Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Movie Clip Wednesday - Best Character Involved In A Non Traditional Gender Profession

That Movie Clip Wednesday dog tormentor, Boxer is too busy planning some kind of sadistic birthday abuse for her cute little 1-pound dog. So the lovely Joanna Cake again is performing the hostess duties she has become so good at doing. This MCW Meme has everyone picking a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme while trying to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. She has decided this week's theme to be - Best Character Involved In A Non Traditional Gender Profession.

Well, there's only one thing I can say about that - stripper/welder.  I guess that's two things.   Until Flashdance dance came along in 1983, I always thought women in construction looked like Rosie the Riveter.  I didn't know they could weld a pipe to the deck, swing from it and then tidy up with a nice, on-stage shower.  That's why I got into the construction field.  Boy, was I misled.  Believe it or not, Gene Simmons was considered for the part of Nick Hurley (Jennifer Beal's love interest in the movie). That would have been creepy.



I have absolutely no idea what movies people will leave over at Joanna's so you might as well go over and check it out. 

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Dim Sum Sunday and Culinary Throwdown - Bacon and Pie

What the hell is he doing?  Bacon and Pie? Well, as you all know (or should know if you pay attention to me at all) is that time for me is a priceless commodity.  This week I had two different challenges thrown at me in the same week, took The Boy down to college and had to deal with earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes.  So, in other words, a normal schedule for me, except for the two cooking challenges - that threw me for a loop. 

On the one hand I have the Dim Sum Sunday Challenge - Pie hosted by Big Shamu over at he Karmic Kitchen.  On the other I have the Culinary Throwdown Challenge - Bacon sponsored by Intuitive Eggplant and hosted this week by Grumpy Granny.  So, you get why I combined the two.  And to further complicate things, I had zucchini in the refrigerator that I didn't want to waste (see where I'm going?). 

I found a recipe at Allrecipe.com for Zucchini Pie.  That takes care of the Dim Sum Sunday Challenge and the zucchini, but no bacon.  I read through the recipe and it was screaming (literally screaming) for some kind of salt - sweet.  I added a half pound of bacon to the Zucchini Pie and viola - Buzz Kill's Zucchini Bacon Pie.

Well that was way to wordy, but it's already there.  So here's what I did.  I started with all of this stuff.

Then I got the bacon going.  Hmmmmmm....bacon.

I sliced the onions and zucchini on my mandolin.  I love this thing.  I took the zucchini chips and cut them in quarters.

I cooked the bacon crispy and chopped it up.  Hmmmmmm....chopped bacon.

Mixed all of the ingredients together (well almost, I forgot the vegetable oil and as you can see - it's sitting right there in front of me) and poured it in to a greased, clay, 12" pie plate.  No crust necessary for this pie.

 I baked it 40 minutes (10 minutes longer than what the recipe called for) and it came out great.

I grilled some boneless pork chops on the old George Foreman grill (there was a hurricane outside at dinner time so no Weber) with a Jack Daniels dry rub. 

Consensus:  This came out really good.  I was afraid of the doneness, but I think it was just right.  The zucchini wasn't soggy and was actually had a little crunch to it, and the center of the pie was moist.  And you got the bacon and onion flavors.  I think the missing vegetable oil would have made it a little moister and less likely to stick to the pie plate.  It didn't stick much though.  The Pudge liked it and he normally isn't a zucchini/eggplant kind of guy.  The Mrs liked it too and pointed out that this was a quiche (son-of-a...).  I have leftovers and am looking forward to seeing how it tastes after a couple of days.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Welcome to Jersey - You Gotta Problem With That?

Well, Irene is almost here and this is the headline in Saturday's local paper. I love our governor.


We've taken in or tied down all of the outdoor projectiles and we're ready to see what this punk-ass storms got. I hope everyone fares well.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Movie Clip Wednesday - Best Love Story

That Movie Clip Wednesday work-a-holic, Boxer is too busy picking blackberries and making cake soup out of them. So the lovely Joanna Cake again is performing the hostess duties she has become so good at doing. This MCW Meme has everyone picking a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme while trying to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. She has decided this week's theme to be - Best Love Story.

I'm a dude - what do I know about love stories. You might say to yourself (or out loud if you want to seem crazy), Buzz, aren't you married? Isn't there a love story there? My answers are yes and yes. But the love story is only interesting (barely) to the Mrs and me. Hence my dilemma in picking a movie about the best love story - BORING. It's only interesting to the people it's about - from the dude perspective.

So instead of going for "best" (because in my world that doesn't exist), I'm going for "quirkiest" because that semi holds my interest. What a build up, huh? Alright, settle down people. I went with an obscure (read independent) little movie from 2002 called Secretary. This is about a woman (fresh out of a mental institution - just the way I like them) who becomes a secretary for a lawyer. The sado-masochistic relationship that these two have is entertaining, creepy and most of all - interesting. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays the secretary and James Spader plays the lawyer (but I'm not sure he knows he's doing a movie). Gwyneth Paltrow was originally cast in the role of Lee Holloway (secretary). I wouldn't have mind seeing that. Here's the trailer because it's the only PG clip I could find.



A little too over-the-top? I think this movie may be one of my better selections for Miss Joanna. Now, put your hands on the desk... Did I say you could leave a comment?

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Movie Clip Wednesday - Movies on a Train

That Movie Clip Wednesday work-a-holic, Boxer is too busy...wait a minute, allow me to digress. I make sport of her from time to time because, well, there's a lot of material to work with. What she does to those poor dogs is borderline criminal. But she's had a tough year and she keeps up her blog, she's an aspiring artist, domestic traveler and overloaded business woman. So if she doesn't have time for her movie clip bastard child - well, it's understandable. She'll be back - eventually, oh she will be back.

So the lovely Joanna Cake again is performing the hostess duties she has become so practiced at doing. This MCW Meme has everyone picking a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme while trying to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. She has decided this week's theme to be - Movies on a Train.

Old Buzz is going to take liberties with the theme (not again! - son-of-a...) and choose a movie that is not technically on a train but centers around a train. A train we don't actually see until the very end. I'm talking about The Bridge On the River Kwai (1957) starring Obi-Wan Guinness. I love this movie because of this scene. The instant Colonel Nicholson realizes the mistake he's made in helping the enemy is priceless. On the first take of this scene, the explosions on the bridge didn't detonate. The train crossed over safely, only to crash down a hill on the other side. Bwahahaha And Alec Guinness never saw the bridge blow. He had completed all his scenes and returned to England when the explosion was filmed.




Okay, okay, here's another clip that keeps with the theme - for about 20 seconds. This is the funniest scene in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?



Planes, trains, automobiles...no, just trains over at Joanna's. All aboard!

Friday, August 12, 2011

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

If you think you're sick of this movie line now, wait until you're finished with this video. I stumbled across this video purely by accident. What we have here is a guy with waaaaay too much time on his hands. But this is really fascinating.



You can try and guess all of the shows or you can go here for a list:

http://fourfour.typepad.com/fourfour/2010/12/not-in-kansas-anymore-a-supercut.html

But frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Movie Clip Wednesday - Best Man Pretending To Be A Woman

That Movie Clip Wednesday work-a-holic, Boxer is too busy building a shinebox for her brand new boots. So the lovely Joanna Cake again is performing the hostess duties she has become so good at doing. This MCW Meme has everyone picking a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme while trying to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. She has decided this week's theme to be - Best Man Pretending To Be A Woman.

To be honest, I don't like this theme at all. I have no desire to dress as a woman or see another guy dressed as a woman. It's not homophobia, it just creeps me out to no end. So to that creepy end, the very first thing I thought about for this category was a small scene from Gangs of New York. Of course I couldn't find a clip, but there is a scene where there is a church dance and the church reverend is walking down a line of women to pick the queen of the dance. He gets toward the end and there are 2 of the worst looking transvestites (heshes as they call them in the movie) I've ever seen. Five-oclock shadows and all. I laugh every time I see that scene.

So, speaking of creepy guys, I settled for 1993's Mrs. Doubtfire. Robin Williams is a fairly convincing old woman and and it's kind of funny. Interestingly, in real life Robin Williams divorced his wife in order to marry his nanny. In this film he divorces his wife and becomes her nanny. Bwahahahaha



If you're in to this kind of thing (not that there's anything wrong with it), man-up and head on over to Joanna's to see - well, God only knows what.

Friday, August 5, 2011

A Charmed Life

The Boy and The Squeeze on the Las Vegas strip. I've never been to Vegas. The Mrs has never been to Vegas (that I know of). WTF?




The Artist I Remember

This is a quick post for Chicky (well maybe not so quick). I left several comments for her during her Process Series on her Flannery O'Connor portrait. I told her this series of posts brought back memories of and "Uncle" of mine from my childhood who was also an artist. He was a huge influence on me and my siblings and here is a condensed version of that story.

I lived across the street from him for the first 25 years of my life and my siblings and I would visit often to learn about art. He was a painter but was famous (and published) for his work in Linoleum Block prints, wood cut prints and silk screening. He and his wife were like family and we called them Aunt Pat and Uncle Henry.

Uncle Henry worked for Speedball Paints and was a product tester. I can remember seeing big plywood sheets with dozens of dabs of different color paints, dates and notes on them in his studio. We would then use those paints for our own projects after he was done with them.

This is off of Speedball's website and that's Uncle Henry in the lower Right corner. I'm guessing from the 1950s.


Uncle Henry was also an avid horticulturalist and gardener. They had a huge property (relative to the town) and he had all kinds of exotic trees, bushes and plants. He did all of the landscaping himself that included rock patios and walls, a pond, trellises and numerous statues, some of which he made himself. And he had a vegetable garden that was about 150' x 100' and grew all kinds of tomatoes, corn, potatoes, beans and lettuce. He also grew rhubarb, horseradish, raspberries and had about 20 grape vines. It was a beautiful property and we all liked to go over in the spring, summer and fall to help "work the farm". Uncle Henry use to turn the garden plot by hand every year.

We use to celebrate birthday parties at our house and theirs and a lot of the decorations were hand made by him and us. He silk screened birthday, Christmas and special event cards for us all of the time. I still have some of them kicking around somewhere. He also did lithography and made wood carved lithographic plaques of adages and prayers. They also vacationed in New Hampshire every year for a month and he would trace the bigger fish that he would catch onto scrap lumber, cut it out, paint them and hang them on the exterior of his studio and garage. He had a number of paintings (some by us) that he would polyurethane and hang on the walls too. They had no children of their own, so we were it. It was a good part of our childhood.

Uncle Henry and Aunt Pat passed away within about a year of each other. We always thought Aunt Pat would go first because she had a fair amount of medical problems. But Uncle Henry passed first from cancer. I'm not exactly sure how old he was, but I would say early 90s. He had a brother that was wounded in World War I and my sister L has a collection of letters from him to the family while he was recovering. I want to get those from L and read them again.

When Aunt Pat died, the only relatives they had (and who the estate was left to) was a cousin in upstate Pennsylvania. We had met him and his sons a couple of times over the years, but really didn't know them. The estate was worth several million dollars in 1990 dollars. You would never get that if you saw how simply they lived. depression era mentality I guess. My family tried to get the town leaders to apply for Green Acres funding to purchase the property so that it could be made into a park or town art/rec center. But you know politicians. They talk a good game but never applied for the funding. The Mrs and I considered purchasing the property, but decided it wasn't right for us

Shortly after Aunt Pat passed, my sister L went to the studio and took some of the sentimental prints and art work. So she is the keeper of most of it at her house and I need to get over there some day to see if there is some things we can hang in our house. It's a shame for it to be stored in a basement.

The estate promptly sold the property to developers and the studio and gardens were bulldozed and property subdivided into 5 buildable lots. Within a year of Aunt Pat's passing, the original house was all that was left. Five new houses stood where the studio and gardens once were.

This is not one of Uncle Henry's woodcut prints but one I know he admired. This is a very similar style to his although he would use brighter colors.

This is a painting Uncle Henry gave me when I bought my first house. This was a very typical landscape that he would do. Bright colors (I suspect partially because those seamed to be the colors he tested) with trees and houses and sometimes lakes. Sorry for the flash in the glass, I'm too lazy to take it out,
I found this wood print on line that is attributed to Uncle Henry circa 1964. I believe it is one of his because it is definitely the style I remember.

So you see Chicky, artists do influence more people then they know. And technology can make you live forever (kind of like Highlander). I don't think Uncle Henry ever saw a computer, but 20 some years after his death, his art and influence are still around. If I find anymore of his work at my sister's, maybe I'll do another post.

EDIT: I forgot that I found some on-line pics of Uncle Henry's Book. My sister L may even have copies of the book. I can remember seeing a whole box of them in his studio - many years ago.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Movie Clip Wednesday - Best Movie From A TV Series

That Movie Clip Wednesday eggplant humiliater (is there a PETA for vegetables?), Boxer is truly a one-woman-show for the foreseeable future. So the lovely Joanna Cake again is performing the hostess duties she has become so good at doing. This MCW Meme has everyone picking a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme while trying to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. She has decided this week's theme to be - Best Movie From A TV Series.

I've actually done several posts (different themes) about TV series that made good movies. Police Squad brought us the Naked Gun movies, Get Smart and The Brady Bunch turned out to be good movies and, of course, the biggest movie franchise from a TV series of them all (and Joanna's post this week I suspect) - Star Trek. So what's left? What am I to write about?

There is ONLY one other great movie based on a TV series. And that would be 1987's - Dragnet. Alright, settle down...I'll clear the room! OK, maybe not the the BEST movie based on a TV series, but I liked it. I thought Dan Aykroyd did a good job as a modern-day (for 1987) Joe Friday. And a young Tom Hanks is always funny. This scene is a spoof on what made the TV show so interesting - the witness's statement. You may recognise Kathleen Freeman, who plays Enid Borden, as the infamous Sister Mary Stigmata ("The Penguin") from The Blues Brothers (or not).



I'm sure Joanna has some interesting movies based on TV series (Khan!!!!!!!) over at her blog.