This Week In Vexillology #22

We're smack dab in the middle of Passover, kids- so break out the Manischewitz and matzoh balls and get ready to celebrate because this week, it's Israel!

Adopted on October 28th, 1948 for national usage, the flag was actually designed fifty years earlier in 1891 by David Wolfsohn for the burgeoning Zionist movement. The central emblem of the flag is the Star of David (Magen David) which has a long historical association with the Jewish people while the blue and white colors are said to be derived from the colors of the Jewish prayer shawl (tallith).

Interestingly, the blue on the flag is described as Yale blue-- and it's a lighter shade of blue than what's used on other Israeli flags. (The merchant and naval ensigns use a darker shade of blue, I guess...)

Controversial since its inception, Israel didn't have permanent borders until 1979- only ceasefire lines and yes, before anyone asks I do have a Palestinian flag kicking around here somewhere so they'll get their week in vexillology at some point as well. (Don't want people accusing me of bias or anything...) But in the meantime, put your hands together for Israel!

And until next time, keep your flags flying- FREAK or otherwise!

Instagram Food Wars: The Curly Fry Conundrum

Because sometimes, plain old french fries are just not enough, you get a craving for something different. If Sonic was still in town, you could go for tater tots, some other places go for onions rings but if you want to keep yourself in fry territory, you could go for curly fries.

Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge) describes curly fries thusly:

Curly fries are characterized by their spring-like shape. They are generally made from whole potatoes that are cut using a specialized spiral slicer. They are also typically characterized by the presence of additional seasonings (which give the fries a more orange appearance when compared to the more yellow appearance of standard fries), although this is not always the case. This seasoning also gives the fries a slightly spicier taste than standard fries.

So in reality, there's not much difference- save for the slicing technique and the extra seasoning- though I wish Wikipedia would have let us know exactly what some of those extra seasonings are.

In the I.C. Metro area, you've got two main choices- Arby's and Hardees. First up, we've got Arby's...

I was pleasantly surprised. The only kind of fries that Arby's has now are curly fries- talk about dedication! They're pleasantly orange in color, nicely curly- and always a plus for fries in my world, not that salty or greasy. Some people are a fan of salty fries- I'm not- I like a little bit of spice and actual potato flavor and Arby's hits all the right notes.

Next up, we've got their counterpart in curly fries- Hardee's

There's a lot I like about Hardee's. While a lot of other fast food joints went healthier, Hardee's doubled down on their commitment to making a good burger- they didn't flip their middle finger at everybody like the infamous Heart Attack Grill but they did say that they were making burgers and they weren't about to apologize for it. I like that and their curly fries are pretty damn good too.

Correction: their crispy curls are pretty damn good too.  They're curlier for one, better seasoned for another and that, ultimately gives Hardee's the edge in the curly fry conundrum.

The Winner: With curlier curls and better seasoned fries, Hardee's takes the prize.

Whiskey of the Month #6: Bushmills

Well, it's March.  And I was all ready to make it a Moonshine March and dip my tip toes into the expanding world of Moonshine (which seems to be everywhere these days) but then I realized what month it was and I could let March go by without trying another Irish whiskey- in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  I'd tried Jameson before.  I'd tried Michael Collins before so I thought I'd go ahead and score a bottle of Bushmills Original.

Color: Lighter shade of gold, more honey/yellow in color

Body: Vanilla is the most predominant note.- with maybe hints of nutmeg or some kind of other spice.  I read a review that said oak as well, but if it's there, it's pretty damn subtle.

Palate: Light and smooth this is a whiskey that goes down easy.

Finish:  Bushmill's comes on strong at the end-  it's a surprise and I'd say it's a pleasant one.  There's an aftertaste of smokiness that has a nice bite to it which fades into a very nice warming sensation.

Overall: This was an awesome whiskey.   About $20 down at the local Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits it's affordable, smooth and goes down easy.   It'll kind of bite you at the end- but it warms you up nicely as well.   The Final Verdict:  Seriously good shit. **** out of *****

'Rust and Bone' --A Review

The Missus and I decided a night at the Bijou was in order a couple of weeks ago, so I picked her up from work, grabbed one of the new (and delicious) Cool Ranch Flavored Doritos Locos Tacos from Taco Bell and we went down to see Rust and Bone at the Bijou.

I'd heard a lot of good things about Rust and Bone and I'm happy to report that the movie more than lives up to the positive buzz and critical acclaim than it's been getting.   The story of Alain (Matthias Schoenaerts) an unemployed father to his young son, Sam (Armand Verdure)- the opening of the movie sees them arriving in the south of France, looking for work and finding a place to crash with Alain's sister, Anna (Corrine Masiero) who has struggles of her own to contend with.   Alain finds work as a bouncer at a local nightclub where one night he meets Stephanie (Marian Cotillard) whom he escorts home after she gets injured at a brawl at the club.   They exchange phone numbers and go their separate ways.

Stephanie is a trainer at a local marine park (think Sea World.  Like maybe a EuroSea World?) and she is injured in an accident and soon wakes up in hospital to discover that both of her legs have been amputated below the knee.  Understandably depressed, she gives Alain a call and soon the two of them become friends and then eventually friends with benefits- though Alain is open and honest with her about his involvement with other women and the non-exclusive aspects of their relationship.  The relationship pulls Stephanie out of her depression and she starts to feel better about herself again, getting artificial limbs and walking (albeit slowly and with the use of a cane) again.   

Soon, she even begins to accompany Alain to his amateur boxing matches.  But when Alain takes an odd job helping to install cameras in various stores around the area that enables management to spy on their employees, it inadvertantly gets Anna fired and after a confrontation with Anna, Alain leaves and heads north to a training facility to pursue his dream of kickboxing- leave his son behind.

Awhile later, Sam arrives to spend the day with Alain and the two of them head out into the snow covered forests to go sledding and eventually attempt skating on a frozen lake.  When Sam falls through a weak spot in the lake, a frantic Alain has to punch his way through the ice to fish an unconcious Sam out, fracturing his hands in the process.   Although in a coma for awhile, Sam pulls through and Alain eventually breaks down on the phone with Stephanie as he realizes that he loves her and how insensitive he's been to her this whole time.   The film closes with scenes of Alain going professional in kickboxing in the aftermath of winning his first major fight, Sam and Stephanie by his side.

If I could find a fault with this movie, it's a minor one:  it got a bit long in the middle and I started yawning a bit- but that could also be due to the fact that we went to a 9PM showing and I was, well, tired.  But that minor quibble is more than redeemed by the performances of both Schoenaerts and Cotillard- especially Cotillard.   Her despair at her situation and witnessing her slow emergence from a very dark depression indeed is a thing of beauty to behold and she's amazing at portraying a stunning range of emotions in a single glance.  The CGI used to create the illusion of her missing legs is amazing as well. 

But what seemed so natural- and this is what made the movie unusual to me, was the way the film developed the relationship between Schoenaerts and Cotillard- nothing felt forced between them and what eventually resulted felt like a genuine, adult relationship with all the complications that come along with them, good and bad.  I also loved how Stephanie's disability is a total non-issue for Alain.  He doesn't infantilize her- he straight up helps her out when she needs help nothing more, nothing less.  That too felt astonishingly genuine.

Overall:  A raw and powerful love story, Rust and Bone deserves every bit of critical acclaim it's won so far.  The performances of the actors are amazing, the relationship is probably one of the most genuine and natural relationships I've ever seen portrayed onscreen and makes for an incredible movie.  **** out of ****.

Bracketology 2013: The First Weekend Autopsy

Gonzaga totally screwed me.  That's the thought that keeps running through my head as I look at the relatively smoking wreckage of my main bracket as we head into the Sweet Sixteen.  Currently, on ESPN.com, I stand at 41.7% with a rank of 4,748,222.   So needless to say, things are looking grim.  Let's break it down by region:

Midwest:
Oddly enough, the Midwest and the East are two of the best regions I've got left so far. St. Mary's loss to Memphis, however, hurt- and hurt bad and I had St. Louis getting to the Sweet 16- which isn't to say that they weren't capable of that- however, I think Oregon was criminally underseeded.  They're good- but I think if you're a 12 seed given the now almost tradition of 5-12 upsets, you should automatically assume that you might be better than your seed indicates.  Not in every case, mind you but in a lot of them.

So it's Louisville and Oregon and Michigan State and Duke.  I wanted to pick Creighton and give the Jays a little love but when Creighton depends on Doug McDermott having a good night to win, Duke pretty much shut him down (as I thought they would) and out they went.  So it's Coach K versus the Izzo- that's the marquee matchup in this region I think and I like Sparty's chances.  That's not to say that Duke isn't good- to get to the Sweet 16, I think you have to go be good, but they don't seem like the unstoppable machine of basketball armageddon that everyone has come to know and hate in years past.  This Duke team can be beaten.  I just hope Sparty's up to it.


South:
I give the nieces full credit for this one- because their love of Eagles (they're on a bird kick- Violet who at Halloween last year was nervous, scared and curious about Herky now has Herky on the brain and they've loved owls for even longer than that.) is paying off- Florida Gulf Coast is in the Sweet 16.  I have a feeling that the party might be ending since they're up against a very good Florida team but at the same time, these guys beat Georgetown by ten and the Hoyas are no slouches, despite their recent tendency to go out and go out early.  If people want to jump off FGCU's bandwagon, I get that but I think Florida is going to get all that they can handle and more. 

Florida and FGCU could be one heck of a match-up but Michigan and Kansas should be the marquee match-up for this bracket.  Michigan is looking good and Kansas had trouble with Western Kentucky and looked pretty damn rough the first half against UNC before pulling away fast in the second.  I like Michigan in that one--  the pragmatist in me wants to say that it's Florida they'll be playing but FGCU seems to be making fools out of everyone.  I won't bet against them.


West:
Let me say it again:  DAMN YOU GONZAGA! I stood by my Zags and took 'em all the way but after the trouble they had with Southern in the opening round (or second round or whatever the hell it is now.  Those play-in games so don't count as a round, I don't care what anyone says) I had a feeling they weren't going to make it there.  I just thought they'd get further than the round of 32.  As a result, the upper half of my bracket in this region is a total mess. Wichita State and Wisconsin- take a bow, because along with Gonzaga, it's all your fault.

The bottom half is better.  My instinct about New Mexico taking a dump early was proven correct and although I was tempted by Belmont, Arizona is one of those teams that when they get hot, they get real hot- so that pick paid off too.   Attempting to start an Ivy League Cindarella run to the Sweet 16?  Not so much-  so it's Ohio State and Arizona (the marquee match-up) and LaSalle and Wichita State...  I'm taking Ohio State and why not- Wichita State.  Because I want to make 'shocker' jokes along with everybody else.


East:
Indiana continues to make me nervous- but so far so good.  I'm hoping the game against Temple was their one wobbly game of the Tournament and I give them credit for digging deep and actually winning the game in the end.  Apart from not picking Temple and my belief in Butler over Marquette, I'm actually looking really good here.  What we're faced with is Indiana versus Syracuse and Marquette versus Miami--  of all the Sweet 16 match-ups these two could be classics or they could be blow-outs that go either way.  I'm still betting that Indiana and Miami prevail, however.


I threw up a 2nd Bracket as well-- it's doing a lot better- I'm sitting at 72.3% and a rank of 2,254,697 largely on the strength of picking Michigan and reversing myself on a few picks-  I'll do a full comparison when we're completely done with all this mess.  And I have to give a shout out to the Missus, whose bracket was completely demolished with Creighton's loss to Duke.  She now stands at 6% with a rank of 7.654,064 (she took Gonzaga, Butler, Creighton and her one-time University South Dakota State in the Final Four.  Gutsy picks, all of 'em- and in the case of all 'em entirely possible until unfortunate reality had to ruin an awesome dream.)

I will struggle on through the desolate ruins of my bracket however.  BRING ON THE SWEET 16!

Food Adventures #26: Donut Dirty Bombs

I blame an article in Saveur Magazine.  But after reading it, it fired my imagination a bit, even more so when I found a couple of recipes in there for donuts that were baked and not fried.  I had never made donuts before-  didn't know how to even start or what would be involved but I liked the idea of giving it a shot.   I found a recipe for Cottage Street Bakery Dirt Bombs and decided to give it a try.

As an added bonus, we had our nieces with us over Spring Break so I had two great kitchen helpers that assisted me in making these things.  Almost immediately I noticed the way that the recipe was written was a little deceptive.   The totals for the ENTIRE recipe were listed at the top which is fine and good- but you weren't necessarily using all of any given ingrediant the first time you got to it.  As a result, I nearly used all my sugar instead of 1 cup of sugar to cream my initial blast of butter with.

The batter also threw me for a loop for a bit because the recipe says to beat until smooth.  And it says batter and not dough- so I was expecting to end up with a fairly smooth mixture similar to pancake batter and not a smooth mixture of what was close to cake dough than anything else.  I suppose I should have expected what I was getting though- they're not called doughnuts for nothing, right?

Once mixed, I scooped the indicated amount into a muffin tin (as required by the recipe) and what emerged were these...

...which looked a hell of a lot like muffins.  The next stop got even crazier...   I was supposed to take a truly obscene amount of butter:

And melt it down.   Then, you take the muffin like results, dip 'em in the butter and then roll them in cinnamon sugar to create a nice delicious crust around them- so they end up looking like this:

What results? Sweet, crunchy, light and fluffy goodness that almost melts in your mouth, they're that good.  There's a strange buttery undertaste to them that I didn't like at first but then it sort of morphed into a buttery goodness that I could get behind.  And the crust...  oh wow the crust is what makes these bad boys.  Cinnamon and suger make for a nice texture to these things.  I almost want to track down the Cottage Street Bakery and see what the originals are like.  (Just checked their website.  Apparently it's all the way out on Cape Cod.  Anyone up for a road trip?)

The Verdict:  Awesomeness personified.  I could get into making these donut things...  if you don't want to fry your donuts up, try these for a health boost.  (Though dipping them in butter and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar might undo some of that boost, it's worth it.) I say: two thumbs up.

This Week In Vexillology #21

Kids, I'm kind of excited for this week because we've got one of the most interesting countries in Europe. An island nation and a divided nation, it's home to the last divided capitol in Europe and wonders such as these- yes, get your olive branches and sun tan lotion ready because this week, it's Cyprus!

Adopted for national and civil usage on August 16th, 1960, the flag has a white background. The outline of the island of Cyprus is yellow or copper which recalls the origins of the country's name, the Isle of Copper. The two olive branches signify peace between the Turks and the Greeks. The use of peaceful and neutral symbols in the flag was deliberate- at independence, they were hoping to defuse rising inter-communal tension between the Greeks and Turks.

Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful- a Turkish invasion in 1974 saw them occupy the northern part of the island to form the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, whose flag looks like this:

This flag draws much of it's symbolism and design from the flag of Turkey- and sure enough, it seems that the flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is flown mainly from government and public buildings- while the law states that the Turkish flag shall be the national flag of the people of Northern Cyprus. (At least, that's what I found over here... along with some remarkably specific instructions on the design of the flag of the TRNC.)

In recent years, there have been attempts at reconciliation between the two halves of Cyprus- all of them unsuccessful so far sadly though, Cyprus remains an island that is no stranger to conflict. It's traded hands many times over the centuries after it was founded in 1193. It was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1571 (increasing Turkish settlement) and passed into British control in 1870. The national emblem is that of the dove holding the olive branch in its beak- a symbol of peace that is drawn from the Biblical story of Noah and the Ark. For fans of Greek mythology, the dove is also symbolic of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite- who, the story goes rose from the sea in shell off of Cyprus. (Being Greek mythology, we should also note that it was after Zeus castrated Cronos and threw his testicles into the sea, they caused the sea to foam and from that foam rose Aphrodite and her sea shell.)

Yes, it's a pair of interesting flags from an interesting country that I want to visit someday. So put your hands together for Cyprus! And remember until next time, keep your flags flying- FREAK or otherwise!

Iraq: 10 Years Later

There's been a round of retrospectives marking the 10th Anniversary of the start of the Iraq War spreading across the interwebs.   The Quiet Man and Panda Sez have weighed in-  I saw the odious Piers Morgan interviewing Michael Moore about it for reasons passing understanding.  Everybody has weighed in so although it's a couple of days after the actual anniversary of the invasion itself, I thought I'd throw my two cents into the mix.

I had a lot of misgivings about the invasion of Iraq going in.  It didn't seem right to me, when we were engaged in military action in Afghanistan to try and invade another country entirely.  Wars and occupations are complicated things, not to be done lightly and Afghanistan is called the 'graveyard of empires' for a good reason.  The Soviets didn't last there, the British were chased out of there during- if we were going to occupy Afghanistan and effect regime change to prevent someone like the Taliban from becoming a haven for terrorists to launch attacks against us again, it seemed to me like invading another country was going to distract us from what we had been told was our primary mission:  protecting America. 

The invasion, in purely military terms was a success.   Where my misgivings turned into opposition was the way the occupation itself was conducted.   The crusty relics that made up the Bush Foreign Policy Establishment seemed to have dusted off an occupation manual from World War II and had convinced themselves that it was going to be just like Germany.  Little kids rushing up to victorious GI's to give them flowers and get candy in return and we'd all be home by Christmas.  The incompetence with which our government treated the incredibly complex balance of ethnic and sectarian tensions that were caged in an entirely artificial border that made up the nation of Iraq was staggering.  I'm convinced that incompetence, that arrogance and the corruption the American people probably will never know the full extent of, extended the occupation needlessly and cost American troops their lives.   That to me, is inexcusable- almost criminal. 

I do remain convinced, however, that is it too soon to write the final verdict on the Iraq War.  The ripple effects from the removal of Saddam Hussein are still ongoing- though I suspect foreign policy experts will be arguing about whether the invasion helped lay the groundwork for the Arab Spring Revolts or whether the Arab Spring happened in spite of the invasion for decades to come.  Whatever the judgement of history, the Middle East has been forever altered by the invasion and occupation.  Was it worth it?  I don't know if it was and I don't know if I'm in a position to answer that question one way or the other.  I didn't put on a uniform.  I didn't go.  I didn't risk my life.

What I do know is that the region is in turmoil, Qadaffi is gone.  Mubarak is gone.  Iran, despite what the media would have us believe is nowhere near as stable as we think it is- the Green Revolution should have been proof enough of that.  You could argue that with so much turmoil close to home, our enemies have neither the time nor inclination to attack our country again.  But I'm not sure I'd be comfortable endorsing the exportation of chaos as a foreign policy move we should get behind or support. 

I'm not a pacifist either.  I think wars can be justified- I just think they should be done carefully, competently and when all other avenues have been exhausted.  I believe Churchill said it best:  'Jaw, jaw is better than war, war.'  If the Iraq War has done anything, it's deepened my cynicism about our government.  Congress laid down on the job- Republican majorities gave Bush whatever he wanted without asking tough questions- you know, without actually being a check on the executive branch.  The resulting damage is something that the Republican Party is still struggling with today.  No one wanted to know why we were doing what we were doing.  And if our elected representatives weren't willing to do their jobs and handle the people's business then, what makes us think they're willing or able to do so now?

Food Adventures #25: Bacon Mac N'Cheese Wontons

I decided to get my fusion on this month and combine bacon, mac n'cheese and wontons- three of my favorite comfort foods into one tasty, crunchy morsel of goodness and the results- the results were amazing, save for one missing piece: a decent dipping sauce.

First, we had to make the bacon mac n'cheese:

I took half a pound of hickory smoked bacon and half a white onion and sauteed it up in some white wine. When the wine had just about reduced down, I added a couple of decent squirts of Sriracha sauce for a kick and kept right on cooking until it was all the way done and nicely browned and caramelized. Then, I cooked up a couple of boxes of mac n'cheese. Yes, yes- I know- Mother Cigar has already given me some grief about using the box stuff but I haven't tackled homemade mac n'cheese yet (that might be a Food Adventure for next month...) Mix it all together and you have your wonton filling.

Next step- the wontons:

I've never assembled wontons before. Last time we played it straight with the crab rangoons, the Missus was on assembly duty and I was on mixing duty. Assembling them was harder than I thought it'd be- primarily because I have big man fingers as a posed to delicate wee little ones but with some practice I managed it. Here's the beautiful touch though: to seal 'em up good, I drained off some bacon grease and used that. It made the edges of the wontons crisp up beautifully.

What resulted were amazing... crunch, cheese and bacon with just a touch of Sriracha. What they were missing, however was a decent dipping sauce. When the Missus pointed this out, my initial instinct said 'ranch' but after some reflection I'm not so sure... some kind of a white cheddar queso could be amazing but I'll have to ponder that for our next round of wontons. (The Missus suggested bacon cheeseburger. Which sounds amazing.)

My Verdict: with a decent dipping sauce, these could be awesome little morsels of goodness for any occasion. Viva La Fusion and Viva La Wontons!

Food Adventures #24: PB and J Bars

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaars! Throw in some hot dish and you've got the culinary cornerstone of the Medium White North. I stumbled across a slideshow on Huffington Post's Taste section that had not one, but two but 29 fantastic yummy looking recipes for bars. I picked out two- and followed the recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars to Sally's Baking Addiction and yumtastic-ness resulted. Behold:

I was a little uncertain about these. I'd never made bars before so I was unsure about what exactly the texture should be, so after the proscribed 40 minutes when I did the fork test and got some delicious goo for my trouble, I figured I'd better leave them in the oven for a couple of more minutes to be sure. In retrospect, I think that might have been a bad move because I think I over did them a little bit. Don't get me wrong- they're nice and crispy around the edges and have the perfect solid, rich texture you'd expect from a bar in the middle- but they're also a wee bit dry around the edges as well and that concerned me a little bit.

Not having any white chocolate chips (as the recipe called for) I used dark chocolate chips with my stresel and I also wonder if I should have used a different flavor of raspberry jam. (Technically, I used 'preserves' but what the hell- 'preserves' to me is jsut a fancy way of saying of jam.) There was a lot of the raspberry flavor- but it took me awhile to bust through to the peanut butter flavor but when I got the two in combination, it was perfection itself.

These were really really good- even if I did overdo it a little bit in my zeal. Rich, decadent, gooey bars of PB and J goodness, I can give a wholehearted two thumbs up to this recipe. Especially if you're looking for some bars to make.

Bracketology 2013 Open Thread

Yes, kids- it's time for that annual head scratching agony of filling out a bracket only to see it complete eviscerated within the first weekend of the Tournament.   It's a challenge I relish every year because, well, it's fun and for at least one weekend I have some vague hope that my bracket might actually be the one to get it right.

Then hope usually dies and I just sit back and hope that Duke loses and people/teams I like win. I'll be leaving this post open until my bracket is locked and updating as I go, so enjoy my thought process and if you have hot tips/suggestions- leave them in the comments.


Midwest: LOCKED
I have Louisville coming out of this region to make it to the Final Four...  partially because I hate Duke and partially because they got the job done in their conference tournament and won the Big East.   Some match-ups I'm still pondering:

Mizzou v Colorado State
Oklahoma State v Oregon
Memphis v MTSU/St. Mary's
Creighton v Cincy

UPDATED: Went with my gut on most of these-  Colorado State, Oregon and Creighton get the wins- though I have the sneaking suspicion Cincy might screw me and beat up Creighton.  I haven't really heard anything about Memphis at all, and I know St. Mary's is a solid team and Middle Tennessee State because, well, why not?  So I went with the MTSU/St. Mary's combo.  Go Gaels and Blue Raiders!  Michigan State beats Duke to punch a ticket to the Elite 8 and I know St. Louis is a dark horse pick to make a deep run partially because the A-10 is so solid as a conference and partially because of Rick Majerus and partially because, well, who the hell really knows what a Biliken is anyway, so why not show them the love but after watching Louisville go down big to 'Cuse and then come back to dominate 'em for the Big East Tournament Title, I'm convinced.  They get a shot a the whole ball of wax.


South: LOCKED
I'm going to completely re-arrange this. Neither Georgetown nor Kansas have me completely convinced so right now, I've got VCU doing another magical run to the Final Four.  I am totally going to change this....  Some match-ups I'm still pondering:

UNC v Villanova
Michigan v South Dakota State
VCU v Akron
San Diego State v Oklahoma

(I'm probably not really pondering Michigan v SDSU all that much.)

UPDATED:  So, since my nieces are staying with us for Spring Break I figured since my bracket would be shot to hell by the end of the first weekend anyway and that it's never too early to start learning the fine art of Bracketology, I consulted my two Joe Lunardis in training:

Basically, I went through the South region and asked them which mascot they preferred.  It came down to the Kitties of Villanova (Wildcats) and the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University and in the end, Violet's love for all things bird related won the day- so my nieces are taking Florida Gulf Coast all the way to the Final Four.  One big surprise though was their pick of Western Kentucky over Kansas.  I said 'Jayhawks or Hilltoppers?' and got a firm:  'Hilltoppers' in response from Audrey.  I thought I was going to have a split decision for a minute but Violet confirmed her choice.   They liked rabbits too, so apologies to Michigan--  South Dakota State gets to ride their love of bunnies all the way to the Sweet 16.


West: LOCKED
I've been a fan of Gonzaga ever since they emerged on the scene as the perennial mid-major force a few years back.  I'm so happy my 'Zags are a number one seed and yet...   I look at their first round match-up and I find myself thinking:  'A 16 seed has never upset a 1 seed.  Ever.  And if it's going to happen anywhere, it'll be here.'   Some match-ups I'm still pondering:

Pitt v Wichita State
Wisconsin v Ole Miss
Arizona v Belmont
Notre Dame v Iowa State

UPDATED:  Damn it, my love of Gonzaga is warring with a sneaking suspicion that they're going to screw me over hard if I ride them all the way to the Final Four. I'm going with Pitt, Wisconsin, Belmont and Iowa State-- though I think Iowa State might screw me as well.   Here's my conundrum:  all the buzz out there seems to think Gonzaga is really good.  Like really really good.  But there's counter-buzz that also says that they haven't really been tested outside the friendly confines of their home arena as well... so let's say the avoid a history making 16 v 1 upset and get past Pitt in the 2nd Round they get Wisconsin in the Sweet 16.   And Wisconsin...   well, there's that old saying about those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad- you know the one?  Bo Ryan and the Buzzcuts seem to have the rep of making people crazy and once people get crazy, they start playing Sconnie's game and that usually doesn't end well for them.   I will still be thinking about the West....

UPDATED AGAIN:  You know what?  Screw New Mexico.  Last time they were a 3-seed, they pretty much took a huge dump in the first round and that was that.  Let's have a little fun here...  Harvard over New Mexico, Arizona over Belmont and Harvard to the Sweet 16.  Because why the hell not, that's why! A lot of people seem to be smelling a 5-12 upset right out of the gate with Wisconsin going down to Ole Miss...  I'm sticking with B1G and taking 'em to the Sweet 16- and yes, I'm going to back my Zags all the way to the Final Four.  I don't know if they can win it all but I think they got it in them to get to the last four.  I'm not going to jump off their bandwagon yet!


East: LOCKED
Probably the most interesting region of them all.   I've got Indiana right now- partially because in the absence of Iowa making the Big Dance, I tend to do right by our Big Ten Confreres and show them some love.  As of right now, I've got Indiana taking the whole ball of wax because well, it doesn't matter how awesome your conference is from top-to-bottom unless you win it all at the end of the season.  And I'm nervous that a brutal Big Ten schedule might have shaken the Hoosiers up a bit and exposed their weaknesses.   Some match-ups I'm still pondering:

NC State v Temple
UNLV v Cal
Syracuse v Montana
Butler v Bucknell

UPDATED:  OK...  NC State over Temple...   sorry but with the reported love Jim Delaney has for the Tar Heels in his plans to rule the galaxy from his B1G Death Star, I have to give the Wolf Pack some love.  Plus, it's the 30th Anniversary of their magical run to the title and the clip of them going nuts after they win it is one that I've always enjoyed.  (Along with the Valpo one with Bryce Drew...)  I flipped on UNLV because I think the good teams in the Pac-12 are under seeded in the field- namely Oregon and Cal while the ones with injury problems and stars that are mentally trying on NBA uniforms (UCLA) and ones that just haven't really impressed enough to penetrate this far east (Arizona) are over seeded.  I was toying with giving the Grizz some love but no, Orange FTW.  And Butler gets it because well, it's Butler.

Yes, I picked Colorado over Illinois.  I'm unimpressed with Illinois...   Iowa beat 'em.  And Iowa got handed a 3 seed in the NIT for it's troubles.  (Yes, I'm a little bitter still- but we did lose at Nebraska (baaaad loss) and drip drip dripped away our chance in the B1G Tournament against Sparty so it's really nobody's fault but our own.  So let's do some damage in the NIT and get ready for NEXT YEAR BABY!)  I will sleep on this region as well because, well...  Indiana worries me.

UPDATED AGAIN:  It's either Indiana or Michigan State out of the B1G and I've got more faith in Indiana at this point...  they worry me but I think they've got the best shot at winning it all so I'm going with my gut. Indiana for the win!

This Week In Vexillology #20

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day so before you get your celebration on, break out the Irish whiskey have some Irish stew and a Guinness and get ready to recover from the hangover to end all hangovers because Irish eyes are smiling this week- because we've got Ireland!

Adopted for national and civil usage on January 21st, 1919, the Irish flag is one of many modelled on the French tricolore and was first flown by the nationalists in the struggle for freedom from Britain in 1848.  It wasn't until the Easter Rising of 1916 that it came to be associated as the national flag a fact that was officially confirmed in 1919 and written into the Constitution of Ireland in 1937.

The colors are relatively simple:  the green is for the Catholic majority, the orange for the Protestant minority and the white is for the union (and peace) between Catholics and Protestants- which has been hard to come by in years past but seems to be doing OK at the present time.

Ladies and gentlemen raise your glasses and get ready to celebrate a day early for Ireland!

And until next time...  keep your flags flying- FREAK or otherwise!

The Townie Bar Challenge: Mondo's Drafthouse

Mondo's Drafthouse
516 2nd St.
Coralville,IA 52241

Yes, kids, it's the triumphant return of The Townie Bar Challenge for 2013 and we're breaking into Coralville with a peek at the new version of the old Mondo's Tomato Pie, now reborn as Mondo's Drafthouse.

The Quiet Man and I visited for a late lunch- which might have been a mistake. It's entirely possible that around dinnertime, the place is hopping, alive and an altogether rockin' joint but I doubt it. My first impression was that the decor and the ambience was at war with itself. Nice table cloths and chairs war with a century's worth of American kitsch plastered to the walls and the trappings of a traditional sports bar (pool tables, shuffleboard tables, scoreboard, etc). I was left with the impression that this was a bar that didn't know what exactly it wanted to be. It felt like it was supposed to be a sports bar for grown ups or a place for recent graduates of the Tippie College of Business to hang out. (Given the apparent love for 80s soft rock around lunch, it felt a lot like a place where the frat guys from Revenge of the Nerds would come and drink and talk about how awesome the 80s were.)

I scored a sandwich and The Quiet Man scored some of the meat-free vegetable sautee and the sandwich (the Chicken Bacon and Guacamole) was decent but underwhelming, especially given the price. (Overall the food was what I would consider slightly pricey. Not overly pricey but more than you'd expect to be paying for what you get.) The bourbons and the whiskeys were a disappointment... most of them are to be found at the local Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits and I'm sorry but if the most expensive whiskey you've got is Johnny Walker Blue, you should consider me unimpressed. The beer list... was also disappointing. It was decent but not amazing and to me, if you're going to call yourself a Drafthouse, then you best have at least one beer on tap that I can't get anywhere else in town or if you really want to impress me, the state. Or otherwise, what's the point?

Consider me underwhelmed. That's not to say that Mondo's Drafthouse is a bad bar by any stretch of the imagination. (The one time I went to One-Eyed Jake's, I stuck to every surface I touched and I honestly felt like an STD was trying to crawl up my leg and infect me and once I had left that fine, festering turd of a bar I wanted to go home and burn all my clothes and take a very long shower. That's my standard for what constitutes a 'bad bar' experience and Mondo's Drafthouse was, happily, nowhere near that.)

My Verdict: An average, decent establishment, I have to admit I was a little disappointed in the place. There seems to be a clashing set of identities going on in an attempt to craft what I'd imagine is a 'Sports Bar For Grown Ups.' The only problem is that its kind of a mess as a result. But if I'm looking for a place to hangout on the Coralvile Strip, I'm thinking of The Vine, Old Chicago, even Tailgators before this place.

My Grade: C

New Pope Time!

This is a tough call to make, but I think I have to go with my gut here. The Conclave to pick the next Pope starts today and I honestly don't know what they're going to do- I have a guess and an official prediction but if there's a surprise to be had, it could be this time around.

Normally when a Pope dies, there's been manuvering and power struggles behind the scenes in the Vatican so you have a pretty good idea of who's going to be at the top of the shortlist for the next Pope- Pope Benedict, in what was probably the shrewdest, smartest move of his Papacy, short-circuited all of that by resigning. There was no notice, no warning, no time to gather allies and build strength and as a result, this Conclave could rightly be seen as being wide open.

Or is it? Everybody always looks for the Church to change at moments like this but one of the hallmarks of the Catholic Church is continuity over change. Don't rock the boat, don't freak out, just keep on, keepin' on and everything will be fine. The Church will endure. And with two millenia under it's belt so far, it's a powerful argument to fight against.

Personally, I think someone younger would be nice. Someone not from Europe would also be nice. Someone who can reform the Curia and adapt the Church and its message to the lightning fast pace of today's world would also be good.

Do I think I'm going to get that? Nope. Odds are, it's going to be an Italian. And if I have to make a bet, it'll be Archbishop Angelo Scola of Milan.

We'll see if I'm right!

FIRST UPDATE:  Well, they're locked in...  results of the first ballot are expected in about a half hour or so--  BBC has a good liveblog over here and if you're looking for some more in depth coverage of the issues and process, I will give a hearty recommendation to Whispers In The Loggia.

Looking at the live shot from the Vatican on the Beeb, I see that Daylight Savings Time has screwed with the Catholic Church as well.  How they're going to see the chimney much less determine what color the smoke is should be interesting.

It's been a couple of days since I wrote the above post but the more I think about it, the more I think it'll be an Italian or some other European...  the Church is awfully stubborn and I think despite the convincing arguments for you know, well, a little bit of change and modernization, I'll stick by my prediction of continuity over change.  Deep down I'd like to be surprised but I doubt I will be.

SECOND UPDATE:  No Pope today, kids.   Black smoke over the Vatican.

THIRD UPDATE, WEDNESDAY: Black smoke times two! Still no Pope! (There should be a couple of more votes today before they move into a potential Day 3.) The Cardinals remain undecided on a new Pope but are looking to trade Kevin Kolb for a decent QB and pick off a couple of teams from the A-10 for their basketball league. (Lame joke, I know- but I had too.)

Another friend of the blog, let's call him The Cheesesteak (he lives in Philly) has made his pick for Pope- Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Austria. I've heard some good buzz on Schoenborn and he's considered to be an outside shot at claiming the Papacy but an old Vatican hand that could be what they're looking for if they want to reform the Curia. However, his Mom isn't a fan of the notion.

FOURTH UPDATE: WHITE SMOKE KIDS! We gots a Pope! Updates to follow...

Early reaction: not sure... opinion seems to be a little divided right now. A lot of people were expecting this to go into tomorrow at least but CNN is saying that it went to the fifth ballot for the first time in over 100 years which is sort of indicative of, well, medium length. So emerging opinion seems to be that this was quicker than expected but not as quick as people think. Still waiting on his appearance and the official announcement.

FIFTH UPDATE (A BIT DELAYED BECAUSE I HAD TO GET TO WORK):  So it's Cardinal Jorge Bergolio of Buenos Aires who has selected the name of Pope Francis I.   Before anything else, just take a minute, turn on CNN and take a peek at the guy.  This is the first non-European Pope in over 1,000 years and the first South American Pope period.   That just happened.  Right now.  And you got to see something that nobody has seen ever.  That alone is worth stepping back and marvelling at- for the rest of your lives, you'll be able to think:  I saw that.  I saw something nobody's seen for 1,000 years- something nobody's seen ever before.  (And that kids, is why I tend to get excited about these things.  Not often you get to see history happen right in front of your face.

I'm cautiously optimistic about all of this.  Early reports are that Pope Francis has a reputation as a straight shooter, a guy who lives simply (CNN said he gave up his driver and chauffeur when he became Archbishop of Buenos Aires and took the bus to work) and is the first Jesuit ever to be elected Pope- but he's also a Jesuit that took the name Francis, the Patron Saint of the Franciscan Order, the traditional rivals of the Jesuits- indicating perhaps that he wants to build bridges and heal wounds within the church- all of which would be genuinely good things.

The Beeb has it's Live Blog up and there's reaction from MSNBC, Whispers In The Loggia.  Ms. Marmite was quick to pipe up with some controversy over the Church's role in the Dirty War in Argentina in the 70s- including some remarkably vague accusations against Bergolio himself.  Not having been to Argentina or knowing that many Argentinians (and even if I did, how do you start a conversation like that?  'Hey, about that horrible period of torture, repression, human rights abuses and general shittiness in your country back in the 70s, let's talk about that!') I'm hesitant to comment extensively on this.  One the tragedies of Latin America, especially during the Cold War was that organizations like the Church were on both sides of some horrible dictatorships and to me, one of the more unexamined and unknown chaptes in all of that is America's role in a lot of it.   The mistrust and the outright unfriendliness in many quarters of Latin America towards the United States undoubtedly stems from that.  (Again, how easy it to be friendly with a country that bankrolled the torturers?  I'm guess not very.)  It's a complex question that some parts of Latin America still struggle with today.  I would hope that in this case the Church would have at least acknowledged its role, good or bad (or maybe even good and bad) during this period and sought to move forward with a renewed emphasis on justice for all.  

But all in all, I'm cautiously optimistic.  When the Church steps outside its comfort zone and does something it's never done before, it's at least an acknowledgement that the people of the Church are looking for some semblance of change.  I'm not expecting miracles overnight, but today, even as a lapsed, very bad Catholic, it doesn't feel like the Church is a totally hopeless case anymore.  That feeling of optimism could vanish very very quickly- but today, kids, we got a new Pope!

Food Adventures #23: Orange Marmalade Chia Cookies

Kids, I've always been a sucker for a good orange marmalade. The Cigar Parentals used to keep a jar of Dundee Orange Marmalade kicking around the house when we were all growing up and one of my favorite breakfasts- and all time breakfast memories was buttered toast and marmalade. If you got the butter when the toast was still nice and hot it would get a little melty and then adding a dollop of marmalade on top of that, you'd get the perfect combination of butter, bread and marmalade. Perfect- especially given the amount of homemade bread Mother Cigar churned out (still is churning out, even today).

So while I didn't have Dundee Orange Marmalade (the good stuff) kicking around the joint I had a jar of Rose's Orange Marmalade (pretty much just as good- but it's not quite the same, I don't care what anyone says) kicking around and without fresh bread (trying- emphasis on trying to watch the carb intake) around the house either, I was left wondering what to do with the stuff.

A quick Google search for Orange Marmalade Cookies came up with this recipe which is about as simple as they come so the Missus and I decided to whip up a batch. (Until, that is the Missus remembered we had defrosted a roast the night before and started to get excited to make a Pepsi Roast- then it became mainly me on the cookies and her on the roast. But that's ok- we covered dinner AND dessert.)

I didn't want to mess around with icing this time (longtime readers- all two of them, will undoubtedly recall my struggles with cupcake icing) but the recipe seemed a little pedestrian to me so after a consult with the Missus we threw in a teaspoon of Chia seeds for an added crunch and a dash of Omega-3 boosters. Plus, we do have a giant bag of Chia seeds sitting in the kitchen so we might as well use some of them, right?

What resulted was pleasant, crunchy and sweet but not overwhelmingly so. I think the orange peel in the marmalade did a good job of cutting out the excess sweetness- and once again, we used liquid egg whites only, so we cut out a little bit of the fat there and made them nice and fluffy in the process.

Overall: These worked really well- they're super simple, require few ingredients and take about twenty minutes to a half hour to prepare and ten minutes a batch to cook so they're quick too. I can give these a solid two thumbs up...

The Toaster Pastry Gun Freedom Act

Yes, kids, it's a real piece of legislation. A Maryland state senator crafted the bill in response to a recent raft of high profile and frankly idiotic suspensions at public schools across the country and in particular this case:

A nationwide flurry of suspensions seemed to reach an absurd level recently when Josh Welch, a second-grader at Park Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland, was suspended for two days because his teacher thought he shaped a strawberry, pre-baked toaster pastry into something resembling a gun

“I just kept on biting it and biting it and tore off the top of it and kind of looked like a gun,” the seven-year-old told Fox News.

“But it wasn’t,” he astutely added.

As Reason’s Hit & Run blog noted, Park Elementary School officials later offered counseling to other students who may have been traumatized by the pastry.

Yes, a second grader ate his Pop-Tart into a shape that vaguely resembled a gun and was suspended from school for two days. And to compound this farcical absurdity, the school officials offered counseling to other students who may have been traumatized by the pastry.

What. The. Fuckity. Fuck.

Seriously? Has common sense leaked out of our educational system this much? Are we targeting second graders now? Are we worried that a seven year old might somehow bring a gun to school and start mowing down his classmates in cold blood because he ate his freaking Pop Tart in a certain way?

It's sad that we know have to craft legislation to fight against this idiocy- but it's sadder that it even got to this point in the first place. Kids, I read a lot of stuff on the interwebs and I do my best to take it with a grain of salt. But when I meander through the Conservative blogosphere now and again and read the usual chest-thumping screeds about the indoctrination and piss-poor excuse for an education that happens in public schools, it usually irritates me a little bit. After all, I'm a product of public schools- reasonably well-adjusted, not-in-prison and not voting mindlessly for Progressive candidates everytime I get into the ballot box. (Reason #1,234,556,334 Why I Hate The Two Party System: Republicans think you're mentally ill/un-American if you vote for Democrats, while Democrats think you're hatful, misogynistic and bigoted if you vote for Republicans- and mentally ill if you go to Church now and again. Might be a generalization of the attitudes of both parties- but those attitudes are there which is why I usually poke my finger in both of their eyeballs and vote for someone else.)

That aside- when I read about shit like this, I have to shake my head and wonder if maybe, just maybe the public school haters of the right have a point in this case. Seven year olds can't possibly fit the profile of a potential mass shooter and in any case, it was a damn pop tart. There has to be common sense limits to zero tolerance policies that are so endemic in schools now.

By the way- the money 'graph of this article is to be found at the bottom:

The bill also includes a section mandating counseling for school officials who fail to distinguish between guns and things that resemble guns. School officials who fail to make such a distinction more than once would face discipline themselves.

One can only that the Maryland Legislature passes this brilliant piece of legislation intact. Fear The Turtle- and Go Maryland!

This Week In Vexillology #19

From the corner of one island nation (Wales), we take a trip across the Atlantic to another island nation just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. So light up a cigar, mix yourself a mojito and get ready to transit through another country to see Hemingway's other house- because this week, we're gettin' embargoed with Cuba!

Right off the bat, we see something unusual about the flag of Cuba: it wasn't totally re-designed after the Communists took power in 1959- the current design was adopted for national and civil usage on May 20th, 1902. The flag was designed however, in 1848 for the liberation movement which was fighting for independence from Spain- (and apparently to make Cuba into a state of the United States according to my handy-dandy pocket guide. Not sure how on the level that is, but it could be true.) The blue and white stripes recall the Stars and Stripes- and the star is known as La Estrella Solitaria- the lone star, and another potential addition to the United States. (The stripes represent the five provinces in Cuba at the time.)

In even more parallels to the United States- the red triangle is taken from the Masonic symbol of equality- and you just have to look at a dollar bill to see reams and reams of Masonic symbols everywhere.

The number of parallels to the flag of the United States is surprising given the relationship between our two countries and how frosty and complicated it's been over the past six decades or so-- but when you consider that US intervention in the Spanish-American War helped gain Cuban independence as well, it becomes more unusual still.

An interesting flag for an interesting country that I hope to visit someday. In the meantime, until next time keep your flags flying- FREAK or otherwise!

The Ukelele Experience

Kids, I've never owned a musical instrument much less attempted to learn how to play one. I hated choir in junior high, never got the chance to start an instrument (I was interested in castanets and percussion, the Parentals were decidedly not so it was the recorder for me!) And hated choir so much in high school that I doubled on foreign languages to avoid taking it. (Now that's dedication, am I right?)

Of all the instruments out there, I've always thought that the ukelele would be pretty cool to learn how to play. It has a lot of appeal (Hawaii and such) and it's smaller and more portable than a guitar- in short, it seemed like the perfect instrument to learn so I can jam out with a frosty beverage on the porch on summer nights and such like.

Happily, I'm married to an awesome woman who made this dream come true- and one month into my ukelele experience, I've got six chords pretty solidly down- but changing between them seamlessly is something I'm still working on. The three fingered ones are especially tricky but hopefully progress will continue and I'll be jamming out and strumming away by summer.

(Mad props: we're getting multi-media up in here kids! Pardon my disheveled appearance... this was recorded post-wisdom teeth removal so I was still a bit out of the loop.)

There Was An Election And A Republican Won

I've been on my ass for two days now, having had my wisdom teeth extracted Tuesday morning so no, I didn't go out and vote in the Supervisor's race yesterday. To be honest, I found the Linn County brouhaha a lot more interesting (though The Quiet Man makes a good point: the water park option only makes sense if it's an indoor one. Outdoor one is a waste of everybody's time) and for the other, I assumed that the People's Republic of Johnson County would do what it always does and vote in the Democrat, Terry Dahms.

Ooops. Yes, for the first time in five decades, Johnson County has elected a Republican to the Board of Supervisors and the great and the good of the Democratic Establishment are wringing their hands and wondering if the sky might actually be falling. I doubt it is, but it's certainly news that makes you blink a little bit.

Don't grab the ideological tea leaves and start looking for shifts that aren't there though: this was more about sending a message to the Democratic Party establishment than it was about voting for a Republican. For sure, I'd bet the rural areas of the county run more conservative but there are other things at work as well. I think between the JECC and the Jail, rural voters were probably irritated with the Board of Supervisors- that's cash money and a lot of it with benefits that were certainly questionable at the time.*

While Daums technically resides outside the city limits, we're talking Newport Road and Prairie Du Chien- that might be technically rural but it ain't really rural and everybody knows it. Folks out in the county wanted someone to speak for them and stand up for their interests and they beat the weather to get the candidate they wanted.

If there's a message for the Democratic Machine of Johnson County it's that they can't take any race for granted (I'm not saying they did with this one, but, well, yeah they did...) and they have to pay attention to the needs of rural voters as well as us city folk in the county.

*Random Footnote: This is work-related, kids, so pay attention because it won't last long. My experience working as a Dispatcher these past couple of years has taught me that consolidation of communications center is messy, expensive and time consuming. There's internal politics in play between agencies and getting people on the same page is hard. There are benefits- response times and operations are more streamlined now but there's the inevitable growing pains and the initial costs are expensive. In other words, its going to be awhile before you see tangible benefits and I think now we are.

An Old School Filibuster

I wasn't planning on doing anything else with my afternoon but I saw a flash on the internet that Senator Rand Paul had been filibustering the Obama Administration's nomination of John Brennan to the post of CIA Director since 10:47 AM this morning and I was immediately interested- an actual filibuster? An old school filibuster? Over what?

I found CSPAN-2 on my DirectTV and immediately began watching.

Drones... drones are the topic of the day and apparently, the vague statement that drone strikes could be authorized within the United States and the overuse and vague use of drones has apparently annoyed Senator Rand Paul one too many times.

The media is saying not one damn thing about this- because the issue of drones is one issue that doesn't get talked about, doesn't get mentioned, doesn't get media coverage because it pisses off people on both sides of the aisle and it makes the Obama Administration look really, really bad... (Yes We Can! (call in a drone strike on your ass anywhere in the United States. We just don't want to tell you that.)

If I'm a betting man, I'd say Senator Paul is running for President in 2016. He's talking a damn good talk about constitutional rights and asking some tough questions on how far our rights go in the age of terrorism that we live in today- if he can walk a good walk, he could go places. But I suspect the fact that he might actually be a principled politician that actually means what he says will effectively doom his chances of getting anywhere near the White House.

By the way: if you want more proof that American journalism is dead, consider the fact that when I turned to CNN they were blabbering on about the Jodi Arias Murder Trial. How often do we see actual talking filibusters? Not that often these days- if you're not watching CSPAN-2 right now, you damn well should be.

Oh and if you want to reform the filibuster- they should all be talking filibusters.

UPDATED: Senator Paul is impressing me more and more. The Obama Administration has been vague in the extreme about just how and when drones can be used against Americans and Senator Paul is asking tough, hard questions about who has the authority, who should have the authority and what kind of legal rules are going to be in place if they decide to allow the use of drones in America.

Oh man, this is seriously thought-provoking stuff. Hard, hard questions and the fact that someone is asking them makes me want to stand up and cheer. You should be watching this...

The Sky Is Falling, Long Live The Sky

The dreaded sequester went into effect a few days ago and so far, no planes have fallen out of the sky, the Republic hasn't collapsed and life seems to be continuing per normal- for me anyway. Yet the paralysis of our government continues. The ineffectual policy making, the inability to do anything other than duck the hard choices seems to be the governmnt that we get these days- and while it's fun to beat up on Washington D.C. there's an argument to be made that really, we do it to ourselves. After all, we vote the bums in- why do we get outraged when we realize that they're actually doing anything other than spending money faster than a teenage boy in a strip club?

I'm not sure voters know what they want. And I don't think that's a phenomenon confined to the United States anymore. Israel still doesn't have a government formed. (Netanyahu was graciously given two extra weeks by Israeli President Shimon Peres to try and seal a deal- he's had four so far.) Italians were so irked and the prospect of technocratic austerity that they elected to try paralysis instead. No one seems to want Bunga Bunga Berlusconi back in charge and the New Democrats on the Left don't have enough seats and the Five Star Movement lead by Comedian Beppe Grillo wants nothing to do with anybody. (Though Grillo gets some props from me... Conservative blogs seems to see fascism lurking in the corner but if anybody's wondered what it would have been like to have George Carlin form a political party, run for Congress and actually win seats, now we know, albeit in a slightly crazier, Italian kind of way.) There are darkly ridiculous rumors of a military coup in Spain, fascism is on the March in Greece and Hungary, voters in Eastleigh in the UK beat the Conservatives into third place behind anti-EU party UKIP and nobody knows whether Scotland or Catalonia are going to have a Europe to be independent in at all.

Citizens of the western democracies seem to be in a truculent, disgruntled kind of a move- probably because the problem that stalks our land isn't necessarily income disparity or rich people being dickheads and keeping all the cash, it's fundamentally simpler than that: people want things from the government, but they don't want to pay any of them.

Square that circle, kids and you could have quite the career in politics these days. I think about these problems and I have no answers. It's one big fishpond that we're dealing with and if you drop a rock in the center, the ripples bounce off everything in one way or another and the whole problem gets complex and chaotic and then it becomes suddenly easy to realize why nobody seems to know what they're doing. Yet at the same time, someone has got to roll up their sleeves and get to work. We can't be bound by old ideologies or tired ideas anymore- and that goes for the left and the right. I don't give a damn about ideology or principles- all I care about are results.

If politicians want my vote, it's real simple- look at the mess we're dealing with and then actually do something useful about it. That will impress me.

Hugo Chavez, 1954-2013

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died today after a long battle with cancer at the age of 58. One of the most polarizing figures of the past twenty years, Chavez in many ways assumed the mantle of Fidel Castro as the standard bearer for radical leftism/socialism throughout Latin America- which made him a key figure in a region struggling for identity after the collapse of the so-called Washington Consensus of the late 80s and early 90s.

I'll be honest: I didn't like Chavez. I thought he was anti-democratic, thuggish in his treatment of the opposition in Venezuela and took a country with a rich history of democratic stability and damn near pissed it all away. I didn't like his brand of leftism- I felt it was dated, tired and with the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the state lead socialist regimes in Eastern Europe, proven ineffective in the extreme.

But he fascinated me- I about fell in love with the whole damn region after reading this excellent book about the History of the Latin American left by Jorge Castaneda. I preferred the leftism of Da Silva and Bachalet more than Chavez and Ortega- and I think history will show that the more moderate, pragmatic leftism practiced by Brazil and Chile will come out ahead of the more radical, dangerous, anti-democratic leftism seen in Nicaragua and Venezuela.

A controversial figure in life, he'll undoubtedly be a controversial figure in death as well- and one can only hope given America's peripheral involvement in some damn fool coup attempt a few years back, we'll give a hearty endorsement to real democratic elections and then shut the hell up.

Mindless Speculation, Just Because I Can

Yes, it's time to revisit my favorite hobby- mindless speculation about conference re-alignment: just because I can. To be honest, not much is moving on the re-alignment front right now. Yes, the A-10 is probably going to get raided by the Catholic 7/New Big East for a few programs, but that's basketball and that's life in the mid-majors for you. Boundaries shift, Popes resign and life goes on. Xavier, Butler and potentially some combination of St. Louis, Creighton and Dayton could all be headed to the new league- when and how has yet to be determined.

There was a mild buzz about two weeks back about UNC and UVA talking/getting invites to the B1G but that hasn't materialized into anything concrete- everyone's waiting on the results of the Maryland/ACC lawsuit before making a move. I stumbled upon some fairly coherent and well-thought out analysis of the situation over here- a vast improvement on the usual mindless insanity that fills the ESPN.com comment boards whenever a whisper of realignment leaks out into the world.

What surprised me with the article above though isn't that UVA and UNC are being targeted. It's that Florida State seems to have climbed into the ranks of the papabile leapfrogging even Georgia Tech with the final stopping number of the B1G now looking more and more like 18 than 16 and some people even mentioning 20 which just seems utterly ludicrous to me.

Look, to me, at a certain point, you just get too damn big. If the B1G is insane enough to go to 20, then we're essentially going to be two leagues that schedule games against each other. (And maybe that'll work out in the long run- I mean, it's seeming more and more likely that we're getting Wisconsin back in our division and that should make many a Hawkeye fan happy.) And while I'm not thrilled about the prospect of UNC joining the B1G, it could be worse- at least they're not Duke. (If Duke joins the B1G, the Buckeyes will be forever displaced from their position of 'if my kid goes to that school, I might disown them.' F--k Duke. Seriously. F--k that noise.) If we get anyone from North Carolina, I'd prefer NC State but the Illuminati of the B1G undoubtedly have their own opinion on that.

UVA makes sense- it expands our reach into Virginia (though I think you could make the argument that VaTech gets you more of Virginia than UVA does, television-wise), we give Maryland a neighbor that they've got a long rivalry with and though not many people have been mentioning it the B1G will be awesome at both Lacrosse and Soccer- and that's pretty damn exciting to me. I almost wish Iowa played lacrosse just for that reason... But it brings up another interesting rumble I found and that was the whisper of Johns Hopkins joining the B1G as an associate member in Lacrosse.

Color me surprised on that one- I didn't know the B1G was into that but it raises potentially cool possibilities in both lacrosse and hockey that are worth considering. (The best Lacrosse powers and the best of the old WHCA? Could be cool... just sayin'.)

In the meantime, we few, we happy few watch and wait for the next domino to fall.

Food Adventures #22: Gluten Free Almost Paleo Banana Bread

To be totally honest, I'm entirely sure what the Paleo Diet consists of it- it seems to be complicated and involve a lot of cooking and eating like a cave-man/person but beyond that I've never had the tickle to seriously try it. Diets and I don't really get along all that well. The Parentals, the Missus and I attempted the South Beach Diet a couple of years back which was no carbs, cold turkey for the firs two weeks and by the end of week one, I would have mugged a homeless guy for a crust of bread and I would have been perfectly happy if all lettuce ever had been eradicated in some kind of weird lettuce disease. (Lettuce rolls... gross.)

The Grapefruit Diet was the next diet up and I honestly can't remember how that went for me. I'm OK with grapefruit so I found it far less objectionable than the South Beach Diet and given the fact that bacon and eggs were frequently involved, I was OK with that too- but in the end, I cracked like I always do. (For the record: straight-up not stuffing your face with everything in sight and exercising on a regular basis seems to work for me. My Fitness Pal on the phone keeps me counting calories and logging my exercise and weight!)

This was supposed to be straight up Paleo Banana Zucchini Bread- adapted from this recipe to celebrate our ongoing health kick and to well, try some gluten-free, Paleo baking just to see what it was like.

But then the Missus and I realized that we had no zucchini but what we did have was chocolate chips and coconut so what we ended up with was Gluten Free ALMOST Paleo Banana Bread. (Maybe it still qualifies as Paleo. I don't know- do chocolate chips, coconut and Maraschino Cherries disqualify you?) Happily, the results were just as good and delicious. We used liquid egg whites so the resulting texture was light, fluffy and extremely moist. With the addition of chocolate chips and coconut, it almost tasted like bread pudding than banana bread but I'm not going to complain about that.

All in all, if you want to shake up your usual banana bread recipe without sacrificing your health kick or calorie count, this is a damn good way to go. I can give this an enthusiastic two thumbs up- happy eating!

This Week In Vexillology #18

Yesterday was St. David's Day- the Patron Saint of Wales- so cook up some leek stew, sit down for some rugby and get ready to drop some mad flow because this week, if you haven't guessed- it's Wales!

Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Wales was approved in 1959 as the Welsh National Flag- but the Red Dragon has been associated with Wales for centuries, dating back to Tudor times, when Henry VII used it at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485- and it was traditionally associated with the House of Tudor from then on. (Wikipedia, the font of all knowledge also seems to think that the green and white on the flag represent leeks- but my Ultimate Pocket Flags of the World seems to think that the dragon is perched on top of a green hill.)

The dragon, however, has had a longer history of association with Britain- dating back even to Roman times. Some of the earliest references go as far back as 830 AD and there are references to dragons in the Arthurian legends as well.

Historically, the dragon has appeared on flags of the Qing Dynasty in China, several cities across the world including Cardiff and the badge of St. George's Cross in Malta- but only Bhutan shares a dragon with Wales country-wise.

So put your hands together for Wales!

And until next time, kids- keep your flags flying. FREAK- other otherwise.

2,906 Miles Update #4

As of 2/1/13: 99.13 miles in
Starting Weight: 240
Ending Weight: 233.4
Pounds Lost since January 1st: 17.7
Miles Added: 36.06

So we're now 135.19 miles in, which means the map now looks like this:

Now It Gets Interesting, Linn County

In a late-breaking move, Riverside Casino CEO Dan Kehl announced today that he was willing to build a $30 million water park, bowling center and event space on the site that investors are looking to build a casino on in Cedar Rapids. That's right, Linn County- shit just got real.

Personally, if I was in Linn County, I'd be overjoyed. Decide you want a casino and all kinds of rich people fall out of the woodwork offering to build you nice things. Kehl's been portrayed as a duplicitous monster out to deny Linn County folks tax money, jobs and investments all while attempting to fool the meat lady- well, he just upped the ante to offer $30 million for some very nice intriguing things-- and if it's an indoor waterpark, well then shit, you just hit the jackpot Linn County.

My gut instinct is that this is going to be too little, too late for voters and the casino will be approved anyway- but if Kehl gets more specific and offers some more solid committments to his project then, then, I think things could get interesting. I think there's a lot of families up in Cedar Rapids that'd be thrilled at the idea of a family friendly waterpark destination- they might be more thrilled about it than the casino but with five days to go...

I don't know. Depends on how voters take this- if they think it's a serious offer, then this might have moved into 'toss-up' category. If they think it's a cynical stunt to protect his own Casino, I think it'll backfire bad and we'll see an overwhelming 'yes' vote...