Friday, January 13, 2012
Is cricket the devil?
On a random whim (actually because I was reading something about how there are channels on youtube for anything including random sports that you can't see on TV) I watched some cricket youtube videos. I'm not entirely sure what is happening in all of them, but I did come across this gem of bizarre hilarity (at 9:15)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Repost of the week
On the bridge to nowhere down the street from me:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2012/01/calatrava_bridge_just_a_cheap.php#more
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Blind Beer Review
In the interest of expanding my beer horizons I decided to do a blind review of a beer from the fridge. I bought two mixed sixers the other day and don't remember all the specifics of what I got so this isn't the most blind review for that reason.
It's a good looking beer with a dark brown color that's very opaque. I got about a finger of head initially, although there's less in the picture after it faded some, and, as you can see on the right side, some nice lacing.
The aroma comes off as that of a very hoppy and sweet beer. At this point I'm definitely assuming IPA or possibly a hoppy barleywine. It resembles what I remember of Bigfoot (my knowledge of the fridge betrays me here. I'm almost positive I didn't buy any barleywines). There's a good amount of pine, sweet orange, and most prominently toffee/caramel. The taste takes mostly the same direction, with the caramel more subdued by pine and grapefruit pith flavors. This is quite a hot beer- I'm guessing the alcohol is around 8%, anything less and they didn't hide it very well. The bitterness of the hops is particularly gripping in the aftertaste giving it a quality I associate with Arrogant Bastard.
Overall this is a good beer if you're into full flavored hops and toffee. I generally like my IPAs to be more fruity and a little less full bodied, but if I consider it a barleywine it fits the bill pretty well for that- so maybe I shouldn't complain.
And the secret revealed is...
Green Flash Hop Head Red
I'm a little confused as to which beer this is exactly, but I think I recently reviewed it (BA has a Hop Head Red Ale, as well as a Hop Head Red IPA which this bottle advertises, but only has a handful of reviews. The Greenflash website on the other hand, only lists the IPA and not the ale which has a bazillion BA reivews. Anyway...)
Here's my non-blind review- it's interesting (and bad for my credibility as a beer reviewer) how different the two are (though maybe they're different beers. see above)
A- Pours brown with a lot of small carbonation bubbles- almost looks like it's a nitro beer. A full finger of head and some lacing, but not really interesting lacing.
S- This one's out of the gate with a nice strong aroma. Dank hops, caramel, malt syrup fading into brown sugar, some grass.
T- Lots of malt, like a brown nut syrup. And lots of hops, like grapefruit pith juice.
M- The bitterness is high on this one. It is definitely stronger than the taste would indicate which I'm not so high on, though it does fit my expectations of a red ale, so there's that.
O- A powerful beer that has a lot of flavors to sift through and digest, but still doesn't feel heavy or as alcoholic as it is. A nice example of the style.
S- This one's out of the gate with a nice strong aroma. Dank hops, caramel, malt syrup fading into brown sugar, some grass.
T- Lots of malt, like a brown nut syrup. And lots of hops, like grapefruit pith juice.
M- The bitterness is high on this one. It is definitely stronger than the taste would indicate which I'm not so high on, though it does fit my expectations of a red ale, so there's that.
O- A powerful beer that has a lot of flavors to sift through and digest, but still doesn't feel heavy or as alcoholic as it is. A nice example of the style.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Dallas Farmer's Market
Dallas Observer's Jim Schutze just published an article about the Dallas Farmers Market, and I agree with him on most of his points. Here's my response and solution:
The Dallas Farmer's Market is a giant boondoggle of crummy real estate where you can hardly get any decent local food, prepared food or crafts. From my experience in working and visiting farmer's markets I think they fit into two categories:
A- Permanent City Fixture (see Reading Terminal, Pike Place etc...) These markets are open every (or almost) every day, and attract a lot of tourist, shopping, and eating traffic rather than just people buying food. This requires more space for restaurants and crafts, as well as a commitment to advertising the market as a tourist attraction.
B- Produce Market (see Portland, Ithaca, Coppell etc...) These markets are open just one or a few days a week, and are more for locals buying food (mostly produce) to cook with. To succeed here you need to differentiate from grocery stores by focusing on local produce and community connections.
Dallas is following neither of these plans. The indoor pavilion does have a couple craft booths, but is pretty empty. Shed 1 is supposed to be local produce only, but there is still a separate sticker designation for local vendors and not all of them in 1 have it (I don't understand this...). Also the local merchants are overshadowed by the large amount of produce in the other sheds that got diverted from a grocery store and is being sold at a huge mark-up (who buys pineapple at a North American farmers market?). The restaurant options are very limited. Because the transition to a Permanent City Fixture would be so difficult, the market should instead focus on becoming a viable local produce market.
Here's the plan:
-Open the market only on the weekends and maybe one afternoon/evening a week.
-Only allow vendors to sell produce grown within a 100 miles of Dallas
-Designate shed 3 or 4 for food trucks- an easy way to increase prepared food options, and attract food truck patrons to the market (many of them don't have plans on a saturday morning anyway)
-Add cooking demonstrations. There are already cooking classes w/ area chefs organized, why not have them (or others) give a demonstration with only market products used? This will show people how to use their newly bought food and make it more of an experience to go to the market.
-Increase the scope and awareness of special market days. There are apparently already special events at the market, but I can't say I've ever heard of them...
All these things will increase the density of visitors to the market and help deal w/ the problems of the homeless walking through, as well as the market seeming like an empty blight next to the business district. Or we can just nuke it...
The Dallas Farmer's Market is a giant boondoggle of crummy real estate where you can hardly get any decent local food, prepared food or crafts. From my experience in working and visiting farmer's markets I think they fit into two categories:
A- Permanent City Fixture (see Reading Terminal, Pike Place etc...) These markets are open every (or almost) every day, and attract a lot of tourist, shopping, and eating traffic rather than just people buying food. This requires more space for restaurants and crafts, as well as a commitment to advertising the market as a tourist attraction.
B- Produce Market (see Portland, Ithaca, Coppell etc...) These markets are open just one or a few days a week, and are more for locals buying food (mostly produce) to cook with. To succeed here you need to differentiate from grocery stores by focusing on local produce and community connections.
Dallas is following neither of these plans. The indoor pavilion does have a couple craft booths, but is pretty empty. Shed 1 is supposed to be local produce only, but there is still a separate sticker designation for local vendors and not all of them in 1 have it (I don't understand this...). Also the local merchants are overshadowed by the large amount of produce in the other sheds that got diverted from a grocery store and is being sold at a huge mark-up (who buys pineapple at a North American farmers market?). The restaurant options are very limited. Because the transition to a Permanent City Fixture would be so difficult, the market should instead focus on becoming a viable local produce market.
Here's the plan:
-Open the market only on the weekends and maybe one afternoon/evening a week.
-Only allow vendors to sell produce grown within a 100 miles of Dallas
-Designate shed 3 or 4 for food trucks- an easy way to increase prepared food options, and attract food truck patrons to the market (many of them don't have plans on a saturday morning anyway)
-Add cooking demonstrations. There are already cooking classes w/ area chefs organized, why not have them (or others) give a demonstration with only market products used? This will show people how to use their newly bought food and make it more of an experience to go to the market.
-Increase the scope and awareness of special market days. There are apparently already special events at the market, but I can't say I've ever heard of them...
All these things will increase the density of visitors to the market and help deal w/ the problems of the homeless walking through, as well as the market seeming like an empty blight next to the business district. Or we can just nuke it...
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Matilda- An Old Beer for the New Year
This is a beer I picked up in Ohio over the summer. Bottled on 11/04/10- so with a over a year of age on it, it should be spectacular- or bad. We'll see...

It's a pretty looking brew with a cloudy orange color. The smell out of the bottle was pretty intoxicating- lots of funk and cider. When it's in the glass the smell isn't quite as potent but still really nice. There's apple cider, sweet oranges, morning dew, and strawlike funk.
The taste isn't as amazing but still good- I'm getting a lot of grass when I'd really like more of the fruit flavors from the smell. Maybe more bread dough, like an unbaked loaf of bread that you left out all day my accident.
Overall I'm really liking this beer. I'm trying to imagine if any more age will improve it and I have to go with no. I've had this beer before and I remember being blown away by both the smell and the taste and this one really only blows me away with the smell. So the extra bottle will have to be drunk soon... Cheers to whenever that is. And Happy New Year.
It's a pretty looking brew with a cloudy orange color. The smell out of the bottle was pretty intoxicating- lots of funk and cider. When it's in the glass the smell isn't quite as potent but still really nice. There's apple cider, sweet oranges, morning dew, and strawlike funk.
The taste isn't as amazing but still good- I'm getting a lot of grass when I'd really like more of the fruit flavors from the smell. Maybe more bread dough, like an unbaked loaf of bread that you left out all day my accident.
Overall I'm really liking this beer. I'm trying to imagine if any more age will improve it and I have to go with no. I've had this beer before and I remember being blown away by both the smell and the taste and this one really only blows me away with the smell. So the extra bottle will have to be drunk soon... Cheers to whenever that is. And Happy New Year.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Insane weather
The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermaine (What a lame name. I nominate it for David's fantasy team this year) passed through DFW today which created minor havoc. Massive amounts of rain made for really bad driving- I ended up holed out in a coffee shop for a couple hours- especially when people drive without their lights on.
On my way home the radio was buzzing with tornado warnings, watches, sightings and alarms. There was in fact one tornado which touched down pretty near downtown, and was headed near our apartment (but ended up going pretty far west, on it's way to Oklahoma instead).
(not my video)
On my way home the radio was buzzing with tornado warnings, watches, sightings and alarms. There was in fact one tornado which touched down pretty near downtown, and was headed near our apartment (but ended up going pretty far west, on it's way to Oklahoma instead).
(not my video)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Some more culinary exploits
First an update: That lasagna with pesto and such? Freakin' amazing. Like the best lasagna I've ever had. I've been rationing the leftovers because whenever I eat one piece I consider eating the rest of it.
But on to the next thing. We got a little more adventurous and made tamales last week. It was an interesting experience. First off, the corn husks had a weird vinegar smell to them, possibly so they don't mold? Then after spending a while researching (mostly watching Good Eats) we figured out (to my surprise) that fine cornmeal and maza (with which you traditionally make tameles) are not the same thing. But we trekked on. (It turns out that 'hot tamales', an actual food, not just a candy that no one eats, are made with cornmeal, so there is some precedent).
Here's the dough, which is blue cornmeal (cool color), water, shortening (usually lard), and spices- we used oregano, and lime zest.

We made the filling with fresh corn, black beans, jack cheese, cilantro, and lime juice.

The assembly line:

Here are the pretty packages cooking:

We don't have a steamer so I put an upside-down pie plate in the bottom of the pot (I think that's an Alton Brown trick but I can't remember) and put them around and on top of that. And it's here that we ran into the slight problem. Twice the water boiled all out and burned...well a lot- the bottom of the pot, the pie pan, the ends of the tamales. Lucky for us, tamales have their own protective shell. So the results were still very tasty, although the pot is now warped. At least it didn't get a hole burned through it.
Purple and delicious:
But on to the next thing. We got a little more adventurous and made tamales last week. It was an interesting experience. First off, the corn husks had a weird vinegar smell to them, possibly so they don't mold? Then after spending a while researching (mostly watching Good Eats) we figured out (to my surprise) that fine cornmeal and maza (with which you traditionally make tameles) are not the same thing. But we trekked on. (It turns out that 'hot tamales', an actual food, not just a candy that no one eats, are made with cornmeal, so there is some precedent).
Here's the dough, which is blue cornmeal (cool color), water, shortening (usually lard), and spices- we used oregano, and lime zest.
We made the filling with fresh corn, black beans, jack cheese, cilantro, and lime juice.
The assembly line:
Here are the pretty packages cooking:
We don't have a steamer so I put an upside-down pie plate in the bottom of the pot (I think that's an Alton Brown trick but I can't remember) and put them around and on top of that. And it's here that we ran into the slight problem. Twice the water boiled all out and burned...well a lot- the bottom of the pot, the pie pan, the ends of the tamales. Lucky for us, tamales have their own protective shell. So the results were still very tasty, although the pot is now warped. At least it didn't get a hole burned through it.
Purple and delicious:
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Getting on the soapbox
So my orchestra at UNT is playing a pretty cool event in the new Cowboys Stadium. It's sort of a hype up to the Super Bowl (you can check it out here) We're playing random "NFL Movies" music whatever that means. It's pretty cheesy but still fun. And we might possibly be accompanying Tim McGraw. There's going to be a bunch of old famous footballers- Emmitt Smith, and Roger Staubach, etc...
Anyway, I'm psyched to be doing this. Unfortunately the logistics of it are pretty annoying. On both Thursday and Friday I have to drive up to Denton (should be only 30 min, but has been longer recently) and then get on the bus to go to Arlington (probably an hour). Stupidly, the bus will almost drive past my apartment.
So to make it easier I looked into finding another way home- ie public transportation. And lo and behold there isn't any. How do they get 80,000 people into this stadium with no buses, trains, trolleys, nada. Not to mention all the Rangers games that happen next door. Arg...
Anyway, I'm psyched to be doing this. Unfortunately the logistics of it are pretty annoying. On both Thursday and Friday I have to drive up to Denton (should be only 30 min, but has been longer recently) and then get on the bus to go to Arlington (probably an hour). Stupidly, the bus will almost drive past my apartment.
So to make it easier I looked into finding another way home- ie public transportation. And lo and behold there isn't any. How do they get 80,000 people into this stadium with no buses, trains, trolleys, nada. Not to mention all the Rangers games that happen next door. Arg...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Another dinner post
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Car Update #2
Awesome Pizza, care of Itown
Short description of probably the best pizza Kaley and I have made-
Pesto (made by my dad- and freakin' awesome)
Mozzarella (made by central market- kinda cool?)
Goat cheese (made by...idk- still good)
Cherry tomatoes (also made, or rather grown, by my dad- and freakin' awesome)
Dough (continue the trend, made by central market- I think I'm done trying to knead dough, doesn't work and is way too much work)
In conclusion- pesto pizza is delicious.
The Bear is back...with beer.
So I'm restarting the blog after a long summer hiatus. Back on the bandwagon. And to start here's a beer review of a bottle I got to celebrate. But first a big congrats to AK for an awesome beat win. Here's to a big bump for his career.
So what am I celebrating what you ask? I had a successful school audition which placed me in the top orchestra and band (same as last year so not really an improvement, but still good- hopefully some better parts...) So I stopped by Lone Star and bought a bomber of Left Hand Imperial Stout.

The bottle has some grime across the top, not a good sign, but after smelling and tasting, it's not a bad bottle. The color is a dark brown, somewhat surprising, as Imperial Stouts are generally black as night, but oh well. The aroma is inviting and complex. First comes coffee, soy sauce, molasses, and wood. After it warms up the smell is sweeter- lending towards the chocolate, dutch cocoa and brown sugar tones, thought the other aromas are still there and some other subtle notes- rum, smoke, minerals, . The taste is fruitier, but still complex. As in the smell- there's coffee chocolate, woodiness. A lot more boozy on the tongue- this one doesn't cover the alcohol very well (how you take that part of it depends on how you expect a 10.4% beer to taste). Overall I wish the alcohol was a little less present, but besides that I'm very much enjoying this beer- good complexity, very flavorful, sips well, delicious.
So what am I celebrating what you ask? I had a successful school audition which placed me in the top orchestra and band (same as last year so not really an improvement, but still good- hopefully some better parts...) So I stopped by Lone Star and bought a bomber of Left Hand Imperial Stout.
The bottle has some grime across the top, not a good sign, but after smelling and tasting, it's not a bad bottle. The color is a dark brown, somewhat surprising, as Imperial Stouts are generally black as night, but oh well. The aroma is inviting and complex. First comes coffee, soy sauce, molasses, and wood. After it warms up the smell is sweeter- lending towards the chocolate, dutch cocoa and brown sugar tones, thought the other aromas are still there and some other subtle notes- rum, smoke, minerals, . The taste is fruitier, but still complex. As in the smell- there's coffee chocolate, woodiness. A lot more boozy on the tongue- this one doesn't cover the alcohol very well (how you take that part of it depends on how you expect a 10.4% beer to taste). Overall I wish the alcohol was a little less present, but besides that I'm very much enjoying this beer- good complexity, very flavorful, sips well, delicious.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Car Update
I took the station wagon in for an oil change. At 201K miles it's chugging along pretty well. The last oil change turned out to be somewhat of a disaster but this one not so much. While I didn't end up at the shop I wanted to be at (apparently there are a lot of Sam's who work in auto shops in Plano) I didn't get ripped off. No weird coolant issues; no scary engine malfunctions; just an oil change and some new fluids. So a big plus to my week there.
Pizza
Another dinner post.
We made pizza on Tuesday night. I handmade the dough but it kind of failed. It seems to be a successful process about half the time- the first time worked out fine, but I don't remember what recipe I used and it hasn't been the same ever since. It's especially hard to judge the amount of kneading and to actually continue to knead it until it's done (makes me wish for a breadmaker). If anyone has a good dough recipe that's hand tested I'd take it. Instead of our normal tomato, mozzarella, onion, green pepper, we opted for some different toppings: sauce, basil and oregano, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, olives, red bell pepper. Here's it before the oven:

And after, a little browner on the edges:

The toppings were great, but the crust...not so much. Kaley said it tasted like a scone. I was thinking more like floury cardboard. Either way, not good eats. But edible on top so it wasn't totally wasted.
We made pizza on Tuesday night. I handmade the dough but it kind of failed. It seems to be a successful process about half the time- the first time worked out fine, but I don't remember what recipe I used and it hasn't been the same ever since. It's especially hard to judge the amount of kneading and to actually continue to knead it until it's done (makes me wish for a breadmaker). If anyone has a good dough recipe that's hand tested I'd take it. Instead of our normal tomato, mozzarella, onion, green pepper, we opted for some different toppings: sauce, basil and oregano, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, olives, red bell pepper. Here's it before the oven:
And after, a little browner on the edges:
The toppings were great, but the crust...not so much. Kaley said it tasted like a scone. I was thinking more like floury cardboard. Either way, not good eats. But edible on top so it wasn't totally wasted.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Gourmet Food
We made sangria and bruschetta for dinner last night. Very fun and interesting.

For the sangria we used a bottle of wine from the Seattle wine tasting- "Ravioli Red" from Greenbank Cellers- a sweet and fruity table wine (sangiovese grapes if anyone actually knows what those are). And we added a can of ginger ale, a bit of rum, and cut up fruit- orange, lemon, peach, strawberries. Good stuff for a hot summer day.

We made a whole bunch of different bruschettas. About half (the bottom of the picture)were from a recipe we saw Ted Allen make at Taste Addison- tomatoes, strawberries, basil (from the cool living basil plant from Central Market see below), salt, olive oil, balsamic, and Parmesan.
The second on the left is olives, mozzarella, and oregano. I liked it. The olives were really flavorful. Next to it is a simple garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan (basically garlic bread). It was really good, but pretty basic. Next to that is chopped pepperoncini with salad greens- surprisingly good (I think chopped pepperoncini with white beans would be good too).

Tasty meal, and we'll probably make croutons with the leftovers.
For the sangria we used a bottle of wine from the Seattle wine tasting- "Ravioli Red" from Greenbank Cellers- a sweet and fruity table wine (sangiovese grapes if anyone actually knows what those are). And we added a can of ginger ale, a bit of rum, and cut up fruit- orange, lemon, peach, strawberries. Good stuff for a hot summer day.
We made a whole bunch of different bruschettas. About half (the bottom of the picture)were from a recipe we saw Ted Allen make at Taste Addison- tomatoes, strawberries, basil (from the cool living basil plant from Central Market see below), salt, olive oil, balsamic, and Parmesan.
The second on the left is olives, mozzarella, and oregano. I liked it. The olives were really flavorful. Next to it is a simple garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan (basically garlic bread). It was really good, but pretty basic. Next to that is chopped pepperoncini with salad greens- surprisingly good (I think chopped pepperoncini with white beans would be good too).
Tasty meal, and we'll probably make croutons with the leftovers.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Kick (really Shoot, Stab, and Slice) Ass

Just say Kick Ass at the dollar movie theater (word to 75 cent Tuesdays)
I was expecting an entertaining funny teen movie about an over zeleous guy who ends up with a cute girl. Instead it had an over zelous guy who ends up with a cute girl while an insane father daughter duo brutally masacre any and all bad guys in sight. It didn't turn out to be bad because of this, but definitely unexpected. Interesting highlights included:
-An man exploding in a giant lumber microwave (anyone know if this seriously exists?)
-Guy gets girl and proceeds to go straight to the boobs
-McLovin'
All in all, in combined Mystery Men with Sin City. Fitty, you've probably already seen this but if you haven't you need to go out and rent it.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Some West Coast trip pics
Got back on Monday night after a long trip- first to Chicago to see the crew (here's AK's roundup, including our run in w/ Albert Pujols).
I left that reunion early to go to Portland OR for my cousin Phil's wedding. It was at a nice winery near Saleem, and an appropriately mixed Jewish/Christian ceremony.

Lots of good wedding stuff- lots of beer and wine, and chichi doughnuts for dessert instead of a cake.
Kaley and I walked around Portland the next morning and found some random statues:
Teddy Rosevelt (not really any connection to Portland)

Then we drove to Seattle w/ my parents to stay w/ my brother and sister in law where there was lots of eating, drinking coffee,

and long walks.

Also a very nice three winery tour.

Overall a great trip, although the weather wasn't amazing- generally gray and chilly. But still fun, and some nice time spent with the fam.
I left that reunion early to go to Portland OR for my cousin Phil's wedding. It was at a nice winery near Saleem, and an appropriately mixed Jewish/Christian ceremony.
Lots of good wedding stuff- lots of beer and wine, and chichi doughnuts for dessert instead of a cake.
Kaley and I walked around Portland the next morning and found some random statues:
Teddy Rosevelt (not really any connection to Portland)
Then we drove to Seattle w/ my parents to stay w/ my brother and sister in law where there was lots of eating, drinking coffee,
and long walks.
Also a very nice three winery tour.
Overall a great trip, although the weather wasn't amazing- generally gray and chilly. But still fun, and some nice time spent with the fam.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Mavs won game 1
nuff said...
ok maybe not. I'll say one more thing-
Tim Duncan, you are old. But you can be the David Robinson to DeJuan Blair's Tim Duncan (confusing I know...)
Chitown
Yeah I'm coming. No I haven't bought tickets (I'll do it next week when I have enough time to breathe) (before that though I have another 2 concerts and a trip to Florida for an audition)...
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Quick Ballin' post #1- Playoff pics
I'm crazy busy with school and concerts and my mom visiting and getting ready for an audition in Florida, but I wanted to at least get these up for proof before playoffs start tomorrow.
Eastern Conference 1st Round
Chicago v. Cleveland- Cleveland in 5 (D. Rose will have one awesome game to avoid the sweep)
Charlotte v. Orlando- Orlando in 4 (fun frontcourt matchup to watch)
Milwaukee v. Atlanta- Atlanta in 6
Miami v. Boston- Boston in 7
Western Conference 1st Round
OKC v. LA- LA in 5 (see Chicago v. Cleveland and substitute Kevin Durant)
San Antonio v. Dallas- Dallas in 7 (probably most contested first round matchup)
Portland v. Phoenix- Phoenix in 5
Utah v. Denver- Denver in 7
Eastern Conference 2nd Round
Atlanta v. Orlando- Orlando in 5
Boston v. Cleveland- Cleveland in 6
Western Conference 2nd Round
Phoenix v. Dallas- Dallas in 6
Denver v. LA- LA in 5
Finals
Eastern- Orlando v. Cleveland- Cleveland in 6
Western- Dallas v. LA- LA in 7
LA v. Cleveland- LA in 7
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