Please pass the grits

I have recently read 'True Grit' and seen both movies. I also ate grits at Waffle house. Here is my assesment: Jeff Bridges plays Rooster better than John Wayne as he is a better actor. He overacts in my view, but that was his decision. Both teenage girls do a good job. Wayne and Glen Campbell are almost comically poor actors, yet there is a certain attraction to their work. It's almost like a high school drama club play. In the first movie, look for a very good appearance by Robert Duval, pre-Godfather. Duval is and was a very good actor. The cinematography in the first flick is also very good, with beautiful western backgrounds to almost every scene. Check this out on your new hi-def 47' Vizio if you have one. Overall, however, the newer movie gets the nod in a near call.

The book really trumps both movies. It is very well written, a fast and interesting read. It's a ten dollar download on your Kindle, and well worth it.

Waffle House features on their newer menus a combination of cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, and raisin toast. This is a tasty treat worth a try. You can also order grits as a side dish at Waffle House, and I have always found them to be good.

Week-end Snaps

We had a relatively low-key long week-end that included a rare trip to wine country (Amador County) affording a few picture opportunities. Here are a few of them (clicking on them enlarges):



Ok - this is actually a sunrise shot from our back-yard from a week or two ago...













And this is actually a snap from my bike loop. It is looking into El Dorado County at the border with Sacramento County.









This one could have come from Italy with the Olive trees set against the vineyards. The pine trees scream Shenandoah Valley though..










My Girls!



















Grazing steer...

Long Week-ends

It's official - tax season is upon us which means focals/reviews at work too so a double crunch. However, we had a nice family outing yesterday. Steph helped throw a shower for a friend, then we gathered for BBQ and fixins'. Jack discovered "angry bird" stuffed animals which he liked and posed with in this somewhat poor "blackberry" photo.




Happy President's Day

2011 Scion tC in Cement Color - Ugly Car Winner!

On the way to work I saw what I believe to be one the ugliest new cars of the year: The Scion tC. A big contributor to the unappealing nature of this car is its color....Scion call it "Cement". I call it bland and uninspiring. Maybe cement works...

Here she is in all her glory.

Local Tangeman Records Tale

Tane Tangeman was featured on the front page of the "Our Region" section of the Sacramento Bee this morning.

Superman Saves Lincoln

In the latest Superman comic book, Superman saves Lincoln, NE from a tornado, a flood, and some super-powered woman. Residents of Omaha are apparently miffed because it was believed, and even promoted by DC Comics, that Omaha would be featured. I'm guessing we can chalk up the decision to the fact that Omaha doesn't have any buildings as interesting as the capitol. The issue is Superman #708 for anyone who's interested. I'm going to try to pick up a copy tomorrow.

Video (Family Alert)

This meandering 2 minute video is largely intended for family. Otherwise, the entertainment value is relatively low!

Enjoy :)

Superbowl Menu 2011

This year for the Superbowl, our 16 courses all came from Trader Joe's. Here are the 16 courses followed by pictures of each:

TANDOORI GARLIC NAAN W/ TOMATO BASIL HUMMUS
MINI MINT ICE CREAM MOUTHFULS


ORGANIC TORTILLA ROUNDS W/ GUACAMOLE PICO
MINI PB CUPS
VEGETABLE BIRDS’ NESTS
DARK CHOCOLATE NUTTY BITS


UNCURED HAM & CHEESE ON PUFF PASTRY
PECAN PRALINES
MACARONI AND CHEESE BITES
CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES


FOUR CHEESE CIABATTA FLATBREAD PIZZA
GOURMET JELLY BEANS
PITA CHIPS WITH SHARP CHEDDAR PUB CHEESE


VANILLA BEAN MINI CUPCAKES
BLACK BEAN & CHEESE TAQUITOS WITH QUESO
BROWN SUGAR BARS



What lesson did we learn this year? We learned that perhaps limiting ourselves to 10 courses might be best!

Ribs for Super Bowl Supper

Before and After

Jack's School Pictures (Dress-up)

The latest set of Jack's school pictures are in. Back when I was a kid you got one school picture per year. I think this is Jack's third or fourth set this year! In short, it has become a money-making operation for the schools and photographers are happy to oblige. They do a good job though so we keep shelling out the $$$.

Jack posed well for all three again this year. If any of them strike your fancy let us know and we can arrange delivery.

Here's Jack as an astronaut!







Here he is as a pilot!




















And finally, a businessman!

Yuki's California Cousin

A few weeks ago I stumbled across an animal bearing a strong resemblance to Yuki!

New Nebraska License Plate

I recently picked up my new license plates. The new design features the meadowlark and goldenrod. Here it is situated next to the outgoing design.

Of course, we almost got stuck with a different, dull looking plate. There was a state website where people could vote on the design of the new plate. A comedy website called collegehumor.com caught wind of site, and encouraged readers to vote for the most boring plate. The ploy worked, and the boring plate won in a landslide. But once Nebraska officials realized what had happened, they disqualified the prank votes and the goldenrod plate was declared the winner. Here's a picture of the boring plate that almost was. It's really not so bad.