The "Amen Break"

While this six second drum loops gross over use and reliance makes it important, I'm a little disappointed in drum n' bass now. Well thats not true, I have always been disappointed in what drum n' bass had to offer, but I guess I always imagined it was more complex and diverse. On the back end of the video the narrator pines for the days of loose copyright laws that first allowed for use of samples in hip hop and "electronica". He then laments the strict copyright laws that won't allow for sampling of todays music in the future. While I can see his point, I won't be loosing sleep if the next "drum n' bass" that could have been, never was. I like original music just fine, grab an instrument and make something your own.

101 Cooking Again

Monday night I decided to go hunting on 101 Cookbooks again. Since I'm fasting I wanted something that was a quick prepare and could meet my deadline of sundown. So I went straight to the "quick recipes" portion and browsed for a main course and side that looked like they would complement each other. I first came across the "black pepper and lime oven fries" and was immediately drawn to the picture. Crystal makes really simple, but super tasty oven fry, but these had a little more color and after reading, a little bit of kick too.

Side decided, I moved on to my main course. Egg salad sandwiches wasn't really what I was looking for, but when you haven't eaten since 11pm the night before you can be tempted very easily. Again the picture got me. I liked the idea of making a chunkier egg salad, the celery did just that. Learning a new way to boil eggs was nice addition and a skill I will carry forward this Easter. Using less mayo is always welcome, especially when I can't really go to the gym or ride a bike for a month (see fasting above).

It was fantastic meal and has been added to my list of keeper recipes. One of my goals in life is to have a stable of quick meals that I can impress people with should the opportunity arise. Oh, its ten at night and you haven't had dinner yet, lets skip Taco Hell and I'll whip up some 5 minute tomato sauce over some pasta for you. Not too wild an ambition I know, but practical as hell in a pinch.

Documentary Weekend

While I'm fasting I like to slack off on the weekends, sleeping in late, skipping the gym and generally being a bum. A by product of my lazy Ramadan weekends is a lot of TV, movies and video games to pass the time. Boredom equals hunger. This weekend was no different, Friday night we went out to dinner and came home to watch Inside Deep Throat. Saturday afternoon I sat down to watch BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge. Two wildly different documentaries, polar opposites in fact.

BattleGround is a film that follows a former Shiite guerrilla (Frank al-Bayati), that escaped Iraq in 1991, and came back to his home country in 2004. The reunions with family members thought lost are emotional and almost feel too personal. I wanted to give him his space, but those moments work well to blunt pictures of the destruction Iraq has faced. The two sides of the movie put together a good mix of what is going wrong with the US invasion and what still could be in a war torn country. Children playing by tank carcasses riddled with uranium tipped ammunition, followed by scenes of Frank's nephews and nieces meeting him for the first time. Frank's optimism for what he considers a liberated Iraq, shadowed by images of US troops who just don't seem to mesh with the locals is fascinating stuff. The film is an emotional roller coaster that I really enjoyed.

Deep Throat is arguably the most profitable film ever made, not porn film, but film period. I say arguably because the box office gross has been estimated from $100 million all the way to $600 million. Inside Deep Throat is the documentary film that tells the story of said infamous porn film. I find it odd that I have never even heard of the film, it changed the way American's look and porn and jump started the whole industry. I always thought it was the VHS, but that was the technology not the profit model. Deep Throat showed people that porn could make money and lots of it.

The film was financed by the mafia, who ended up taking over it's box office sales once they understood its acclaim. The religious right and republican pursuit to ban the film only add coal to fires of its popularity. Ultimately the actress who stars in the film repents for her sins with the feminist movement, claims she was a victim who was hypnotized and finally tries to cash in by going back into porn. The actor who only got paid $250 to appear in the film was the first artist to ever be tried and convicted for his "art". He end up a homeless drunk, found Jesus and now makes a good life for himself in real estate. Once Nixon left the white house the government's witch hunt ended and none of the people who had anything to do with the film ever made money from it.

A warning, the documentary has nudity, not a ton of it, but they do show one scene that made Deep Throat such a hot topic and it is graphic. If your not to prudish and can stomach a three second fellatio scene the film is a real treat. That last sentence just seems wrong, but I like it. I won't go into my arguement against some of the people in the movie who claim that porn was art back in the 70's , but I will admit that it was not the ultra reality that porn is today.

Ten years in the making

Lets see ten years ago I was still in high school deep in the grips of Mr.Bond, I was also skateboarding every day and worrying about what homework was due. I certainly wasn't looking forward to Team Fortress 2, as I had never even heard of it at the time. Valve put the announced sequel to the original on the back burner opting to rerelease the first game (originally released in 1996 for the Quake engine) as Team Fortress Classic in 1999. That same year they also announced TF2 would be coming soon and was in development again.

Jump forward to the beginning of this week. TF2 is finally making its debut as a playable public beta (provided you preorder) and should be released in October. The game has undergone a drastic engine and graphics change and looks nothing like what was originally previewed for release in 2000. The look as gone from as realistic as they could manage in 1999 to a cartoonish hyper realism that smacks of the Incredibles. I know some folks are a bit put off by the games art direction, but the style is right up my alley.

I can't speak to how accurately the game play holds to the original because I only played it once or twice. TF2 is amazing though, I have not been excited about a first person shooter in ages, well at least a multiplayer one. The game modes keep each round fresh and the different classes mean that if one tactic isn't working you have eight other options (there are 9 total) to try before throwing in the towel. If it takes 10 years to produce a product that is this unique, artistic and just plan good then I hope other companies take notice. Don't rush your product and don't go for the easy buck. Aspire to be like Valve and Blizzard, who always say it will be finished when it is finished and then release super polished games that sell millions.

A few youtube trailers for the game coming soon...

We throw down three legged style!

Beer, children's games and capitalism, whats not to love? When you can do all three for a worthy charity (Special Olympics Virginia) I'd say nothing at all. This years Corporate Games were the second that Crystal and I have attended and this year Crystal was an official participant, as opposed to last year when she was a substitute in jeans.

We were both signed up for the obstacle challenge and being the pro adult sized tricycle ridding vet that I am (I rode the tricycle last year) I came out of the gate with the holeshot. The rest of the team followed suit and we ended up taking 3rd on the obstacle challenge. Up next was the jump rope jive, two people spin a long rope and eight people jump in unison to their spin. Our struggle with this event would serve to foreshadow our progress for the rest of the day. Markel team one (Crystal and my team) only got 15 jumps in and Markel team two didn't fair much better with a total of 30. Other teams looked like they had been practicing on their lunch breaks for weeks chain ganged at the leg. They put up numbers upwards of 70 and 80 with no breaks from start to finish. We were crushed.

All beats were off once we lost the jump rope jive, we set up one of our assigned tables behind our tent(s) as a permanent beer pong (Beirut if you like) for the day. Slightly inebriated we did better in the 500 meter relay. Then it was lunch time and out came the "bolo", I don't know if that is how it is spelled or even pronounced, but apparently I'm not a sweet tea drinking southerner if I don't play bolo (ladder golf) . I don't like Nascar either so I guess I'm kind of like the David Carradine of the south. After lunch it was on to the pitch, pass, toss event, we faired well enough, but soon realized that the events were getting in the way of beirut and bolo.

The zany relay was an event that Crystal and knew we could dominate. It starts with a dizzy bat spin, then crab walk, a fireman carry, an overalls exchange, a potato sack race and finally a three legged race. We are three legged race prodigies, raised side by side in an old nuclear fallout shelter attached at the leg at all times and in all things. We were breed for this moment, our minds perfectly synced, our legs as one. Last year we practiced for a solid half hour before the event, only to have our overalls team member get locked in a denim knot of death. By the time we were up our three legged skill showcase was a solo affair. Time heals all wounds though, in the year leading up to this years games we participated in a non sanctioned race at a friends cook out and left only a trail of tears.

At the games this weekend we were matched against six other legger teams (I just made that up) in our heat. Our team fresh off multiple rounds of beirut was struggling mightily, by the time we were up. We only had three opponents left to race. One team had a commanding lead on us with more than half the field covered already, the other team was a good 20 yards ahead when we finally got the go from our potato sack jumper. We were off, quickly passing the 20 yard team before the half way mark and well on our way to eclipsing the team that was near finishing when we started. Just after the half way point everything came undone, the sliver of cut up t-shirt that was holding our ankles together could not contain our power any longer and imploded. Crystal lost here balance and tumbled to the ground. I helped her up and it was clear that there was no salvaging the t-shirt. At this point she was giggling like crazy and there was no way to even pretend our legs were attached. We crossed the finish line only to see the judge holding up our ankle tie. We walked off the field at that point taking the DNF. Another sad day in our three legged racing career.

The wacky egg toss and tug o' war were all that that remained for the day. We had 2 minutes and 3 eggs, which ever came first, to toss at various distances with out dropping them. Before the first minute was up we were out of eggs. We faired no better in the tug of war, both teams were out in the first round and Crystal and I bailed early as she had an evening obligation.

We will be back next year, will bring our own ankle tie and all of central Virginia's corporate community will bare witness to our three legged racing prowess!

None shall pass

Two weekends ago I got a call from my friend Brian to see the None Shall Pass tour in DC. When I got off the phone I was hyped. I have been listening to Aesop Rock for going on four years now and have never seen him live. Partly because he never really ventured near Richmond in a time frame that matched my own and because up until recently none of my friends shared my enthusiasm for his work. Not only would I get to see Aesop for the first time, but Blockhead was on the tour as well. I was admittedly introduced to Blockhead's music through Aesop's album "Float", but have grown to appreciate his work at the same level of Aesop's.

Monday evening I took off work early to meet Brian at my house for the trip to DC. We got on 95 and threw on Aesop's new album "None Shall Pass", I know surprising that the tour promoting the new album would have the same name. We hit zero traffic and were in DC an hour before the doors opened (7:30pm). Thankfully Brian had directions because my memories of my last trip to the 9:30 club are seven years old and counting (I saw Talib Kweli open for Dilated Peoples my freshman year of college). We grabbed a parking spot right in front of the club and ventured into the city on foot to find some food.

The place we found was a pleasant surprise, there is an Irish pub about two blocks west of the club that serves a mean ruben and tots with every dish. We put back a few beers, talked a little football and women, and made our way back to the club at 7:45pm. I've never been patted down to see a show before, so it was a weird experience walking into the show and hoping the bouncer didn't get to friendly. We went to the top floor, opened a tab and then went to the balcony to wait for the show.

Blockhead was on first and we made our way from the balcony to the floor. Something that struck me as odd was his use of a mac laptop to spin on stage. He had no turn tables to speak of and at first I was a bit put off by it. Once he started spinning (hard drives spin too I guess) my hesitation soon faded. His live music is a lot more up tempo in comparison to his more mellow album work. Much more dance friendly which makes since considering you have a crowd of people ready to move. He mixed small pieces of techno with surprising samples of Phil Collin's "In The Air Tonight " and many other artist that would normally seem out of place in hip hop. It worked though and it was distinctly hip hop at its core.

The group that came on next was called Yak Balls, they did two songs and then opened for Cage half way through their third. I had never heard of Yak Balls and had only knew Cage by name not his music. Yak Balls was not bad, but they seemed very raw. Cage's style was much tighter, but his music was still kind of loud and angsty. By the end of their set I was ready for Aesop. I'd still like to listen to some of Cage's albums as their could be some good music there, unfortunately my first impression from his live set was a bit negative.

Aesop , Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz came out to wild cheers from the audience. Aesop's set was a high energy mix from his new album and his older tracks. They also performed a few songs from Rob's new album and let Big Wiz take the spotlight near the end to showcase his scratching. Aesop's live music was great and Rob Sonic an artist I had only heard for the first time on "None Shall Pass" was very impressive. The show ended with an encore of "Daylight", the song that everyone must have been turned on to Aesop Rock by, because everyone knew the lyrics and sang along.

The crowed slowly shuffled to the door, Brian went to pay his tab and I made my way to the merch table. I picked up Blockhead's and Rob Sonic's new albums and meet Brian at the car. We got lost for 45 minutes in what we soon determined was the DC ghetto (two check cashing stores, a fried chicken restaurant and a liquor store all on the same block). We got to the highway around 12:45am and back into Richmond at 2:30am.

I took off Tuesday to recover which end up being a great idea. The one thing I noticed most at the show was my bad back flaring up. It made me feel old standing for the entire show and it was nice to take it easy the next day.

Reflection, joy and disappointment: UFC 75

First let me say that watching MMA fights with my wife is super cool. She was completely disgusted with the sport the first time she saw a fighter turn into a bloody old faithful about a year ago. She still doesn't like to see a fighter broken, bloodied and bruised, but she seems to take a lot more fun from a solid technical fight these days. I'm sure she would much prefer a girlie show about interior design, but she still sits down with me every time there is a big fight.

We both sat down to watch Saturday's fights with much anticipation for the final bout. The under cards were host to some pretty amazing fights and one mind boggling decision by the judges.

The first fight was between two fighters I had honestly never heard of, but Houston Alexander certainly did impress with his super fast first round knock out. It makes me wonder why Keith Jardine is getting a big fight against Chuck Liddell, when he lost to Houston back in May. Why not give an up and coming fighter like Houston a shot? I guess you have to make a name for your self first or the UFC wants an easy fight to put a big ticket fighter like Liddell back in title contention. The second fight was by far the most thrilling of the night Paul Taylor was striking his way to what I thought would be first round knock out when with only 45 seconds in the round he was countered into a beautiful arm bar submission by Marcus Davis.

Matt Hamill was robbed! Crystal and I both had him winning when the third round ended in his fight against local (UK) legend Michael Bisping. He was very strong for the first two rounds and was clearly gassed by the third. His open mouth and wild hay makers in the third does not a memory wiping first and second round make however. The fight was a clear 29-28 victory for Hamill and some how the judges scored it 29-28 Bisping, 29-28 Bisping and 30-27 Hamill. While it sucks to lose by decision I won't say that Hamill gave a definitive performance. If you leave it up to the judges and you will always face a possible lose from the cards. Finish it on your own terms and there is never a question in the outcome.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic is my boy, one of my favorite fighters by far, but he is on a downward slide. I had hoped his trouncing from Gonzaga in April was a fluke. This Saturday's loss to Cheick Kongo makes me think that he may be on his way out, not back. He was bullied from the start of the fight to its boring conclusion. I was screaming at the television for him to just do something. Apparently I wasn't loud enough or Cro Cop was content with playing the counter defense game to a three round decision loss.

The big match of the night ended in the way that any fight between two powerhouses in a sport usually ends, going to the cards. Rampage was hands down the winner, he controlled Henderson on the ground and traded with him blow for blow in the stand up. Henderson seemed out matched and out sized for most of the match and the cards showed it. First it sucks for any match that involves a title to go to the judges, but its expected. Second, while I like Jackson a lot, his post bout interview where he claimed that his hands hurt from hitting Henderson's rock hard face smacked of corny WWE trash talking, instead of the "actual" sport post fight I'd like to see.

Shower shoes if you like

It has been more than a month since I put foot to pedal and this Saturday not only saw that long hiatus removed, but saw it done in shower shoed style.

Grant has been putting out the call for Saturday morning rides for going on three weeks. I have always responded with confirmation that I would attend only to see my hopes dashed by weather or last minute obligations. When the invitation to ride came again this weekend I was determined to actually see myself on a saddle. 7:30am came far too soon though and by the time I was rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and having a bowl of cereal it was already 8:30 (the original start time). I got Grant on the phone and we decided on a new start and general location for the ride.

Grant was on the ball arriving not twenty minutes past our phone call. We chit chatted while packing up the gear and went inside to pick a route for our short adventure. The classic, but brief ABC 20 mile (warning PDF file) would be our chosen weapon. We recorded the cue sheet on a fashionable piece Mary Kay stationary and hit the car for our trip to the not so fashionable LPSC. Unless your into pay day loans, dollar stores and cheap dry cleaning, the LPSC parking lot is not for the feint of heart.

Some where in my rush to prepare my gear and pack it into Grant's car I missed one of the most essential pieces. Or rather a pair of the most essential pieces, my shoes. Not the end of the world if I rode on flat pedals, but I ride clipless and without the shoes to match them they can be a huge pain to deal with. I rung Crystal with the hope that she would meet me half way with my shoes and a kiss. No luck, she was just getting out of the shower and would be at least thirty minutes. I decided it wouldn't kill me to ride twenty miles in my flip flops (I call them flops, Grant calls them shower shoes).

Off we went through a sketchy back alley that I would have never found if Grant didn't already know the way. The neighborhood that the ride started in was an super pleasant gradual downhill, the wind was flowing through my toes and the day had not begun to simmer yet. Our route soon turned into to more country roads and the traffic was low. The ABC route is well worn by our two wheeled brohams, I counted at least 30 other riders coming from the opposite direction (I guess most riders get up earlier than us). The cue sheet was a wash, some streets where completely left off and road name changes where missing in action. We had a spot of luck at one confusing intersection when we ran into Champ (Raba member, introducer of the ABC route to Grant and all around good guy). He showed us hot pink arrows that Raba had spray painted on the road a few weeks ago. We ditched the cue sheet, said our good byes to Champ and were on our way.

We end up getting lost two more times (due to conversation and lack of attention, not the arrows) before making our way to the half way point for drinks and a snack. The second leg of the ride was mostly uneventful as the day started to heat up. We rolled back through the neighborhood we started in noting that it was not as pleasant on the way back, now that it was a gradual up hill in the heat. We pulled back into the LPSC parking lot at around 22 miles, counting the two times we got lost. We packed the car and went our separate way, promising to do it all over again as soon as possible.

It felt good to ride again and helped me figure out what I want for my birthday this year. Bike money! My bike needs love and I have been neglecting it for far to long. This 26th year of my life I will be taking care of my two wheeled friend.

Pictures coming soon...

For the love of cookbooks

I know that I have mentioned 101cookbooks.com before, its a great read on the exploration and experimentation that ultimate leads to an amazing recipe. I had never actually made any of the dishes from the blog though. For shame I know. The photography and write ups keep me extremely entertained on there own, so recommending the site without actually cooking didn't seem to devious.

So, last night I manned up and picked Heidi's "Five Minute Tomato Sauce Recipe" to make for Crystal. There was near zero time or monetary commitment for this meal, I had most of the ingredients already and as the recipe says "five minute". I put it over Penne and served it with cold water (exciting I know, I couldn't find Orangina at the store I went to). It was a hit, very light and simple given the hot summer weather. The next time I make it I will most likely cut back on the crushed red pepper flakes a bit (1 tsp vs 1 1/2 tsp) as they are intended to add kick to the meal, not dominate it.

I have always wanted to know how to make a quick and tasty tomato sauce from scratch. Canned sauces always feel like they are only going half way between bland and uninspired so I swore them off years ago. Crystal makes a killer meaty pasta sauce, that will warm you to the core in the winter months, but can make you feel like your 3 hours into to a Thanksgiving day nap in the summer. This recipe is just the ticket for last minute guest and great after a long day at work that would feel even longer should you spend more than 10 minutes in the kitchen.

I will be trying more of the dishes from 101cookbooks.com in the coming weeks and will come here to share my successes and failures rest assured.

MMA's Stars Collide

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (current UFC champ) and Dan "Hollywood" Henderson (current Pride champ) will be fighting each other in this weekends UFC light heavyweight championship.

This weekends bout is the stuff of MMA fantasy, UFC's best vs Pride's best, there has been more debates than you could count on which organization retains the strongest fighters. When Pride went belly up this spring and UFC bought them out we were promised these kinds of fights. There have been a number of Pride fighters who have made the jump, but without Fedor coming stateside to fight Couture nothing has been as big as the fight this weekend. That and its not even on pay per view, its free on Spike TV (9pm EST), so if you are a cheap MMA fan or never really got into the sport this is an opportunity to see the best light heavyweight fighters in the world throw down.

As a side note my friend Kevin (GetSomeMore) is a trainer/instructor at the MMA Institute here in Richmond, VA. If you are interested in training or at least just seeing what MMA is all about give them a ring (or email I guess).

Loose Ends

There a few unfinished entries on the site as of late, so why not use a Thursday morning to take care of them.

BioShock Wrap (link)
I wrapped up BioShock over the weekend at around 10 hours of playtime. This is game of the year material and has been reviewed as such. I am eager to share my experience with others and will be swapping Dirt for some shock to Heavy Mehtul at lunch next week. If you have a 360 this game is a must, if you have a PC with the chops to run it then I'd suggest picking it up as well.

Chronicles of Conan Continued (link)
I couldn't contain myself after finishing volume two, I went out Tuesday night to the local comic shop and picked up volume three. I haven't opened it up yet, but rest assured that I will be near done with it before the weekend is up.

Tattoo Photos (link)

Crystal and Elizabeth's Twin Sparrows

Crystal's Lilys

More Ink

Saturday night we went out with Crystal's sister (Elizabeth) and her boyfriend to grab a bite to eat and get some new ink. Crystal and Elizabeth decided at the beach this summer that they would get matching tattoos on their feet. It would be Elizabeth's first and Crystal's fourth. They took some time to find what they wanted and eventually settled on the classic sparrow seen here.

You would think there was a national shortage on ink the way Elizabeth hounded Crystal for a firm date on when they would get their new foot art. Friday night wouldn't work because we were munching on tasty Vietnamese cuisine and catching a picture with Grant and Erin. Saturday afternoon didn't work either because we were helping some friends move. Saturday night worked out though so we set up a 7pm appointment and ventured into the city.

Elizabeth was up first, so there would be no way for her to back out. She had planned to only get the outline at first, but after toughing that out she was peer pressured into to getting the full color done as well. Crystal went second and much to Elizabeth's disappointment she was not cringing in pain the way Elizabeth had. After two hours on the ribs for her (still unfinished) last piece, a tattoo on the foot was child's play.

The two of them hobbled out River City at 10pmish and we went for what has now become a post tattoo tradition, ice cream. Stomachs full of reese's pieces sundays we went to Kroger to pick up tattoo care supplies for Elizabeth. Then it was back to our house to show her how to implement said care. The two of them still have swollen feet and complaints about wearing shoes, but their new tattoos look great and they may be closer for it.

After Crystal leap frogged me to get this newest ink, it has me planning my next one with quickness. I have been thinking about a quarter sleeve that would integrate my right arm and the tattoo I already have there. I am struggling for ideas though, I want to get a lily on the back of my arm and smoke to blend everything together, but I can't think of what else to use. More on this later I guess, as I really have no clue what else to include.

Oh and I'll include pictures of both of their tattoos as soon as I take them. So soonish I guess.

The Governator is a Hypocranator Part 2

Man I love this movie...


...what happened Arnold?