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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
"Because, let's face it, we're not nearly as cool as we were 40 years ago."
Oh yeah! We were so cool 40 years ago that we elected Nixon. I'll take 2009 and Obama over Nixon and 1969.
I do wish we had the equivalent of NASA's race to the moon today in the form of a manned mission to Mars. And music was still evolving in 1969. The last new development in music was hip-hop and rap and that was at least 25 years ago. Haircuts and clothes ranged from the ultra-conservative to the way-out with very little middle ground. I'll take today's styles. The gourmet-foodie scene had not happened yet. We had 3 networks and PBS and no movie channels and no mp3s or DVDs or computers or internets.
Heather! You don't know what you're saying young lady.
I'm kind of with Colicchio. It would be nice if the chefs, at this level, knew the difference between medium and medium rare. Seriously.
However, you make a great point about we Americans. We are getting to be a bit whiny of a lot. And Leah should definitely have been home. Before Jeff even. All she does is screw up, get mad, talk about how great she is at cooking fish, then screw up some more at preparing, cutting and cooking fish.
Maybe we do have something to learn from the Europeans. This whole socialized medicine and free public university thing is intriguing too.
Funyuns were invented in 1969. On the other hand, so was Led Zeppelin...
One thing Heather seems to miss is the seething homoeroticism that is present in almost every episode of The F Word. Gordon Ramsay always seems to corner some poor gormless kitchen boy, invade his space to a point just shy of dry humping and then yell obscenities at him from point blank range. Later on after the kid has shown signs of being half competent at either cooking or waiting tables (or even removing kitchen trash) Gordon will congratulate him on how well he's doing and give him a big, comforting, manly, hug. Swop out the chef's whites for studded leather and you've got the best dominant top on TV.
I'm guessing some part of him still misses football (or soccer as you insist on calling it).
does the meat-processing segment from Wonder Showzen come to mind, as I’m sure it must for most readers, with the cheerful voice over “This is how we learn to kill” as children tour the killing and flesh-packaging factory?
Who knows? I suppose one would be angry and irritable, if that deceptive and defensive lesson was the best one could muster as a parent. But as compensation, his antics must be cool, or comforting, or appealing in some way to audiences, as evidenced by the popularity of the program. And some will yet claim that television does not serve pressing needs.
"the enormous bird snatches up the big rabbit and eats about half of its head off before anyone is able to stop it. Ramsay is thrilled. "We'd never use the head anyway. That's one perfect hare!"
And just how the hell did they stop it?
This is a must see two minute video on making a squirrel melt hosted by a real American housewife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlK0Xd4c2c
I have a particular bone to pick with San Francisco, shown the door twice now this season (and in *New York*, home of season one - Top Chef /San Francisco/ - winner Harold Dieterle):
First, because a chef-testent couldn't make a *souffle*.. I can make a souffle just based on watching a few episodes of Good Eats and Jacques Pepin PBS reruns. I mean, I can actually do it! Its just a little bit of physics and a little bit of chemistry!
Then, that celery abomination the queen of scallops slung out like so much hash.
How does celery turn that shade of gray? The celery was supposed to be blanched, not choked to death as if Wayne Brady's meaty hands had slipped around its neck (or Admiral "Bad ass motherfucker" Adama if you will). Don't you know celery is naturally salty?
Cleveland native and "America's Next Iron Chef" judge of no small controversy Michael Ruhlman rightly describes "Top Chef" chef-testents as "barely out of Applebee's hot line", and I can't say I disagree.
Tony Bourdain will not soon be appearing on "Top Chef" after supposedly drunkenly blurting out that he thought Padma Lakshmi was an idiot within earshot of a gossip columnist (or more likely, on a blog somewhere).
While this may be true, as I suspect it might be, that isn't the sort of thing that endears Bourdain to Bravo producers - thin skinned eggheads that they probably are.
I certainly hope the Soumi Chef wins.. Finland is an under-appreciated country, and America is certainly over-appreciated; grossly so.
Have you ever tried it, Heather? Larkin's in Eagle Rock CA serves it, and it is flippin' amazing. And evil big corporations are keeping you from picking up and finishing Dostoyevsky, huh? Insidious mind control, I suppose. Funny about the difference between the things we're supposed to like, as opposed to things we actually enjoy. Now I must get back to watching tv online.
Christian Bale's famous f-word laden tirade, now approaching its 15th minute, has made Ramsay's latest show completely redundant. Of course, some might say that about Mr. Ramsay himself, but that's another story.
I'm glad HH covered how unbearable most of this season's contestants were. Fabio is amusing, and Stefan gets a pass for being self-aware enough to acknowledge that he is, in addition to being a good chef, kind of a jerk. Hosea is the sort of guy who introduces himself as a "nice guy".
As for the judges, I really miss Ted Allen. Anything is better than the new judge's awkward Simon Cowell impression. Gail wasn't exciting, but she usually gave a pretty good description of the dishes. Which, again, not exciting - but sort of necessary on a reality show competition about FOOD. I can't taste it myself, and my imagination only takes me so far.
On a snide note - er, an especially snide note - I have to say that I don't think Tom likes him much either. He sort of radiates this death glare every time the man starts to speak.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
