Seven People That Are Screwing Up This Country

This is a topic that’s been idling around in my scotch soaked brain for quite a few months though recent events have turned it up to eleven. We’ve got problems here folks, and there is a roadblock to solving them. If we don’t address that roadblock we won’t solve a freakin thing.

As the title suggests, there are 7 people who are doing serious damage to our nation as a whole. In reality, the list is far longer than 7, but specific to the topic of political discourse these folks are among the most visible offenders. They are not fostering real critical political debate they are preventing it and by doing so, they are in part responsible for preventing us from solving many of the problems that currently plague us.

So who are these people….

Gigante - Andres Torres and ADHD

San Francisco Giants center-fielder, Andrés Torres, came from humble means, found rejection, mockery, and disappointment, and struggled 10 years in the minors before becoming a major league baseball player.

Andrés has developed strategies and support systems that helped him to become a key player in the San Francisco Giants' 2010 World Series win. His story inspires hope and motivates others to embrace their own challenges and never give up on their dreams.

Directed by Sundance award-winning director, Chusy Haney-Jardine.

DVD release July 2011
www.planafilms.com

Man Can Cook # 7 - Entry Level Offal v2.0 - Turn The Other Cheek

Kathy dreads it when I come along to the Farmers Market because when I see all the goodies, the wheels in my head start turning and before you can say “Certified Organic Horseshit” I’ve planned out and purchased the next 3-4 night’s meals…usually with little regard to the cost. So yeah…I’m not a cheap date, but at least I’m easy. 

This post is something of a follow-up to my piece on New Orleans from December. Therein I described a meal that Kathy and I enjoyed at Cochon. One of the highlights of the meal was a “Paneed Pork Cheeks with Boston Baked Peanuts” that would flat knock your hat in the creek. “Good” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Man Can Cook #6 - Raising The "Steaks"

Few things are more purely delicious than a good steak. A fine hunk of meat, cooked perfectly is damned tough to beat. A steak appeals to our primal core both in method of preparation and consumption. It’s a basis for a quick and simple meal, but simple food done right can be fantastic and as good, if not better than what you are used to paying $20-$30 (if not more) for in a restaurant. The keys to achieving carnivorous nirvana are a quality hunk of cow flesh (duh) and the right technique.

The first part is easily addressed. Pay a little more for the highest grade beef you can get your grubby little mitts on. It’s worth it. If you can find organically raised and hormone free, ABSOLUTELY buy that! If you can find grass-fed, buy that. If you can find dry-aged, buy that, but that might be getting a little pricey for a Wednesday night dinner. The point is, find good beef. There really is a difference.

The second, and more important part is the method of preparation, because no matter how good the meat is, if you cook it like a mouth-breather at an Applebee’s it’ll taste like it was cooked by a mouth-breather at an Applebee’s….and I think we can all agree, you’ve never had a really great steak at a national chain restaurant that resides in a parking lot in front of a Home Depot & PetsMart. If you don’t agree, stop reading this…seriously…go away. 

Ok, now that we’ve relieved ourselves of the people Europeans make fun of we can continue.

My First Baseball Memory and My Hero, Willie McCovey

Baseball, like no other sport is particularly suited to being enjoyed via the medium of radio. It’s been said time and again, that a great broadcaster can paint a verbal picture so vivid that the listener might actually be “seeing” more of the game and it’s intricacies than those who are actually in attendance at the ballpark. The true greats of radio have been able to bring this level of detail; Russ Hodges, Vin Scully, Marty Brenneman, Ernie Harwell, Harry Kalas, Lon Simmons and Jon Miller all share this unique ability. Each of these men have provided uniquely colored and vividly illustrated first baseball memories to legions of fans both young and old. Here’s mine:

Canoeing The Green River in Utah, 120mi Solo

I wanted to share an account of my September 19-26 trip on the Green River in Utah. Over the course of my trip I kept a journal. The original intent was to record what I did and when so that when I had a chance to look at my photos I’d not forget what they were. It wound up morphing into something more than that. Upon review the journal became surprisingly introspective and a bit personal.

The following, is an unedited transcription of the journal accompanied by a slideshow of my photos from the trip:

Man Can Cook #5 - Entry Level Offal – Oxtail and the braise

Many "food blogs" feature serious photography and insight from professionals. I'm neither a photographer nor professional chef. I'm just a guy who likes to cook and likes to share what I’ve learned with others. All of my food photos are simply taken with my iPhone using available light in my kitchen. So you are seeing exactly what comes out of my kitchen as opposed to lush, artfully composed pictures. The point is that I want to show you what you can do not what experienced pro's can do. Get in your kitchen and cook. It's better for you and for your family in terms of your health and time spent together.

In restaurants, offal has become something of a culinary staple of late. This is due in part to the exposure of offal provided by “celebrity chefs” such as Michael Symon & Chris Cosentino. Both of which were among the early vanguard of “Whole Beast Cookery” in the US long before either of them appeared on Food Network. Many foodies (I hate that term) seek out offal as a means of satisfying a desire for culinary adventure but I and many others feel that the use of these cuts should be treated as something of an obligation rather than mere novelty. The ethos that one should eat what you kill runs strong in hunters and in most, if not all aboriginal peoples. The use of offal makes our occasional consumption of the prime cuts more ethical and provides a touchstone to our cultural and culinary anthropology.

We should all have a stronger connection to where our food comes from. We need to be mindful of the fact that eating meat requires killing an animal. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just something people need to recognize. Meat doesn’t come from styrofoam packaging, it comes from living things. After all, every time you eat a slice of bacon a pig dies and every time you eat a filet mignon a cow dies. Knowing that, it’s a bit criminal to consume only the prime cuts and toss the rest aside don’t you think?

Man Can Cook #4 - Making a Perfect Rack of Lamb

Many "food blogs" feature serious photography and insight from professionals. I'm neither a photographer nor professional chef. I'm just a guy who likes to cook and likes to share what I’ve learned with others. All of my food photos are simply taken with my iPhone using available light in my kitchen. So you are seeing exactly what comes out of my kitchen as opposed to lush, artfully composed pictures. The point is that I want to show you what you can do not what experienced pro's can do. Get in your kitchen and cook. It's better for you and for your family in terms of your health and time spent together.

Rack of lamb…The kind of thing you envision Mrs. Don Draper serving to her husband’s power-broker associates at a “just so” dinner party on MAD MEN. The kind of thing reserved for special occasions. The kind of thing you order at a pricey restaurant. Kind of a big deal right?

Hogwash! You can TOTALLY do this and have it come out just as good as any rack of lamb you’ve had at an expensive eatery. You don’t have to wait for a special occasion or fancy dinner party. It’s easy, not that expensive and pretty quick to prepare.

Tucson - The Blame Game and Batshit Crazy Lunatics

On January 8th at 10:10am in Tucson AZ Jared Lee Loughner opened fire on a crowd at a “Congress on your Corner” meeting killing six people and seriously injuring 14 others including US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Within moments of the news hitting the airwaves the various networks talking heads commenced to speculate on motives and assign blame. Broadcast outlets and Online blogs alike were engulfed in an orgy of finger pointing directed at “Right Wing Extremists” as the most likely source of or inspiration to the responsible party.

The effort to immediately politicize this tragedy is absolutely nauseating in and of itself. However, to politicize this tragedy a means of using it to forward a particular political agenda borders on the misanthropic if not sociopathic. How many times do we need to have a catastrophic event co-opted to the gain of another before we collectively cry “ENOUGH”?

49ers Coach & GM Search: What happens when an amateur is running the show....

Boy 49’ers fans, this has been quite a couple of weeks hasn’t it? My thoughts after this brief parable:

In 1989 a “Flying Tigers” Air Cargo 747 was flying from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. On an instrument approach, the air traffic controller instructed the pilot “Tiger 66, descend two four zero zero” which means descend to an altitude of 2,400’ above sea level. The pilot mistakenly heard and confirmed “descend to four zero zero” believing he was instructed to fly at an altitude of 400’ above sea level.

Cockpit voice recorders showed the pilots repeating the “four zero zero” multiple times. Ground proximity warning alarms went off. They were ignored as false alarms. The pilots were heard to say, “he said to descend to four zero zero, this thing is F***ed”. The co-pilot called ATC asking, “Tiger 66 confirming descend to four zero zero?” the controller replied, “Roger, descend two four zero zero.” Moments later the fully loaded 747 plowed into the side of 600’ hillside a mile or so from the airport.

This is a common scenario replayed in aviation cockpit resource management training sessions to illustrate how the “strength of an idea” can cause people to ignore multiple warning signs and years of training resulting in an unequal number of takeoffs and landings.

I relate this tragic tale as an analogy for what has happened over the past few weeks with the San Francisco 49ers.

Dog Adoption - A few points to consider...

In October of 1991 I decided that my new home needed a dog. I ventured out from Brooklyn N.Y. to the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, Long Island. The NSAL is a “no-kill” animal shelter. I made about five trips out over a few weeks looking for just the right dog. On my last trip I found a 1.5 year old English Pointer / German Shorthair mix. 

He was skinny, underfed, and had been abused by his previous owner. He was barking at everyone that passed his kennel and jumping around excitedly. I knelt in front of his kennel, told him shush, and he did, told him to sit, and he did. He became very calm as I sat in front of him and quietly looked me in the eye as if to say, "take me out of here and I will be your friend forever." I didn’t realize it at the time, but rather than me choosing him, he chose me. Dutch came home with me that afternoon.