There's just something about crime. Whether it's enjoying capers like Ocean's 11 or The Great Train Robbery, we tend to romanticize the dastardly wrongdoer despite whatever his or her heinous crimes might be. I've yet to meet someone who was rooting for the cops to catch Hannibal Lector when they were reading Silence of the Lambs. Whatever it is, something happens when we hear the story of someone who flaunts authority and just does something so outside the bounds of society's rules that despite our professed outrage.... we admire the audacity.
So of course the non-fiction book by Julian Rubinstein detailing the life and crimes of Hungarian bank robber Attila Ambrus was a fascinating read. A friend had lent me the book a few years ago and I just now was inspired to read it. I'm sorry I waited so long. Rubenstein's story flows so well and the story of Attila's life is so far-fetched you'd swear it was fiction. Rubinstein's painstaking research shows as he portrays the struggle of Attila's early life and his turn towards crime in vivid detail. By the end, you come to view Attila as a victim of the times.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the power vacuum left behind in Hungary led to corruption at all levels of government and this not only provided the perfect opportunity for men like Attila, but also endeared men like him to the public. Though Attila's life is fascinating enough, the window Rubinstein provides us into the state of Hungary after the fall of the USSR is equally thought provoking. Rubinstein often cites that while Poland had Lech Wałęsa and the Czech Republic had Václav Havel, Hungary did not have a similar charismatic and effective leader.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good criminal tale (and who doesn't?). But beyond that, I love this book for giving me insight into a country I had little knowledge of, and reminding me that I need to read something by Havel who I've admired since I read this quote: "All too often living normally begins as an attempt to do your work well, and ends with being branded an enemy of society"
Additionally, and this will probably only make sense to myself, I found that the idea that Hungary was much worse off than Poland and the Czech Republic because of its lack of a certain type of leader might lend support to the ideas present in The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, which despite the title, proposes that the most effective combination would be a hybrid organization that contains elements of both decentralized and centralized control. At some point I'd like to explore this thought a little further.
Finally, since it was a non-fiction book and a recommendation I can cross a few numbers off my list!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Progress Update: Adding tricks to the rotation
Well, after I made Chicken and Corn Chowder a few weeks back (and again this weekend) I was sitting there with half a rotisserie chicken left in the fridge. Well, I once again turned to the Common Culinarian for some ideas. Chicken salad sounded excellent.
This was a very straight forward easy to bust out recipe. Cut up stuff, throw it in a bowl, and mix:
Then spread it on a store bought baguette and enjoy!
The pictures I took don't do it justice. It was delicious! And even though it's more of a lunch item... I'm calling it another trick learned!
If only my next cooking adventure had been as successful. I was attempting to make Linguine with Navy Beans, Tomatoes, and Basil. Well, as you can see, I failed to rinse my navy beans off as well as I should have.
So obviously the beans overpowered every bite, which is a shame because you could definitely taste the potential of a great dish buried underneath all that bean sauce. So I'm gonna give it another shot, and this time I'm gonna rinse those damn beans until I can pour water on em and the water stays clear. And I'm gonna measure out the linguine a little bit better.
This was a very straight forward easy to bust out recipe. Cut up stuff, throw it in a bowl, and mix:
Then spread it on a store bought baguette and enjoy!
The pictures I took don't do it justice. It was delicious! And even though it's more of a lunch item... I'm calling it another trick learned!
If only my next cooking adventure had been as successful. I was attempting to make Linguine with Navy Beans, Tomatoes, and Basil. Well, as you can see, I failed to rinse my navy beans off as well as I should have.
So obviously the beans overpowered every bite, which is a shame because you could definitely taste the potential of a great dish buried underneath all that bean sauce. So I'm gonna give it another shot, and this time I'm gonna rinse those damn beans until I can pour water on em and the water stays clear. And I'm gonna measure out the linguine a little bit better.
Monday, February 11, 2008
23. Watch Goonies
Why is it on the list?
Based on the facial expressions of folks when I tell them, not having seen the movie Goonies is somewhere below Public Nudity on the Social Acceptance list. How I escaped childhood without seeing what everyone I know refers to as a "classic" I'll never know. Perhaps I was too busy playing outside while the rest of you lard asses where hunkered down in front of the TV living vicariously through Chunk as he pounded another spoonful of ice cream. Suffice to say, I had not only never seen Goonies, but also I had no idea what the movie was about. I had a vague notion it involved baseball, but other than that the word "Goonies" drew a blank in my mind every time I heard it. No more.
The Process
Now, this is what will be etched into my mind for months if not years:
Oh my God. I see what you all were talking about. I'm sorry I called you lard asses. While I was out whacking weeds with tobacco sticks you guys were enjoying comedy gold! Chunk may be the funniest kid I've ever seen. I'm still laughing at this scene:
And yea there was some sort of plot about a hidden pirate ship and evil golf club developers trying to take over the Goonie family homes, but honesty... this movie is all about the Chunk!
Based on the facial expressions of folks when I tell them, not having seen the movie Goonies is somewhere below Public Nudity on the Social Acceptance list. How I escaped childhood without seeing what everyone I know refers to as a "classic" I'll never know. Perhaps I was too busy playing outside while the rest of you lard asses where hunkered down in front of the TV living vicariously through Chunk as he pounded another spoonful of ice cream. Suffice to say, I had not only never seen Goonies, but also I had no idea what the movie was about. I had a vague notion it involved baseball, but other than that the word "Goonies" drew a blank in my mind every time I heard it. No more.
The Process
Now, this is what will be etched into my mind for months if not years:
Oh my God. I see what you all were talking about. I'm sorry I called you lard asses. While I was out whacking weeds with tobacco sticks you guys were enjoying comedy gold! Chunk may be the funniest kid I've ever seen. I'm still laughing at this scene:
And yea there was some sort of plot about a hidden pirate ship and evil golf club developers trying to take over the Goonie family homes, but honesty... this movie is all about the Chunk!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Progress Update for #76!
Whenever I'm cruising up or down I-75 I always see signs for stuff. Boone Tavern. Acres of Land Winery. The Kentucky Fried Chicken Museum. So I decided that I should stop and check out some of these interesting sounding places.
On my latest trip, I decided that it would be a perfect time to stop at Cumberland Falls. In the middle of a weekday in the winter with rain coming down I figured I'd have the falls all to myself. And it really looked that way as I pulled off the Interstate near Corbin and took the long windy deserted road back to the Falls.
There were a few cars in the parking lot and even fewer out checking at the falls (2 couples). It was beautiful despite the rain and you can check out the pics at My Space. After I checked out the Falls I had a lovely conversation with Verna, an employee at the Gift Shop. She was very knowledgeable about the Falls and told me about the Moonbow.
A Moonbow is a rainbow produced by the moon and Cumberland Falls is one of the only places in the world where it happens on a consistent basis. The Moonbow appears when the moon is full and the skies are clear. I hope to return at some point to check out a Moonbow! Thanks Verna!
On my latest trip, I decided that it would be a perfect time to stop at Cumberland Falls. In the middle of a weekday in the winter with rain coming down I figured I'd have the falls all to myself. And it really looked that way as I pulled off the Interstate near Corbin and took the long windy deserted road back to the Falls.
There were a few cars in the parking lot and even fewer out checking at the falls (2 couples). It was beautiful despite the rain and you can check out the pics at My Space. After I checked out the Falls I had a lovely conversation with Verna, an employee at the Gift Shop. She was very knowledgeable about the Falls and told me about the Moonbow.
A Moonbow is a rainbow produced by the moon and Cumberland Falls is one of the only places in the world where it happens on a consistent basis. The Moonbow appears when the moon is full and the skies are clear. I hope to return at some point to check out a Moonbow! Thanks Verna!
Duma Key
Well, this doesn't have anything to do with my 101 Things list, but I just finished reading Stephen King's new book Duma Key. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, and judging by the amount of Stephen King books on my bookshelves (62 at last count) he far outpaces his nearest rival on my favorite list (Orson Scott Card - 29).
What I really love about Stephen King books is that when I read them I always feel like I've come home. When I'm reading a SK book I get the same feeling I get when after weeks of traveling I finally get back to my own bed. Duma Key was no exception.
I won't spoil the book (and if you want Im sure you can find a plot summary on the Interwebs) , but I think Duma Key is one of the best books SK has put out recently. Though I enjoyed Cell, Blaze, and Lisey's Story, Duma Key was a book that really hit me on an emotional level. I really felt for Edgar Freemantle and grew to love his daughter Ilse. If you aren't a fan of slow buildups this probably isn't a book for you, but I'm very content to settle in and enjoy King's slow simmer with the knowledge that even though things will eventually come to a full boil half the fun is getting there.
And yup all the usual SK things are present. 19s are all over if you look hard enough! There were also several laugh out loud moments (which got me a few interesting looks when I was reading in Market Square).
Also... the 2nd comic book series for The Dark Tower comes out in March. Whoo-hoo!!!
What I really love about Stephen King books is that when I read them I always feel like I've come home. When I'm reading a SK book I get the same feeling I get when after weeks of traveling I finally get back to my own bed. Duma Key was no exception.
I won't spoil the book (and if you want Im sure you can find a plot summary on the Interwebs) , but I think Duma Key is one of the best books SK has put out recently. Though I enjoyed Cell, Blaze, and Lisey's Story, Duma Key was a book that really hit me on an emotional level. I really felt for Edgar Freemantle and grew to love his daughter Ilse. If you aren't a fan of slow buildups this probably isn't a book for you, but I'm very content to settle in and enjoy King's slow simmer with the knowledge that even though things will eventually come to a full boil half the fun is getting there.
And yup all the usual SK things are present. 19s are all over if you look hard enough! There were also several laugh out loud moments (which got me a few interesting looks when I was reading in Market Square).
Also... the 2nd comic book series for The Dark Tower comes out in March. Whoo-hoo!!!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Restaurant Review: Market Square Kitchen
Well with my wife out of town this weekend I decided last night that I would find me a great place to have a sandwich for lunch. I'm trying to find some awesome local restaurants, and I'd really like to find some substitutes for my typical Subway or Penn Station stops.
I started looking at Metro Pulse's website (Knoxville's City Beat equivalent) and found out about a place down on Market Square called Market Square Kitchen. Looking at their lunch menu I didn't need to go any further than the 4th item on the list: Southern Chicken Salad $4.99 Our own delicious homemade chicken salad with walnuts & special spices on homemade honey wheat bread.
Man that sounded good. And with free parking on the weekends downtown who could resist? It was a beautiful day on the square and lots of people were out enjoying the sunshine. It was still a bit crisp but the sun felt good. As I strolled up to Market Square Kitchen I noticed the 1/2 sandwich 1/2 soup combo on the board out front. On a crisp day like today nothing is better than some hot soup!
I ordered the chicken salad sandwich and the hearty vegetable soup. About 2 minutes later my meal arrived. The sandwich was delicious. Normally I'm not a big tomato guy, but the flavors of the chicken salad, tomato, and honey wheat bread were outstanding together. The soup lived up to its name with huge chunks of potatoes, tomatoes, and green beans.
The staff was friendly (3 people smiled and wished me a good day on my way out) and the food was perfect. I'll definitely be back because I want to try the fried bologna (I LOVE fried bologna), the Cape Cod Turkey and Cranberry, and the Nantucket Tuna.
Afterwards I spent some time reading in the square. A guy was on the stage at the far end singing and playing the guitar and a harmonica. Nothing beats a good lunch, some good music, and a good book.
I started looking at Metro Pulse's website (Knoxville's City Beat equivalent) and found out about a place down on Market Square called Market Square Kitchen. Looking at their lunch menu I didn't need to go any further than the 4th item on the list: Southern Chicken Salad $4.99 Our own delicious homemade chicken salad with walnuts & special spices on homemade honey wheat bread.
Man that sounded good. And with free parking on the weekends downtown who could resist? It was a beautiful day on the square and lots of people were out enjoying the sunshine. It was still a bit crisp but the sun felt good. As I strolled up to Market Square Kitchen I noticed the 1/2 sandwich 1/2 soup combo on the board out front. On a crisp day like today nothing is better than some hot soup!
I ordered the chicken salad sandwich and the hearty vegetable soup. About 2 minutes later my meal arrived. The sandwich was delicious. Normally I'm not a big tomato guy, but the flavors of the chicken salad, tomato, and honey wheat bread were outstanding together. The soup lived up to its name with huge chunks of potatoes, tomatoes, and green beans.
The staff was friendly (3 people smiled and wished me a good day on my way out) and the food was perfect. I'll definitely be back because I want to try the fried bologna (I LOVE fried bologna), the Cape Cod Turkey and Cranberry, and the Nantucket Tuna.
Afterwards I spent some time reading in the square. A guy was on the stage at the far end singing and playing the guitar and a harmonica. Nothing beats a good lunch, some good music, and a good book.
#63 Add 5 new tricks to the rotation - Progress Update
I guess the first item to deal with is what exactly do I mean by "Add 5 new tricks to the rotation"? Well, when I first started living on my own, I was ignorant in many areas, specifically cooking. I could "cook" hot dogs, hamburgers , and popcorn. That was basically it with the exception of my Voodoo Pasta which I had made exactly once. In fact, I had an early conversation with the secretary of my graduate program about how to cook bacon (I wanted to know if I needed to add oil).
As you can see, I was pretty much hopeless. But I did have the Voodoo Pasta trick in my toolbox and slowly but surely I began to branch out. Tacos and Spaghetti were easy enough. Shake and Bake and BBQ porkchops and chicken soon followed. When winter came along I asked my Mom for her chili recipe and I think I do a decent job with it. But... then I sort of stopped. For the past 5 years, whenever it's been my turn to cook, you could pretty much bet it was going to be Voodoo Pasta, Tacos, Spaghetti, or a Pork/Chicken with rice and a frozen veggie. And Mom's Chili every weekend it was cold. While composing my list I decided it was about damn time I figured out how to cook a few more things and add these items to my dinner rotation.
Where to begin? My wife loves to cook (she's awesome at it) and has a crapload (less than a shitload but more than a bunch) of cookbooks sitting on top of the refrigerator. I was quickly intimidated by words like "mince" and "puree". I felt a bit lost and even though I had a vague notion of picking up a book recommended in The Flog I still felt a bit scared of cookbooks.
Then a few nights back I was checking out my wedding photographer's blog and noticed a comment from an old high school friend of mine. Out of curiosity I visited her blog, which as fate would have it had a post that started by referencing her husband's blog, The Common Culinarian. While scanning through some of the posts, I found a recipe for Chicken and Corn Chowder. After reading through the post I thought to myself, I CAN DO THIS! Despite the foreign words such as riced, caramelized, and dried tarragon I thought I could pull it off.
I printed out the ingredients and sprang to the kitchen. Whoo-hoo! We had extra virgin olive oil (what's with the extra virgin? Does that mean it's never had oral sex?). We had butter, carrots, and celery. We had frozen corn and chicken broth. It was all coming together. Sure I would need to run to the store to get a few things, but this was looking very promising. I was a bit concerned about the whole milk (we only had skim milk) and thought I'd better check with The Common Culinarian. I im'ed my friend, and as luck would have it, she wasn't around but the chef himself was! He walked me through what the hell riced meant and what the hell caramelized meant. He was a bit unsure about how the skim milk would turn out. I was planning on going through with it but then I decided to call my wife. She told me that the buttermilk we had in the fridge would be a better option.
With that, I ran to the grocery store. I came back and laid out all my ingredients. Thank god the pots we have had the size of em on the bottom because I had no idea what a 2 1/2 quart pot looked like!
Next I had to start cutting everything up. Man I have no knife skills. I wish I had mad knife skills like Hung from Top Chef. I mean look at this guy:
Regardless, I hacked up the onion, carrot, and celery in a manner that probably isn't even close to a dice, dice, and riced.
Next I attacked the chicken. The chef and my wife said to use a fork, but the good lord gave me fingers for a reason. Here is where I encountered my biggest problem. The chicken smelled so good I started eating it. Alot of it. I downed an entire leg and wing. At that rate I knew I would soon be full so I hurried up and got a cup of chicken and tossed the rest of the bird into the fridge. I also looked at the bag of huge potatoes I had purchased and decided 3 big ones would equal about 5 small ones.
Well with everything cut it was time to start cooking. The olive oil and butter was easy enough and then I cooked up the carrots, celery, and onions until the onions started to get a bit brown on the edges. I tossed in the potatoes (whoops! too many! Ah well... I enjoyed some raw potatoes....) and garlic.
At this point, I got a bit worried as I was waiting for the potatoes to brown on the edges because I noticed stuff was getting stuck on the bottom of the pan. I dunno if this was supposed to happen or not. Anyways at that point I said the hell with it and dropped everything else into the pot (save the buttermilk) and cranked up the heat.
Once I had a boil, I cranked her back down to what I consider a simmer (how I do my chili) and set a timer for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark I checked the potatoes and decided to give it another 5. It smelled very good. Once those 5 minutes were up I added in the buttermilk and got myself a bowl!
One word: delicious. I was expecting it to be good, but this was great. There was a certain flavor that I hadn't experienced before (probably the tarragon?) and I loved it. I was a bit sad that I still felt full from the chicken and raw potatoes I pounded while making the soup, but you can bet your ass I'll have another bowl tonight. Oyster crackers tasted great with it.
So many thanks to the chef over at The Common Culinarian. This was a great dish that I'm happy to add to my rotation.
As you can see, I was pretty much hopeless. But I did have the Voodoo Pasta trick in my toolbox and slowly but surely I began to branch out. Tacos and Spaghetti were easy enough. Shake and Bake and BBQ porkchops and chicken soon followed. When winter came along I asked my Mom for her chili recipe and I think I do a decent job with it. But... then I sort of stopped. For the past 5 years, whenever it's been my turn to cook, you could pretty much bet it was going to be Voodoo Pasta, Tacos, Spaghetti, or a Pork/Chicken with rice and a frozen veggie. And Mom's Chili every weekend it was cold. While composing my list I decided it was about damn time I figured out how to cook a few more things and add these items to my dinner rotation.
Where to begin? My wife loves to cook (she's awesome at it) and has a crapload (less than a shitload but more than a bunch) of cookbooks sitting on top of the refrigerator. I was quickly intimidated by words like "mince" and "puree". I felt a bit lost and even though I had a vague notion of picking up a book recommended in The Flog I still felt a bit scared of cookbooks.
Then a few nights back I was checking out my wedding photographer's blog and noticed a comment from an old high school friend of mine. Out of curiosity I visited her blog, which as fate would have it had a post that started by referencing her husband's blog, The Common Culinarian. While scanning through some of the posts, I found a recipe for Chicken and Corn Chowder. After reading through the post I thought to myself, I CAN DO THIS! Despite the foreign words such as riced, caramelized, and dried tarragon I thought I could pull it off.
I printed out the ingredients and sprang to the kitchen. Whoo-hoo! We had extra virgin olive oil (what's with the extra virgin? Does that mean it's never had oral sex?). We had butter, carrots, and celery. We had frozen corn and chicken broth. It was all coming together. Sure I would need to run to the store to get a few things, but this was looking very promising. I was a bit concerned about the whole milk (we only had skim milk) and thought I'd better check with The Common Culinarian. I im'ed my friend, and as luck would have it, she wasn't around but the chef himself was! He walked me through what the hell riced meant and what the hell caramelized meant. He was a bit unsure about how the skim milk would turn out. I was planning on going through with it but then I decided to call my wife. She told me that the buttermilk we had in the fridge would be a better option.
With that, I ran to the grocery store. I came back and laid out all my ingredients. Thank god the pots we have had the size of em on the bottom because I had no idea what a 2 1/2 quart pot looked like!
Next I had to start cutting everything up. Man I have no knife skills. I wish I had mad knife skills like Hung from Top Chef. I mean look at this guy:
Regardless, I hacked up the onion, carrot, and celery in a manner that probably isn't even close to a dice, dice, and riced.
Next I attacked the chicken. The chef and my wife said to use a fork, but the good lord gave me fingers for a reason. Here is where I encountered my biggest problem. The chicken smelled so good I started eating it. Alot of it. I downed an entire leg and wing. At that rate I knew I would soon be full so I hurried up and got a cup of chicken and tossed the rest of the bird into the fridge. I also looked at the bag of huge potatoes I had purchased and decided 3 big ones would equal about 5 small ones.
Well with everything cut it was time to start cooking. The olive oil and butter was easy enough and then I cooked up the carrots, celery, and onions until the onions started to get a bit brown on the edges. I tossed in the potatoes (whoops! too many! Ah well... I enjoyed some raw potatoes....) and garlic.
At this point, I got a bit worried as I was waiting for the potatoes to brown on the edges because I noticed stuff was getting stuck on the bottom of the pan. I dunno if this was supposed to happen or not. Anyways at that point I said the hell with it and dropped everything else into the pot (save the buttermilk) and cranked up the heat.
Once I had a boil, I cranked her back down to what I consider a simmer (how I do my chili) and set a timer for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark I checked the potatoes and decided to give it another 5. It smelled very good. Once those 5 minutes were up I added in the buttermilk and got myself a bowl!
One word: delicious. I was expecting it to be good, but this was great. There was a certain flavor that I hadn't experienced before (probably the tarragon?) and I loved it. I was a bit sad that I still felt full from the chicken and raw potatoes I pounded while making the soup, but you can bet your ass I'll have another bowl tonight. Oyster crackers tasted great with it.
So many thanks to the chef over at The Common Culinarian. This was a great dish that I'm happy to add to my rotation.
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