’t settle for long field goals (that are missed) when playing the Vikings. [Minn 7  Dal 0]

Q1 4:04 – What is indie movie darling Ellen Page doing in Cisco commercials??

Q1 4:04 – On second look, Sensabaugh had great coverage and I think he thought he had batted the pass away.  There is no recognition on his part that Rice has the ball.

Q1 3:34 – Witten make his first catch for a first down on first down.

Q1 3:16 – Nice MB3 run with him fighting for every one of those six yards.

Q1 2:31 – I had no hope for this play.  Marty B looked lost and confused presnap but caught the pass for the first down.  Aggies!!

Q1 1:57 – Ugh.  Let’s not dip too many times into the very shallow Marty B well.

Q1 1:08 – Is there an more snuggly bankey than Witten on third down?

End of 1st Quarter -  Minnesota 7  Dallas 0

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Q2 14:13 – Wow.  Marty B with another first down.  Ball at the Vikings 9.

Q2 13:32 – WHY???  The Razorback hardly works and wastes a down it seems to me.

Q2 12:49 – SACK by Edwards

Q2 12:14 - [FG Suisham]  Phew.  But you can’t trade FGs for TDs. that wasted Razorback down looms large now.  [Minn 7  Dal 3]

Q2 12:14 – I gotta ask the question, when is DT Pat Williams due and should he be playing when he’s clearly in the fourth trimester.

Q2 12:00 – You can’t let Fahvrah to have that much time.

Q2 9:33 – Dang that Hamlin is firey.  He’s gonna get another fine if he keeps that up.

Q2 8:55 – Barbie can’t get to Fahvrah in time and the Vikings execute the screen perfectly for the first down.  Ugh.

Q2 8:14 – Refs are letting Jenkins play.  His last two defenses could have gone for pass interference.

Q2 7:23 - [TD Rice]  [Minn 14  Dal 3]

Q2 7:18 – WHAT??  We don’t need to get cute with the kick returns.  Let’s holster those until we need them at the end of the game.  Is this Wade waving the white flag that his offense can’t handle the Vikings D?

Q2 7:14 – That looked confusing presnap and it pretty much ended that way.

Q2 6:28 – Fumble #3 by Romo.  The Adams injury may have taken it’s first toll.

Q2 4:44 – Spencer with a nice tackle for a loss.  He looked pissed and that a statement on D needs to be made.

Q2 3:46 - [FG Longwell]  [Minn 17  Dal 3]  I’m losing my live blogging mojo and may start crying soon.

Q2 2:59 – Classic Romo, deftly avoids a sure sack and hits Witten for the first down.

Q2 2:00 – Gerode, snap the fucking ball when the guy is offsides.

Q2 1:45 – Spencer with another run stop for a loss.  He looks fired up to me.  But what do I know.  I’m a spare watching this on his couch in his drawers.

Q2 1:40 – Another run by the Vikings.  Are they content with a 2 TD lead?  Let’s hope this comes back to bite them.

Q2 1:30 – The draw to Taylor is good for a first down.  FUCK!

Q2 1:00 – Sack by Spencer and Barbie Carpenter.

Q2 0:13 – Creighton with the muff.  giggle.

Q2 0:00 – Well that didn’t go well

End of Half  Minnesota 17  Dallas 3

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Your friendly neighborhood halftime sponsor:

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Q3 13:10 – Scandrick gets away with two holds to force a Vikings punt.

Q3 12:55 – I’m not a fan of Newman on punt returns.  He needs to conserve his energy and maybe try to stop Rice for a change.

Q3 12:42 – 17 yard run by Jones.  This is a good start in the second half.

Q3 12:04 – Let’s just keep feeding it to Jones.  And off the field he goes.

Q3 11:30 – Another run, this time MB3, and another first down.  I guess Romo can’t fumble if they’re running the ball.

Q3 10:40 – Great read of the play by Edwards. MB3 dropped for a big loss.  They'll probably pass now.

Q3 10:00 – Another catch by Marty B, but for only 2 yards.

Q3 9:18 – Sack number five of Romo.

Q3 8:54 – You’re fucking kidding me!!!  Another 49 yard miss by Suisham.  This game is over.  The Cowboys can’t get in the endzone and the defense can only hold back the Vikings for so long.

Q3 8:33 – First accepted penalty by Dallas.  Well, so much for reducing your penalties in order to ensure greater success.

Q3 8:00 – Ugh.  Spencer needs to make that tackle.

Q3 5:01 – Ugh.  98 yards to draw to within a touchdown.  And I’ve had way too many Ughs on this live blog.

Q3 4:15 – Ugh.

Q3 2:55 – Sack by Ratlif.  The defense has showed up in the second half.  Now we need to see some offense in the second half.

Q3 2:00 – What the fuck?!?!  Sorry, I was tired of the Ughs.

Q3 1:07 – Ugh!! What the fuck?!?!?!  [INT Leber]  It’s been a fun, but this season is over.  Goodnight everyone!

End of the Third Quarter  Minnesota 17  Dallas 3

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Q4 15:00 I’m going to drown my sorrows in a fine scotch.  If there’s anything worth noting it will be noted.  Otherwise I’ll be off on my first bike ride of the 2010.   mmmmmmmm drunken cycling.

Q4 14:23 [FG Longwell]  [Minn 20 Dal 3]

Q4 10:56 – I wonder what else is on.  Ooooh.  Psychic Kids on A&E.  The Idiocracy continues to creep upon us.

Q4 7:32 - [TD Rice] [Minn 27  Dal 3]

Q4 1:55 - [TD Shancoe] [Minn 34 Dal 3]  I don’t know why anyone should be upset about this touchdown.  If you don’t want to get scored on Dallas, do something about it.

Q4 0:23 – Why was Lost Executive Produce Damon Lindleoff standing next to Brett Favre?

End of Game  Minnesota 34  Dallas 3

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Thanks to both of my readers for your support of these live blogs.  Stay tuned this April when I live blog all 162 games of the 2010 Texas Rangers season.

And if you’re too cheap and selfish to click on one of my Amazon links to support me and my precious dogs, please at least click on this link and donate to the Red Cross Haiti relief, if you haven’t donated already.  I’m looking at you guys Pat and Rush.

 

* A stupid and obvious sports point.

Blu-Ray Review: Terminator Salvation

 

I’ll be back.

Synopsis	A death row inmate from the past is resurrected in the future as an infiltrating terminator.  But his humanity ultimately saves the day.  Oh, and lots of shit blows up good.
What I Liked	CGI Arnold:  Maybe they should make one to replace the California governor.
What I Disliked	Cancer:  The movie starts with a death row inmate, moments away from execution, chatting with a cancer ravaged Helena Bonham Carter.  I guess it’s important we see she’s got the big C so that later, when we see her in the future, we’re blown out of our seats.  And the only reason she’s in the movie at all is so that she can provide.. Exposition:  The movie stops down near the climatic final battle so that HBC can explain to one of our heroes and the popcorn munching hoopleheads in the theater what’s going on and why it’s going on. Helena Bonham Carter:  Seriously, has she ever been in a good movie?  And don’t give me any of that Merchant Ivory/Shakespeare bullshit. Endless action sequences where technologically superior robots are defeated by our heroes.
Conclusion	It’s movies like this that make me want to fly to LA and kick Hollywood in the nutz.  Tedious CGIed up action sequence are strung together by a gossamer like plot.

• 1 breast
• dozens of mechanical beasts
• robot-fu
• redneck-fu

D

King Wally says “meh”

Blu-Ray Review: Adventureland

No one ever wins a giant-ass panda.

Synopsis	Summer in 1987 Pittsburg never looked so much fun. After a family financial crisis, James (Jesse Eisenberg of Zombieland) must get a job at Adventureland where he meets Em, a pre-Twilight Kristen Stewart.  Hilarity and heartache ensue.
What I Liked	Two words:  Husker Du.  Early on, Em pops a tape in her car and it plays my favorite Du song, Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely.  The music over all is very good, focusing mostly on the emerging alt-rock of the mid to late 80s while mocking the MTV songs most 80s nostalgia movies wallow in. Kristen Stewart – she’s real nice to look at. 80’s Nostalgia – I’m not gonna lie to you, I love the 80s.  Of all the decades I’ve experienced, it’s my favorite of the 20th Century. Evoking the motifs of the great 80’s teen movies, particularly The Last American Virgin, The Sure Thing and Secret Admirer.
What I Disliked	Kristen Stewart – I’m not convinced she’s a very good actress.  Her emotional range seems to span having just awakened from a long sleep and having just awaked from a nap.   I also couldn’t quite figure out why her character behaved in the destructive manner she did. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig – These are my two favorite performers on the current cast of SNL.  But for some reason they have to be in every “funny” movie these days.  And every time they show up on the screen I’m immediately taken out the 1987 moment.   Also, they’re just not that funny in this movie.  Although Wiig did deliver my only laugh-out-loud of the film. Ryan Reynolds – why is he in this movie.  Why is he in any movie? Jesse Eisenberg – Nothing against this guy, he does a good job at what he does, but it’s obvious in the two movies I’ve seen of his that the following sentence was spoken in pre-production. “Michael Cera is unavailable at this time”.
Conclusion	An essential element of a teen comedy is that it be funny.  I mean it’s right there in the name of the genre.  In fact, it’s half of the genre’s name.  And while I found myself enjoying the movie, there just weren’t that many laughs.

• 0 breasts
• 0 beasts
• Scrotum-fu
• x-fu
• Acacademy award nomination to Kristin Stewart’s ridged white wife beater tshirt.

A very generous and nostalgic B-

King Wally says check it out

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