I feel like I do a lot of apologizing in this blog. The apologizing mostly comes when I miss a post that was supposed to happen either on Monday or Friday, which are my assigned times. I don't have much of an excuse most times I miss. I assigned myself these days, and even enlisted the help of three great friends to cover the middle of the week to give me more of a fighting chance to get the Monday and Friday posts in on time. This past Friday my Mac Book blew up. I didn't have any way to post. So while I am sorry, I also feel like this is an adequate excuse. I type now on a laptop I borrowed from my parents and hope that tomorrows appointment at the Mac genius bar will solve my computer problems. I am not optimistic that it will be so quick. Mac laptop problems, anyone?
Like I said in a previous post, I haven't seen many movies lately. I love movies, I just haven't seen any lately to recommend. I hope to change this soon. I am excited for THIS even thought it is a ways away. More CGI than I expected/had hoped for, but what can you do. I still have high hopes and still think I will enjoy it more than the Willy Wonka remake. That's all.
Also recently I've been thinking of giving It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia a second chance, because the first chance didn't leave a great impression. I'll be back with an update on that. In the meantime just watch Arrested Development in it's entirety again. I can't imagine that getting old.
Something I have been doing is eating. July is a birthday packed month, including my own and eating out seems to be a thing that happens around birthdays. I'll keep these short, but a couple of recent highlights for me for Baltimore eating (these aren't ranked, just numbered for organization):
1. Lumbini Restaurant--322 N Charles Street--Heather and I went here for lunch on my birthday. I'd been to this Indian buffet before, but as far as the downtown Indian buffets go this is my favorite. I used to love Akbar, but then there was a weird sewage rumor and although I'm not sure if it was true or not I haven't been back. Not saying I won't go back, I just haven't been. Sewage rumor or not I prefer the Lumbini Buffet. There is more of a selection (especially for vegetarians), their Chicken Tikka Marsala is great (which is the dish I judge all Indian buffets by), AND they have chai tea with the buffet. Most places don't do this, but the chai really ties the meal together. Really. Chtry it. Also, this is cheap. I think it was $8.99. I'm not sure, but it was well worth it.
2. The Yabba Pot--2433 St. Paul Street--One of Baltimore's well-known vegan restaurants. I am not a vegan and I probably would have never picked this restaurant. Heather is a vegetarian so it was her choice for her birthday. I was pleasantly surprised. While it was all vegan, I left full and happy. They call it soul food. I guess that generally implies spicy, which a lot of it was. You basically go into the place, tell them how many sides you want (sides are basically what they call any kind of food there), and point to them. Then you go eat. Heather and I each got six sides and rice which is like the Rolls Royce of Yabba Pot dining. I couldn't finish, and for a vegan meal I was pretty full. If you are feeling adventurous or in the mood for some sort of healthiness check it out. Maybe skip the ginger beer. It was OK but the plant outside seemed to enjoy it more than we did. No sign of alcohol in this place if that is your thing.
3. One World Cafe--100 W University Parkway--Another very vegetarian friendly place (you can tell that Heather had a birthday in July too!) This was also great. Maybe the greatest part, aside from the coffee, was the wide range of vegetarian options. You could get almost anything. Heather got a meatball sub. Seriously a vegetarian meatball sub. You can even get that. I got some kind of noodles in some kind of sauce. It was good. Also cheap. I've never been impressed by vegan desert and this place didn't change my opinion of that, but the meal was good. If you are up by Hopkins, and you are feeling more like a hippy than normal you should definitely check it out.
4. Lebanese Taverna--719 S President Street--If you are down in Harbor East during lunch time you should only go here. I'd been for dinner and I loved it. I went for lunch and I still loved it. I got a shwarma (sp?) which is a lot like a chicken souvlaki with rice and salad and it was $7.99 I think. And it was awesome. I felt full, but still ready to run a race after it. Not at all heavy, but filling. If you park in Whole Foods lot and buy anything from Whole Foods you get your parking validated. So we ate at Lebanese Taverna which I already mentioned was awesome, and then I got a Naked Juice from Whole Foods and got my parking validated for free. Maybe my favorite place on the list, but that shouldn't knock down the other places. I just really like this one. Really. For real.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Grayson by Lynne Cox
Boy, Thursdays do really sneak up on me. I had a lot of things that I wanted to recommend in this space, and I also wanted to dedicate a post to things I've checked out because of this blog, but I don't thing I'm going to do either of those.
Recently, I've begun taking full advantage of my mornings -and boss' willingness to look the other way- by coming into work anywhere from a half an hour to two hours late. During these extra hours I read, exercise, cook and eat breakfast for as long as I can. Yesterday, during my morning procrastination session, I picked up a newly-purchased book called Grayson by world-record breaking swimmer, and author, Lynne Cox.
I had never heard of Lynne Cox, or any of her books or world records, but something about this cover made me buy it. I initially wasn't going to read this book yesterday, but it was short (153 pages) and looked like it would be easy to read. Grayson ended up being the first book I've ever read from beginning to end completely uninterrupted.
Grayson is autobiographical, but it reveals only about 3 or 4 hours of Lynne Cox's life. When she was 17 and an already accomplished swimmer, she was out for her usual morning three-mile swim off the coast of California and encountered a baby whale. It quickly became evident to Cox that the whale was motherless. What follows is the search and struggle to find the whale's mother.
To be honest, reading Grayson was like watching a PG movie. The big smiling, cartoon whale on the book cover makes it clear from the beginning that Grayson is no tragedy. However, as both Cox and Grayson struggle to stay afloat in choppy waters a mile and a half off shore, you can't help but get caught up in the drama. Grayson is not about a whale finding it's mother, it's about the energy and attitudes that connect all living things, even different species, despite language barriers, cultural differences or physical challenges.
The other really captivating aspect of this book is Cox's descriptions of the animal life beneath the surface of the ocean. As Cox gets washed further and further from shore, she acts as a tour guide to the oceanic metropolis that is just too far off shore for casual swimmers to be familiar with. She encounters sea turtles, jellyfish, dolphins, tuna and plenty of other fish I had never hear of. Each encounter adds an element of wonder and drama to whole story.
Part (I think) of why I really enjoyed Grayson was because I read it in almost real time. The story begins at some point between 5 and 6am, (I started reading at 6:30am) and ends approximately at 10am (I finished the book by 8:30). As the sun was coming up in the book, so it also was from where I was reading it. I highly recommend trying to do the same. I felt it added a sense of reality, like it was all actually happening while I was reading, ala Never Ending Story.
I thought I'd end with these lines from the book which occur right before Cox decides to journey farther out into the ocean to help look for the baby whale's mother:
"Many people are happy with things as they are. They are comfortable with what they already know. But if I didn't move outside my comfort level, how would I ever experience anything new, how would I ever learn, or see or explore? I believe that each of us has a purpose for being here, that we have certain gifts and certain challenges we need to learn from and fulfill for our lives to have meaning and richness."
"I'm going to swim with him"
It's not at all eloquent, but right on!
Recently, I've begun taking full advantage of my mornings -and boss' willingness to look the other way- by coming into work anywhere from a half an hour to two hours late. During these extra hours I read, exercise, cook and eat breakfast for as long as I can. Yesterday, during my morning procrastination session, I picked up a newly-purchased book called Grayson by world-record breaking swimmer, and author, Lynne Cox.
I had never heard of Lynne Cox, or any of her books or world records, but something about this cover made me buy it. I initially wasn't going to read this book yesterday, but it was short (153 pages) and looked like it would be easy to read. Grayson ended up being the first book I've ever read from beginning to end completely uninterrupted.
Grayson is autobiographical, but it reveals only about 3 or 4 hours of Lynne Cox's life. When she was 17 and an already accomplished swimmer, she was out for her usual morning three-mile swim off the coast of California and encountered a baby whale. It quickly became evident to Cox that the whale was motherless. What follows is the search and struggle to find the whale's mother.
To be honest, reading Grayson was like watching a PG movie. The big smiling, cartoon whale on the book cover makes it clear from the beginning that Grayson is no tragedy. However, as both Cox and Grayson struggle to stay afloat in choppy waters a mile and a half off shore, you can't help but get caught up in the drama. Grayson is not about a whale finding it's mother, it's about the energy and attitudes that connect all living things, even different species, despite language barriers, cultural differences or physical challenges.
The other really captivating aspect of this book is Cox's descriptions of the animal life beneath the surface of the ocean. As Cox gets washed further and further from shore, she acts as a tour guide to the oceanic metropolis that is just too far off shore for casual swimmers to be familiar with. She encounters sea turtles, jellyfish, dolphins, tuna and plenty of other fish I had never hear of. Each encounter adds an element of wonder and drama to whole story.
Part (I think) of why I really enjoyed Grayson was because I read it in almost real time. The story begins at some point between 5 and 6am, (I started reading at 6:30am) and ends approximately at 10am (I finished the book by 8:30). As the sun was coming up in the book, so it also was from where I was reading it. I highly recommend trying to do the same. I felt it added a sense of reality, like it was all actually happening while I was reading, ala Never Ending Story.
I thought I'd end with these lines from the book which occur right before Cox decides to journey farther out into the ocean to help look for the baby whale's mother:
"Many people are happy with things as they are. They are comfortable with what they already know. But if I didn't move outside my comfort level, how would I ever experience anything new, how would I ever learn, or see or explore? I believe that each of us has a purpose for being here, that we have certain gifts and certain challenges we need to learn from and fulfill for our lives to have meaning and richness."
"I'm going to swim with him"
It's not at all eloquent, but right on!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A New Movie
So Adam was asking about good movies, and I haven't seen a whole lot lately, besides Bruno, (which I don't think I can discuss without ruining some of the best gags in the movie) but this one looks amazing:
It's playing at the Charles right now. Right in time for the anniversary of the moon landing.
I love Sci-Fi movies. People trapped in space, robots turning against humans, ships controls failing...love it all.
There was a Netflix movie I got based on someone's recommend here...Sunshine, and it was pretty great. Directed by Danny Boyle who directed Slumdog Millionaire, about a crew who basically have to dump a hydrogen bomb into the sun, because the sun is dying. Some stuff goes wrong on the way, and they encounter things they don't expect...anyway, I won't ruin it. Here's the trailer for that one:
It's playing at the Charles right now. Right in time for the anniversary of the moon landing.
I love Sci-Fi movies. People trapped in space, robots turning against humans, ships controls failing...love it all.
There was a Netflix movie I got based on someone's recommend here...Sunshine, and it was pretty great. Directed by Danny Boyle who directed Slumdog Millionaire, about a crew who basically have to dump a hydrogen bomb into the sun, because the sun is dying. Some stuff goes wrong on the way, and they encounter things they don't expect...anyway, I won't ruin it. Here's the trailer for that one:
Monday, July 20, 2009
Just Do It
This is sort of a stange one, but bear with me. I have made a decision to get back to some of these lists that I have been neglecting for the past couple of months. But that takes a little bit of time and won't happen today. Today I have a special treat for you. You might not find it a treat, but I really love it.
Great friend, artist, film maker, musician, etc Nick Prevas (magnificentlore.com for more info) taught high school art and film making at Carver this past semester. Carver is a magnet school for the arts in Baltimore so it attracts a lot of really talented students. Prevas has a lot to say about his experience teaching there, but today's recommends is something great that came out of it.
The following video, entitled "Just Do It" was made by two of Nick's students in his film making class at Carver. I don't know anything about them...I don't even know their names. I know them as Chas and Steven. This might not be for everyone, but these guys crack me up. I think they are the next generations' Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, just give it time.
Before I even saw the video Nick had pretty much reenacted the entire thing so I knew what I was looking for. While you are watching also keep in mind that they showed this at the years-end video festival for parents, faculty, and students alike. That is funny to me. Without any further babbling here is "Just Do It":
Great friend, artist, film maker, musician, etc Nick Prevas (magnificentlore.com for more info) taught high school art and film making at Carver this past semester. Carver is a magnet school for the arts in Baltimore so it attracts a lot of really talented students. Prevas has a lot to say about his experience teaching there, but today's recommends is something great that came out of it.
The following video, entitled "Just Do It" was made by two of Nick's students in his film making class at Carver. I don't know anything about them...I don't even know their names. I know them as Chas and Steven. This might not be for everyone, but these guys crack me up. I think they are the next generations' Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, just give it time.
Before I even saw the video Nick had pretty much reenacted the entire thing so I knew what I was looking for. While you are watching also keep in mind that they showed this at the years-end video festival for parents, faculty, and students alike. That is funny to me. Without any further babbling here is "Just Do It":
Friday, July 17, 2009
Upside Down Recommends
What a week here at FR! Everybody got a post up on time, except for me today. Maybe we're back on track.
For a while there was a stream of reverse recommends going on around here, where everyone would trash something that another person seemed to like. Rachel Getting Married seemed to be a big one to be reverse recommended. This post is not a reverse recommend.
I have been really out of the loop with movies lately. I didn't even know what Bruno was until late last week. The only movie I have seen recently is Gran Torino which was good, but not 8.4 stars good like IMDB would suggest. The acting was a little bit weak/awkward at points but I still enjoyed it.
What I am looking for from you is some modern movie recommends. These can still be in the theater if you like, or they can just be a movie that came out fairly recently. I'd like to get back in the movie loop, as I really love movies. What do you have for me? If you recommend a movie I will definitely see it, and then it will definitely get a Friends Recommend post all to itself. Not that it's any kind of motivation for you, but a little help please? A little help from my friends, please:
For a while there was a stream of reverse recommends going on around here, where everyone would trash something that another person seemed to like. Rachel Getting Married seemed to be a big one to be reverse recommended. This post is not a reverse recommend.
I have been really out of the loop with movies lately. I didn't even know what Bruno was until late last week. The only movie I have seen recently is Gran Torino which was good, but not 8.4 stars good like IMDB would suggest. The acting was a little bit weak/awkward at points but I still enjoyed it.
What I am looking for from you is some modern movie recommends. These can still be in the theater if you like, or they can just be a movie that came out fairly recently. I'd like to get back in the movie loop, as I really love movies. What do you have for me? If you recommend a movie I will definitely see it, and then it will definitely get a Friends Recommend post all to itself. Not that it's any kind of motivation for you, but a little help please? A little help from my friends, please:
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Magic Bullet
Since food posts are so popular here, I thought I would keep with that theme. I highly recommend the Magic Bullet Blender.
I don't even have one, I have a knock-off brand, and the quality is certainly poor, even the knock-off is an amazing kitchen tool. I use mine almost every day to make smoothies. This thing makes smoothies in less than a minute. Don't believe this everything-in-ten-seconds crap they sell you on TV. It takes nearly a minute to get a well-blended smoothie, but that's still pretty damn fast.
You can quickly mix fruits that you wouldn't -or at least I wouldn't- normally mix together. Cherries + Mangos= Great smoothies. Banana + Blueberries = Great Smoothies. Peaches + Strawberries = Great Smoothies.
I stock up on fruit and make a bunch of smoothies and then freeze them. That way I can have a smoothie anytime I want one -well, about a half an hour after I want one-and it keeps the fruit from rotting in the fridge before I can eat it all.
Not only does this thing make great smoothies, but it also grinds coffee beans, a big plus if you drink a lot of coffee at home like I do. I've used it to chop onions and other vegetables. It doesn't make consistently-sized chunks, but it' a lot faster than a food processor and with way less cleanup.
Did I mention how easy this thing is to clean up? All of the mess is on the blade, and in the cup. That's all the cleanup needed. It is so great. My one suggestion is to not leave a dirty cup in the back of your car for a week, because once the fruit dries on the cup, it takes another week of soaking before it can be properly cleaned.
I'm certain that this thing makes plenty of other great stuff, but it's worth it for the smoothies alone. It is such an easy, affordable, quick and tasty way to eat healthy. A smoothie for breakfast is so much better than cereal, yogurt or an english muffin.
Go get a Magic Bullet, or better yet, do what I did and have your mom buy you a knock-off brand for your birthday.
I don't even have one, I have a knock-off brand, and the quality is certainly poor, even the knock-off is an amazing kitchen tool. I use mine almost every day to make smoothies. This thing makes smoothies in less than a minute. Don't believe this everything-in-ten-seconds crap they sell you on TV. It takes nearly a minute to get a well-blended smoothie, but that's still pretty damn fast.
You can quickly mix fruits that you wouldn't -or at least I wouldn't- normally mix together. Cherries + Mangos= Great smoothies. Banana + Blueberries = Great Smoothies. Peaches + Strawberries = Great Smoothies.
I stock up on fruit and make a bunch of smoothies and then freeze them. That way I can have a smoothie anytime I want one -well, about a half an hour after I want one-and it keeps the fruit from rotting in the fridge before I can eat it all.
Not only does this thing make great smoothies, but it also grinds coffee beans, a big plus if you drink a lot of coffee at home like I do. I've used it to chop onions and other vegetables. It doesn't make consistently-sized chunks, but it' a lot faster than a food processor and with way less cleanup.
Did I mention how easy this thing is to clean up? All of the mess is on the blade, and in the cup. That's all the cleanup needed. It is so great. My one suggestion is to not leave a dirty cup in the back of your car for a week, because once the fruit dries on the cup, it takes another week of soaking before it can be properly cleaned.
I'm certain that this thing makes plenty of other great stuff, but it's worth it for the smoothies alone. It is such an easy, affordable, quick and tasty way to eat healthy. A smoothie for breakfast is so much better than cereal, yogurt or an english muffin.
Go get a Magic Bullet, or better yet, do what I did and have your mom buy you a knock-off brand for your birthday.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Napping
In today's recommend, I'm going to talk about the importance of a fave activity of mine: napping. I've been reading a few things about naps and one thing I came across says this:
Snoozing for a half-hour can be an enjoyable way to promote physical well-being, and naps have been known to improve your mood and memory. A 20-minute nap can sharpen your senses and revitalize you, while a ten minute nap can leave you feeling more cheerful. Falling into a light sleep during the daytime can feel meditative. The thoughts you have as you are taking a nap and the dreams you experience may offer you insights about your life that you may not have at night when you are in a deep sleep.
- DailyOm.com
I personally recommend a 50 minute nap for even more sharpened senses. More from DailyOM.com:
In order to fully enjoy the benefits of napping, you may need to give yourself permission to nap. Feeling guilty about snoozing or worrying about your to-do list won't do you much good when you are trying to take a nap because your thoughts or feelings will keep you awake.
No problem here. Let's continue:
If you go to an office, try to crawl under your desk for a nap.
This sounds great, but I probably would be fired.
One crucial element to a good nap is a comfortable couch. I have this old couch from the 1970s that I like a lot. You are going to want to get something that has soft cushions that you just sink into. You also are going to need to make sure that before buying your napping couch, making sure that it's as long as you are. Let's get serious–trying to stretch out on a love seat just isn't going to work. Also, I don't recommend using a futon (not comfortable enough) or a bed (too comfortable). You don't want to create the atmosphere of night time, otherwise you'll wake up at 8 pm, and will be up all night. So, make sure you leave a light on, OK? I also read that if you do decide to get into napping, it's good to have a set routine. I try to nap the same time everyday. Afterwards, I feel like a new man, ready to take on the rest of the day. When I skip a day napping, and I have to be out late, and up early, there's a major difference in how I feel the next day, than if I hadn't skipped...so get your nap in!
***Also, fave snowball flavors: Cherry, Lime, Skylight.
Snoozing for a half-hour can be an enjoyable way to promote physical well-being, and naps have been known to improve your mood and memory. A 20-minute nap can sharpen your senses and revitalize you, while a ten minute nap can leave you feeling more cheerful. Falling into a light sleep during the daytime can feel meditative. The thoughts you have as you are taking a nap and the dreams you experience may offer you insights about your life that you may not have at night when you are in a deep sleep.
- DailyOm.com
I personally recommend a 50 minute nap for even more sharpened senses. More from DailyOM.com:
In order to fully enjoy the benefits of napping, you may need to give yourself permission to nap. Feeling guilty about snoozing or worrying about your to-do list won't do you much good when you are trying to take a nap because your thoughts or feelings will keep you awake.
No problem here. Let's continue:
If you go to an office, try to crawl under your desk for a nap.
This sounds great, but I probably would be fired.
One crucial element to a good nap is a comfortable couch. I have this old couch from the 1970s that I like a lot. You are going to want to get something that has soft cushions that you just sink into. You also are going to need to make sure that before buying your napping couch, making sure that it's as long as you are. Let's get serious–trying to stretch out on a love seat just isn't going to work. Also, I don't recommend using a futon (not comfortable enough) or a bed (too comfortable). You don't want to create the atmosphere of night time, otherwise you'll wake up at 8 pm, and will be up all night. So, make sure you leave a light on, OK? I also read that if you do decide to get into napping, it's good to have a set routine. I try to nap the same time everyday. Afterwards, I feel like a new man, ready to take on the rest of the day. When I skip a day napping, and I have to be out late, and up early, there's a major difference in how I feel the next day, than if I hadn't skipped...so get your nap in!
***Also, fave snowball flavors: Cherry, Lime, Skylight.
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