New Cooking Video

So a while back I used to make more videos. Mostly for my own pleasure, but sometimes to show people something about the fish, or the house, or how to cook/blend something.

This video is the first with my new camera that my pretty wife got me for my bday. In it I cook one of Lyndsay's recipes in an effort to show how easy it is.

Also, I wanted something to film, and I like to make little cooking videos.

Julia & Julia

Lyndsay Beneteau and Tom Reiber - both of whom write memoirs - find their lives intertwined. Though seperated by time and space, both women are at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessnessness and olive oil, anything is possible.

So, my name is Tom, and I have decided to write a blog in which I cook everything on Lyndsay's blog. It's a wonderful blog full of delicious recipes for you and your families, and with Holly needing a boost, and loving food, the idea hit me that this would be the perfect way to make her happy, have fun, and make a lot of great food.

Let me start of by saying that I have very limited cooking experience, or had. I was mainly a barbecue specialist, and a meat guy. At my parents I wouldn't cook at all, my mom did that stuff. She never asked for help, and if she did we knew that it was a joke.

In the apartment, and the early months in the house, I learnt how to make spaghetti, taco's, cook chicken and use it for indian food (mix it with a store bought sauce and rice), and the rest was pretty well barbecue. Not too exciting for my princess who needs a new meal every night.

I've tried online recipes, and recipe books, but the foods turned out like shit. The ingredients couldn't be found, or they wouldn't rise, or they were too complex, surely someone out there could help.

Along came my Julia.

Here is my first attempt, and success with Coconut Shrimp. I doubled, and maybe tripled the recipe to cook a whole bag. I'm always thinking about lunch the next day. I hate spending money on lunch. I'm a jew at heart. Here's the comment I left Lyndz.

Bing bam, boom, out of the park.

Note, if you make a whole bag of shrimp like me, you will end up with your coco being a paste at the end. This is okay, just put the paste on the platter and it will taste the same, although you will be docked major points for presentation.

One thing to stress is to not get sweetened coconut stuff, it's ok Turkish, I'm sweet enough.

This next one, I think I made the next night, Holly also made a beautiful fruit salad with a recipe I can acquire for you if you want it. It's called a Jerk Chicken. You make the sauce, rub it on (with a brush), then cook. The comment I left:

Ok, we ate this last night. Once again I am a cooking hero. It was easy, quick and delicious.

I ran into a problem with my blender creating smoke and then the smoke burning my eyes. I think it had green onion something rather in it. My eyes got healed up and this really grilled up nice even from a frozen state.

Thanks again!

This one, was a real fish out of water story for me. Like a what the fuck am I doing here kind of thing. I can't believe I made this, but I'm very glad I did. Potato and Leek soup. We made sandwitches to get our protein in. Notice the hot sauce on top, really gave it a kick.

The leeks smelt so nice when they were cooking. I felt like a real chef. The comment:

Another winner!

I had to call Ben to make sure that you blended it after it was cooked. I have never heard of doing such a thing. But also I have never made a soup.

I also had to send Holly out for some chicken broth cause I forgot that vegetable stock cannot make chicken broth.

Other than that, everything went very smoothly. Other than when you say big pot, you mean BIG POT. I had to use a big pot Massive, it was transplanted from a medium one. I had enough for lunch today and more at home, I put the leftovers in a juice jug!

Anyways, it was delicious, fucking fantastic. We combo'd it with some sandwiches. I had chicken with hummus on multi grain with a pickle.

The hot sauce really made it pop!

Look at how happy the little monster is!!

Oh man, this one was amazing again, how can Lyndsay be so good. Lyndsay and Ben ooze talent. Curry is my fav, Indian is my fav, this one was special. Chickpea carrot salad with Mango curry chicken sandwiches. The sauce was unbelievable. I doubled it to have some leftover to dip pita into.

The salad was awesome. Very quick to make, I will probably make this for my parents.

The comment:

This one worked out really well for us in a few ways.

We got to make it together (Holly worked on the salad.)

We didn't have to make a salad too.

It gave us something to make my rents when we have them over sometime.

I got to do a few new things that I had never done before which improved my confidence! It's silly but when I was cooking the spice I was like, "what the hell am I doing, wait, it's working, wow, I'm not totally retarded."

Thanks again!! The next one looks like a winner for next week, tonight I'm making the ribs again!

And finally the Rootbeer Ribs. Absolutely delicious. Better I'm sure if we had a slowcooker, I would get one, but I want the rents to have something fun to get us for xmas.

This is the second time I made them, notice this time I made them with some Garlicky baked potato fries. I found the recipe online.

This recipe started it all and got me hooked on the blog and my goal to cook it all. Although, some have fish and non-rib pork, so those won't be cooked.

The comment:

These ribs were fucking brilliant. Holly said they were better than Baton Rouge.

Instead of a slow cooker, I popped them into the oven at 300 in a tented foil contraption inside a platter like you would use for Lasagna. I filled it 2/3 of the way full with rootbeer, I bought two litres and didn't use too much, haha.

Anyways, you are the Queen of cooking, more simple type recipes like this are needed. Just awesome stuff!

In conclusion, I'm really glad I've learnt a bit more of how to cook. My confidence has gone way up. Lyndsay's blog is just amazing. I recommend you make some of the things on it. They are mostly easy, and always delicious.

Next time you come over for dinner I promise to make you more than just hamburgers or sausages. Unless the sausages are in a potato and olive "stew".

Now I raise my glass to you and say "Bon Appétit."

My Standup

In highschool, when I discovered Seinfeld, I decided I wanted to be a standup comedian. I wanted to be this guy.

So I worked on a few bits, here and there, it was harder then I thought. When my friends and I started to venture downtown, and go to our cities only comedy club at the time called Yuk Yuk's, I decided I would one day try my stuff out on amateur night.

Throughout highschool, I never really took the classes seriously, but I used them as a laboratory to experiment on people to find out what is funny and what isn't, and just have fun with my days. Of course, this is a generalization, I didn't just do this, I did do well at the end of highschool, enough to get into University, and I did get A's in a couple classes before the last year. But in general I think this is accurate.

But this is not to say that my ultimate goal was to be a comedian, I would have settled for screenwriter or actor. In middle school I had a bit of an affair with comics as I had a friend who could draw and we would team up and make funny little tidbits here and there.

Ok, so the point of this is to reveal to you what I've kept private and recently found, my highschool "comedic bits". Here they are, don't laugh too hard. Either I could only find three, or that's all there were. And yes, they are totally Seinfeldian, I am a mimic.

"What's going on with those yellow and orange jackets people are buying these days? I don't know whether to stop 20 meters in front of them or ____."

Ok, so no punchline in that one, needs some work. Also, kids aren't wearing those jackets anymore. I'd say that was a fad that dyed out. I think those coats are like the jacket Marty wears in Back to the Future. Although, this is written years after the movie obviously.

"Is there a test that movies have to pass?"

So, this one needed some elaboration as well. But I think with some work it could have been funny. I think I've actually heard Jerry use this one though. Maybe my subconscious stole it.

"What's the deal with those twin pokers in geometry sets? Are they for self defence or what? Like they give you a triangle, a compass, a half circle, and a two sided sharp thing to protect yourself if someone tries to steal them?"

This is the best one. The joke is complete and I think it's pretty funny.

----

So that's it, I hope you enjoyed something I was embarrassed to share for a while!

38 Days Later

By special request from Tom, here I am with my first post in a few months. Tom’s blog has really turned into a great source of entertainment and interest. It’s been a great way to keep up with Tom and follow his witty and varied observations on everything from 10 cent fish to his philosophy on self-identity, society and values (how to enjoy the cottage). It turned into so much more than a blog about the pond. I kind of left it to Tom to keep going, because a blog takes on the personality of the writer, and having two contributors would disrupt the flow and meaning of the page. Nevertheless, Tom asked me to create a post on my impressions of Victoria and how I’ve adapted. I’ll gladly fill everyone in on how it’s been living on the west coast for the past 38 days.

Victoria has a lot to offer for those who can break in. By this, I mean that Victoria can reject you, preventing you from establishing yourself. And I say this not just from the perspective of someone who has had a tough time getting a job during this recession. I think Victoria is generally harder to break into. The economy runs off a large proportion of retirement money and public service employment. So, if you don’t find a profession in government, education or health care, and have no plans to retire in the near future, your options are severely limited. Sure, there are entrepreneurs and some private industry, but the proportion is severely less than most Canadian cities of its size. That said, even if you do break in, Victoria’s real estate is radically more expensive than the average. I think the median price for a house here is 450,000$. It takes a huge normative shift to want to commit to real estate here. But, let’s say you get the job you wanted and you decide to bite the bullet and purchase a house or condo here. You’ve made it over the biggest hurdles and you’re here. If you like getting out and exploring or enjoying what your tax dollars pay for, then it’s really amazing. It’s a really great city that values its green space and is very well taken care of. There is rarely any traffic congestion, and it’s easy to find your way once you know a couple major roads.

I’ve done some driving here, but the majority of my exploring has been on bike. There’s a major trail system called the Galloping Goose that takes you nearly anywhere in Victoria. I’ve been galloping a lot. And so do a lot of people in Victoria. It’s really a great place if you want to keep the car in the driveway (or not buy a car!) and bike to work. If you’re not on the Galloping Goose, the roads often have bike lanes and are increasingly being retrofitted to include them.

Here are a couple pics of some bike art and graffiti at Recyclistas, a Bike Co-op along the Galloping Goose.

They’re really great people there. The shop is at a fork in the trail, so it’s a great meeting place. They make art out of some their worn out bike parts. I ‘m going to start thinking of some things I can make with some of my old stuff. I’d like to make a mosaic out of old chains. There’s also a pic of me with a Monkey Tree. They’re cool. Some day I’m going to buy a monkey tree.

When I rode on Sunday the Victoria marathon was taking place, making downtown more hustly and bustly than usual. Here’s a statue guy painted in yellow and purple. He wanted money for his theatrics.

I then headed down to the beach. There are beaches like this everywhere. Just one of the benefits of being on an island. The giant tree trunk next to me has probably been there for years. There’s washed up wood everywhere. Maybe I can compete with Relic in the beachcomber biz.

There’s a lot of cool architecture here. Modern condos and houses have huge windows. If situated in the right direction, the windows can provide a lot light and have a heating effect on the house as well.

I wanted to get more pics of some cool houses in James Bay, but my camera died. I went to the dollar store and picked up an eight pack of Chateau AAs for 1.40$. They’re such crap that they couldn’t even turn on the cam. I’ll put up more pics of houses another time.

Here’s a pic of an old ship being torn down for scrap metal. Ironically, this metal yard is in one of the more expensive parts of town. It will probably be removed in the next few years, with trendy condos coming in to take its place. The area is called Selkirk. Jessie’s friend’s family business develops a lot of the residential and commercial property in the area.

Here’s the biggest tree I’ve yet to find. It’s a big Redwood in a park in the city.

Here's a picture of Jessie. "Look, a duck!"

Finally, what’s a life update without including Dr. Freeman's latest exploits! He’s been growing like a true scholar, and has had some adventures along the way. Here he is on the roof of Jessie’s parents’ house. Little rascal just can’t help but follow the big cats around. He’ll learn though that he’s not destined to be a feral crazy thing.

Victoria’s been great, but it’s not a place where your credentials or hard work necessarily allow you to break in. Nothing's a given, especially during the present. Once you’re established, it has a lot to offer, especially if you enjoy milder weather and the outdoors. As the guy who took my photo next to the beached tree stump stated, “Victoria has three seasons, spring and summer.”

How to Enjoy the Cottage / Camping Trip

This is what is called getting away from it all, yet a lot of people don't really understand how to do this. Literally they've done this of course, they're away from all their stuff, except for what they've taken with them, but they probably haven't really mentally done this.

I will explain what I mean.

This is something I've thought about for a while, and it's something I've had to teach myself. Subconsciously at first I was doing it, then when I realized what I was doing I was proud.

In the beginning Tom created a cottage wardrobe. I will preface here by saying that some time ago my parents bought a cottage near Gracefield, Quebec. I'm sorry if I've never taken you there, I have a problem with driving there, and I don't go often. Anyways, this cottage wardrobe is just clothes that I've worn throughout my life, all of it still fits to a degree, the pants are too big, the shirts are sometimes a bit too small, I have a Bartman shirt that I'm pretty proud of.

When I change into these clothes, I don't look like the other Tom, because he wears different clothes. There, now when I look in the mirror, I can say that I look different. This doesn't make me different, but it helps.

I couple this with acting different, and by being out of routine.

At home, you tend to follow routines, even on the weekends. You can't help it. Unless you get a 3 day weekend. Then you have this weird extra day where you go crazy trying to pack in all this super fun stuff, or doing nothing.

At the cottage, fuck it. Get up when you want, 7 a.m., 10, 1, 5, who cares. Take naps, get buzzed in the day, early, then go running, or on a boat, I don't care. Also, play board games and cheat, then when you lose, go crazy, like scream and yell. You will end up acting the way normal people in the city would tell you is insane. This is acting different. This is what you need to do.

Sometimes I start a giant fire for no reason, at like 8 in the morning. My parents and my wife aren't fazed. Sometimes they watch me to make sure I don't start a little forest fire like I have before cause the foliage tends to get close to the fire pit, but other than that, these relatively unorthodox behaviours are quite normal for cottage Tom. Because he's just not city Tom. Just not at all.

Cottages and camp sites are fun cause they allow you to escape from yourself. You can become a character you have inside you, or one that you've always wanted to try out. A different person for a weekend. At least that's how I see it. But it was my reflection on it that made me realize that it has happened naturally for me.

Cat Times at Maxton High

As a young boy, I had a couple cats, one was named Bridgette, and one Casey. Bridgette just showed up at our door one day, Casey was a gift.

Casey was an aggressive little fuck, no one could even touch him but dad. Bridgette was sweet as strawberry pie. They both got shot when we came back from our trailer (we used to live in a trailer sometimes) and had piss all over the place to clean.

My next cat experience, other than lovely little affairs with Drama, Hanky the retard, and Twila the Queen, comes from the Dr., Freeman Mittens.

Freeman is a funny cat, because I was too young to remember living with kitteh's and he is one. Every morning, or night, he will run around like one of Holly's patients, wanting to see what I'm up to. I'm the first one up, and I go upstairs at night to get ready for bed, while Adam and Jessie pretty well live mostly downstairs.

Freeman's funny trait is feet biting and screen climbing. He bites feet thinking they are spiders, or plants, and he climbs our screeen doors (causing no problem, although if we aren't home, I don't know how he gets down.)

Hanky has a funny trait too, he likes to have his head jerked off. You sort of pretent he has a horse penis for a head and rub it (the tip) to and fro. He loves it, he's a deviant.

Twila, seems pretty ho-hum. This is what Holly and I call boring things. Not to say that it's not a good thing for a cat to be boring.

Here's some info on the biting phenomenon:

"Cats, especially kittens, love to play. Abruptly ending a play session is an extremely powerful reprimand. With a few repetitions, kitty will learn that it is his own overly rambunctious or aggressive behavior that brings an end to all the fun.

While your cat is learning not to bite and claw you, it is equally as important that you provide kitty with something he can pounce on, attack, grab with his claws and sink his teeth into.

Unless your cat has real prey to hunt, you are going to have to provide the play prey. If you simply toss a few toys on the floor, your cat may give them a few swats then quickly lose interest. It is up to you to make the toys fun. Play should be an interactive game between you and your cat. Tie a toy to the end of a length of string. Drag it around your house with kitty in pouncing pursuit. Pet stores are full of both inexpensive and exotic toys for your cat. Use your imagination and create your own toys. The idea is to stimulate your cat's interest and participation. Two 15 minute play sessions a day will work wonders in venting your cats excess energy as well as fulfilling his predatory instincts."

citing : http://www.perfectpaws.com/agg.html

All in all, a visiting cat works for us, full time would not work. Freeman is so cute, but he can be annoying. I will miss him when he's gone though.

Breathalyzing Bruno

Yeah so we get pulled over on the nicholas onramp. Have to roll down window, guy asks us if we've had anything to drink, I say yeah, 2 or 3, he says he can smell it, he can smell it on her too (Holly).

"Pull up in front of the green car please sir, I'll need to test you and check your license."

Great, I'm freaking out, what if I'm not perfectly fine, what if the machine messes up, what if I mess up, what if I can't do it, what if I freak out and he thinks I'm drunk or something or insane and he arrests me?

He comes to get me and Holly stays in the car.

"Watch your feet, there isn't much leg room."

"What do you mean?"

"Like in the back of the car."

"Oh"

"So, have you ever been taken one of these before?", "no, ok, you get 5 tries, if you don't do it right all 5 times, it's the same as failing the test, you go to jail, I take your license, and the car is impounded if your wife can't drive."

ok great, now I'm effing about to lose it, must focus, teach me how to do this thing, oh man, oh no, I'll mess up, I know it, this is it, I'm going to jail, I'm getting rped tonight.

"So, you blow hard, not too soft, for 8 seconds, constant stream of air, don't break the stream or it will fail, don't blow too soft or it will fail, don't stop blowing or it will fail, wait for the go light or it will fail, watch me do one and then you go, ok"

"wait a minute, how do I know when 8 seconds is up?"

he wasn't understanding this, we agreed after a lengthy back and forth that he would say keep going keep going and then stop. I agreed. I've long ago decided in these situations to be as submissive as possible. I am a sheep, I am a baby, I am a child, teach me, yell at me, call me dumb, you are the smart one, I am your prisoner, just don't hurt me or arrest me. This is what they want, and I will give it to them to get what I want.

give me the thing through the speaking prisoner hole.

I insert my own prepackaged mouthpiece.

"Keep going, keep going, keep going, [I figure 8 seconds have passed, I stop], ok, good. Sir, have you had anything to drink tonight at all??"

"Yeah, I had 3 drinks, but they were really spaced out, like dinner was at 8 it's 1.30 now, and last one I shared with my wife, here she comes now actually"

I go, you thought you had me eh, he says, no, we laugh. Holly sees us laughing and her worry of me being in the back of the car is alleviated. I tested 0.0024. Limit is 0.08. We have a few laughs, shake hands, and we're off.

Next time I won't be so honest.

As far as Bruno goes, it won't do as well as Borat cause people are afraid to like it cause they think watching gay stuff will turn them gay. This is a weird thing, I can admit that when I was little, I was worried I'd turn gay. But it's impossible, you can't turn one thing or another. If you like guys, you will stay liking guys, if you like girls the same, some people like both.

Anyways, if you are comfortable enough with a seeing peepees and bum bums to watch Bruno, you will find it to be one of the funniest movies of all time. Some comedies these days have the best parts in the previews, but Bruno saves the best parts for the movie. I actually was too scared to eat my popcorn, there were no parts were I wasn't laughing. One point I thought I might have to leave cause I couldn't stop laughing.

I can't wait to go again. And then buy it. Better than Borat, hands down, tied behind back, gagged, with apple in mouth, etc..

Algae Update

Allright, so I went to the pet store, looking for the fish I spoke about (Algae eaters.)

I talked with an expert, she told me the fish would die in the pond immediately cause they need constant heat, which is just something I cannot offer. She did recommend a liquid medicine called sludge remover. She only had industrial quantities so I vowed to return at a later date and we parted ways.

Earlier in the day I was able to scoop out a lot of the green and fling it into the garden. It smells really bad. She said it's fish waste. I think what happened was that I put those white bricks into the pond, that fed the fish while we were away, they ate too much, like at a buffet, and shat all over the place (like after a buffet.)

The video shows before I cleaned it and some cleaning.

Now the pond looks a bit better. Also, I took out a lot of big rocks so the fish have no where to hide. They are always visible, this is what I want. No more friends coming over and having them embarass me by all hiding.

Also, the big rocks make it hard to clean away the algae, so now i can scoop it up.

Stephen King's The Algae

I dedicate this post to Ben and my mom, happy 27th and 65th respectably.

As you might already know, the pond has been overrun by this underwater disease known as Algae.

If you've seen or read Stephen King's The Myst, you know what the fish are going through. They get stuck in it. Visibility is poor, and it's disgusting.

I have to routinely check to make sure none of our little pals are tied up and can't eat their food.

I can come up with some causes.

1) Alex put it in. Maybe it's a French Canadian prank that when you turn 30, or are taking care of a house, you punk someones pond with vast quantities of Algae.

2) It's coming from leaves. The leaves fall in, from the insane jungle that came about in our backyard. Once the leaves dissolve in the water, they turn to green goo?

3) The fish are making it from their poo poo? Maybe too many fish = green goo??

The Solution:

1) Now, last night there were many people at my moms party. I spoke with some about the issue, one gentleman scholar (actually a dumb guy), told me I could acquire Algae eater fish for 29 cents. This is very appealing.

2) I tried putting in like half a bottle of pond clarifyer juice. This might have made it worse. The juice stuff has bacteria in it. Maybe it caused it?

3) Contact the weirdo guy from Richie's Feed and Seed. He is an expert. This might take the fun out of it though. I like Science experiments.

4) Bring in Peter Dornan. If you are reading this, I would like you to try and develop some sort of chemical at your lab pls.

5) Be a vengeful god and put in chlorine. This is last resort. I don't think I would be able to do this. But I suppose I will do this only after all the sea society of sinners has perished.

Please post your suggestions. I'm going to make a video once I get home and have the camera. You will be amazed/disgusted/appalled.

Peace be with you.

Las Vegas Final Summary

(I dedicate this post to Alex, happy 30^th bday Alex, what an accomplishment!!) 

The People 

The education system is really bad, the money is just not there to fund the public schools.  People I talk to on the phone just don’t know how to do their jobs like here.  My brother phones to order a pizza, calling a place that is a mile away, and they don’t know our street.  He has to say adjacent streets until she recognizes one.  Then he has to give them directions.  She didn’t know how to use google maps? 

The person I called about an airport shuttle recommended I take the city bus to sight see.  What the heck?  They are all retarded.  

The Crime 

We were in what was described to us by our cab driver who took us from the airport, by way of the longest route possible, an ethnic area.  I’m not a racist, so these are his words.  But it was a tough area, if that’s what he meant, I’ll agree with him on it. 

We went to a grocery store, only to see a man in his forties talking on a cell phone and dressed well leaving being chased by security.  He was stealing a can of apple juice.  He just gave it back. 

We went to a Liquor store, right out of Boyz in the Hood (sign that said the cameras are connected directly to the Police station).  People all tatted up, no shirts on, we just wanted some Champagne for our wedding. 

The driving on the streets was worse than Quebec.  I’d have Holly with a map full time and I’d constantly ask for my next move.  Only focusing on the road, everyone was speeding, taxi’s everywhere, and construction was rampant.  Holly refused to ever drive. 

The Downtown 

I was told by the man that picked us up and took us to the rental car place that the downtown was very safe because there are cops and security camera’s everywhere.  OK...  We only went downtown to get the marriage license and that was it. 

The Radio 

I always thought the radio stations in Grand Theft Audio were satire, they’re not.  One radio station was hosted by Ryan Seacrest.  One was pretty decent, played alternative, but also had Eminem and Snoop Dogg?  It was weird, on the weekend they had a flashback weekend and older songs like the Sweater Song (not old at all), had the DJ repeatedly saying how old he was when it was new (like I was in grade 1 when this came out!!).  Like a) who cares, you're like 21 or something, and b) you’re mental, shut up. 

Some stations just had Spanish music and they were fun. 

The Strip 

The strip is where all the Casinos and Hotels are located.  It is huge, you can’t walk the whole thing, and is tons of fun.  Nothing is realistic about it.  You can walk around drunk, and with open alcohol.  You can do almost anything.  Our limo driver for our wedding had to explicitly tell us not to have sex in his limo.  

It is a Liberal paradise.  All it needs is Gay marriage, and maybe a few other things I’m forgetting. 

Parking is all free.  Food is cheap.  Booze is cheap.  Restaurants are cheap if you go to the right ones (buffets, which are amazing).  Shows aren’t too bad pricewise.  Exhibits are cheap.  

The Casinos and Hotels aren’t really themed as they are dedications or replications of what they are based on.  Architects from whatever area or specialty are brought in to give the place the correct look and feel and the result is amazing.  It is not what I was expecting at all.  You could go just to admire the architecture, the sculptures, and the art. 

The Gambling 

The gambling is not something I’m personally into.  I find that if the odds are against you, you shouldn’t really waste your money trying to get lucky.  But I understand the rush you get when trying.  

I used to enjoy gambling when the loss was my own, but since my money has been combined with Holly’s I would feel guilty doing something I inherently know is stupid. 

My brother only plays poker, and I think this is the smartest thing to do.  At least with this game you are not playing against the “house” and with odds always against you.  You are playing against human beings, with the “house” taking a piece of every hand you play.  I only recommend this if you are sure that you are better than the players you are playing against.  I don’t play. 

The Shows 

Cirque du Soleil is amazing.  It’s as close to an acid trip as I hope I’ll ever get.  You can just sit, listen, zone out and marvel at how insanely messed up what you’re seeing is.  I love it. 

I highly recommend LOVE and I recommend KA.  LOVE is basically a bunch of Beatles soundtracks with an ongoing story through time and some of their life stories.  I love the Beatles so it was pretty sick for me.  KA is a story about two kids, a prince and princess.  It had the most elaborate set I have ever seen.  I tried to video it but got caught so I only got a small sample. 

These shows are something else. 

The Wedding 

Our wedding was as beautiful a ceremony as I could have hoped for.  I will tell you that I was worried about the prospect of having a bad Minister, or a jerk Photographer, but this was not the case. 

They were both great, everything went very smoothly.  Ceremony was very quick and our vows were very emotional and very nice.  I’m very glad we do not have to say it was a day we survived and we can say it was a day we loved and celebrated. 

Overall 

Being the way I am, I was leery of Vegas with its flashy lights and gambling and that.  But what I found was a good heart and beauty where I was expecting cold capitalism.  If you think you can control the urge to gamble away your future, go, it’s a good time. 

One funny plus we noted was that it was our first real vacation where we didn’t have to worry about eating the food and getting sick.  I’ve been to the Dominican Republic 3 times and Mexico once before this trip. 

And note that this was my first time in the United States in about 12 years.

Just Married

This just in, Tom and Holly are officially husband and wife!! Congrats to you both. The Vegas paparazzi were quick to snap a pic and send it our way. Looking Hot!
Looking forward to a celebration. See you soon.

vegas 2

Yesterday we went to the marriage bureau, rented a car, went to see cirque du soleil ka, and saw the bellagio fountain.

Vegas Time

Ok, this is going to be constantly unpolished.  Videos out of order, but I'm busy and I have to take naps.  I think they are in order.

Vegas is a fun time.  The house is far from the strip.  My bro cant rent a car cause hes too young so I had to.  Chevy cobalt, cherry red mofo.  It's a blast.  Driving here is weird.  No money spent on infrastructure.  The gap between rich and poor is huge.  Help me Obama.

The strip is huge, day 1 consisted of buses and public transpo is bad here.   Long walks and Holly can't take it.  In the desert you need a camel.  Anyone catch Conan?  I missed it.  We've been eating lunch buffets, still on eastern time, delicious food, real cheap. 

Today we went to a real sketchy XO liquor store, black guys with shirts off and Spanish guys.  Easy to get racist here.  It was pretty scary.  Video monitor connected to police station.

Went to grocery store, parking lot filled with security, guy stole a appy juice, securidado caught him and he just bailed, he was like 40, sad.

The Life and Death of Big Boss

Ok, this video explains the revelation from neighbour Brigit.  I sincerely hope that it doesn't offend anyone.

By the way, I have my ring now.  I'm wearing it.  It's pretty cool.  Some things are different like washing my face.  I took it off to shower, I don't know if this is common or not.  It fits real well.  I have to wiggle it to take it off, but I figured out that you can twist it like a screw and this gets it off without it being abbrassive to your finger.

Because of these technical difficulties I will be hosting the videos on youtube.  Let me know if you are having issues watching them.

Instructional Feeding Videos!

Ok, today Holly and I are hosting a mother's day / Victoria Secret Day brunch.

This reminded me that I should put up the instructional videos on feeding fish that I made last week up. I didn't think they were very good cause of length issues in production, but, there is 10 minutes of film here so buckle up and watch it over lunch or while your boss is gone poo or something. I wanted to induce a feeding frenzy and forgot that it doesn't happen automatically.

Today I have just filmed another video after a starking revelation from my neighbour. Look for that.

Also, last night Holly and I went to see Angel's and Demon's. Pretty good, much better than the piece of crap Da Vinci Code, but you know, not that great. They took out some stuff from the book that was ridiculous, and it was an enjoyable time. I recommend. Also, Holly was happy that Tom Hanks got rid of his goofy haircut. Ewan McGreggor has not been a very good actor since Trainspotting. Maybe Star Wars has ruined his career.

Worlds Largest Goldfish!!

Big thanks for finding this to Brenda.

Ex movie star Jackie Chan is Ponding with me and he has developed the biggest documented goldfish in the known world.

Big ups to Jackie on accomplishing this.  I mean, It's not like his fish have been cryogenically frozen and brought back to life, but it's a nice solid a achievement.

One worthy of our recognition I'd say.

 

World's BIGGEST Goldfish? @ Yahoo! Video

End of Tax Season Brought Death and Despair

This is the last of the videos that before the ring video.

I show you what I did after tax season was immediately completed. Enjoy!

Reporting live from Waterfront Park

Adam's Post #2

Just like the little zombie kid at Waterfront Park, I love turtles. I wonder how that kid handled his internet exposure. He probably hates turtles by this point.
I was on my bike the other day and I came across a snapping turtle on a sidewalk near the train station. He was getting ready to cross the street. I snapped a couple pics with a camera phone. I had to take pictures of the phone's screen to get them on the computer, so they're sort of blurry. You can get an idea of how big this guy was. I immediately thought of the carnage he'd inflict on the pond. Not even Big Boss could manage this guy. Turtles would be a pretty cool experiment in the pond. I had two turtles as a kid. I'd catch minnow fish at the pond near my place and put them in the tank live. The turtles would hunt them down and eat them whole. Good times.

Here's a pic of the turtle. I put one of my cycling gloves on his shell to give some size perspective.



Here's another pic. Sorry about the quality. This turtle was really big, and had a spiky tail, huge claws and neon green eyes. I was afraid to pick him up because of salmonella and the huge claws. I hope he/she survived. He was on the sidewalk of a busy part of Princess St. It probably took him hours to climb the grassy hill from the marsh.



I've been away from the pond for a couple weeks now, and I must say, I miss it. I hope the little guys can figure out their food issue. I remember the first couple times we tried feeding them. Big Boss was the only guy who was swallowing the food whole. He's like a piranha in comparison to the wee comets. Grinding up the food before feeding seems to work, but it's hard to tell whether they're eating it or if it's just dissolving into the water.

I'm not sure about Big Boss' current status, but here's a quick bio. Last I heard, he was out of action, but it's pretty common for this guy to lock himself away for a couple days when he has to get things done.


Given Name: Big Boss

Family Name: Oranda

Species: Carassius auratus (goldfish)

Special Characteristics: big, ball shaped, slow moving, large tail and fins, big brained.

Special Skills: Can eat whole food pellets in a single bite.

Age: At least 20 days, probably 50+.

Occupation: Boss of the [Tom's not Tom's pond, it belongs to the community] pond.

Office: The ceramic pot in the north west corner of the pond.

Lifestyle: A loner, limits his public exposure, probably works 50-60 hour weeks.