Halloween

This year I decided that I am actually going to do something for Halloween, as I usually do not do anything. Dress up, hand out candy and/or go to Trick or Treating. But since I have a nice Pilgrim outfit and all, I decided that I would actually go out. The Annual Halloween Parade in West Hollywood is supposed to be a pretty lavish affair and I have never been despite that the fact I have lived in Los Angeles for over 10 years now.

Drink, Drank, Drunk

All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!





Yen Yen

1.5 oz Vodka
.5 oz Canton Ginger liqueur
.5 oz cucumber puree
Splash of club soda

Mix the ingredients, and ice, in a cocktail shaker and serve in chilled martini glasses.

Bee's Mash


6 thai basil leaves (or regular basil)
1/2 plum, cut
3/4 oz lime juice
3/4 oz wildflower honey
1 1/2 oz Jack Daniels
Rocks glass

Muddle basil leaves, honey and lime juices. Add ice, Jack, and cut plums. Shake and pour over new ice in rocks glass

Laundry Time

Unfortunately where I live now, there is no laundry room...Actually there is, I am just not allowed to use it. You see I live in a house with 5 othetr people, though before I returned from Europe there were only 4 other people living there. Apparently while I was away they converted part of the dinning room into a makeshift room, which is totally illegal since they did not get authorization or the proper building permits, but I digress. Essentially if everyone in the house were to use the washer and dryer, the water bill would soar through the roof, so we are not allowed to use it. Though I suspect that some members of the house are allowed to use it, as the house where I live in very ethnocentric to say the least. Either way when I need to do laundry I have to put all the stuff I wish to wash in a duffel bag and traipse to the local laundry mat and listen to people speak in Spanish for roughly two hours as well as be forced to watch Telemundo on the various TV screens strewn throughout the facility.


Which is actually not all that bad, for the place is near two fast food restaurants, a chinese place, a 7-11 and a grocery store. So I usually do some grocery shopping, grab a snack, read or work on my homework, which I find to be relaxing.

Innsbruck: Der Alt Stadt

Nightly News Differences: State to State

Dream A Little Dream:Part 3

Last night I had one of the most bizarre dreams, most likely because I drank a bunch of Nightquil before I went to bed. Basically I came home to where I was living in the dream, only to find that most of my stuff was missing or had been moved. The room I had was sometimes in an actual house or apartment and sometimes it was outside which was strange. Either way when I came home to find out that most of my stuff was missing I freaked out. I started yelling and demanding that the person who took my stuff suffer and that all my property be returned.


Eventually I found out that my landlord, with a German-esque accent, moved my stuff so he could have a hugh party. Which pissed me out as I would have been Okay with a party, just not someone going through my stuff and then lying about it. I woke up completely angry and thought it was real for a little while.

NIP/TUCK

The SF Exotic Erotic Ball

As you are reading this I will most likely be very, very drunk and surrounded by naked people...or mostly naked people. For I will be at the Annual Perry Mann Exotic Erotic Ball , partying it up with a bunch of people in costume or not as the case maybe. For this event is essentially an adult/naughty Halloween Costume Party, where pretty much anything goes. As a great number of people there are Butt-Naked and possibly engaging in public sex. At least they have been each year that I have gone, and it is not always a pretty site. Which reminds me, here is some advice for first timers or even veterans. Make sure that special girl you are talking to or letting touch your dick, is actually a woman! I remember last year I saw a couple of guys getting blown or jerked off and the girls who were servicing, were not girls if you ask me. In fact I felt as if I should warn the people involved, but then I figured that maybe they already knew and just didn't care, or it was their thing?! You never know at uch events, as some people just like to act out sexually in Public. Now me on the other hand, I am more of your even mix of exhibitionist and voyeur. It just depends on the company and/or how much alcohol I have drunk, as I am very dirty/horny drunk. Usually I just take a lot of pictures, which I will post at a later date since this post was actually written in advance and I have not technically taken any 2009 pictures yet. But rest assured that I will be taking many a picture come the ball! If you have any questions and/or would like to attend next year's ball, please feel free to email me at travelwhore09@gmail.com or check out the link above. In fact tickets for this year's ball are still available at the door as well, if you happen to live in the SF area and are close to the Cow Palace.

Tipping Baggage Handlers, Airport Security, Van Nuys Flyaway not taking cash, Gay bashers beaten up by UFC in drag, custom art work post, Castlevania...More

Currently waiting to see Swedish band The Sounds at the Wiltern. Didn't knom 3 bands were performing and that it was all ages. I've taken many, many pictures

Scary Ass Big Black Tranny!

After I attended the KROQ Transformers: ROTF DVD release party, I took the first bus home. Which actually took a lot longer than it should have, and that is all because of a very large, and very scary-nasty looking black Tranny in a wheelchair. A motorized wheelchair I might add that was so overloaded with useless crap, and Nick knacks that the tranny couldn't even board the bus. So everyone on the bus had was forced to wait for at least 10 minutes while the tranny attempted again and again to get into the bus, by backing up, and turning again and again. By which point everyone on the bus, including me was absolutely furious! As there was no reason why all of us had to wait for some mentally unstable freak in a wheelchair, whom I don't even think really needed a wheelchair in the first place. As the tranny was so grossly overweight, to the point that I imagine it was difficult for him to walk only because of that. Plus the tranny was obviously enjoying being the center of attention, even negative attention, that it was doubly annoying.


Now normally I really try to be an open minded person, to not judge and to be tolerant of those who are very different from myself. But the tranny I encountered was the kind of person I cannot stand and I have very little patience for in the real world. I only wish I had a picture of the tranny's face so I could show you what an absolute mess he was, but I only got pictures of the tranny from behind. Still you can clearly see from the photos that the tranny in question was a very large black man, way too large to ever fool anyone that they are or could ever be anything other than a man. With a voice that was so incredibly deep that there was nothing feminine about him aside from the crap he tangled within his nasty bird's nest of a wig and the tacky trailer trash jewelery and clothing he was wearing. He literally looked like some patch work doll, mixing a little bit of what every Hollywood stereotype of tranny or hooker looks like. Which let me tell you, is a look not even a beautiful woman can pull off. Let alone some utterly disgusting large-ass black tranny.

Living in the Real World

Before I start my little Rant, I want to make it perfectly clear that this Blog has nothing to do with the Mtv show, The Real World at all. Living in the Real World refers only to the realities of living is this world, which we all live, breath, and work in, not some cable reality show. And with that out of the way, I wanted to talk about how disconnected some people can be from reality and the real world. Not in the sense that they are mentally ill or suffer from some form of dementia and cannot recognize their true surroundings. I am talking about people who for one reason or another, religious or personal beliefs, simply ignore the realities of the world that they live in and that is seemingly around them at all time.


A good example of this would be the dugars family. This is a family that because of their religious beliefs, have had 18 children so far and a 19th is on the way very soon. Now i am very hesitant to stop on some one's religious or personal views, but I am still going to use them as an example of people who are not living in the real world. The father of this family is not a wealthy individual, and the mother is a full time stay at home mom...I mean should would have to be with so many kids. So this is a family that really cannot afford to have so many kids. Hence they have chosen to ignore one of the realities of the world. Next there are only 24 hours in a day, that's it. The average person needs about 8 hours of sleep, give or take an hours if they are older or younger. That means realistically the family at most has 16 hours of daily interactions, but this number does not include the hours spent going to school, eating, getting ready, showering, running errands, cooking/preparing meals and so on. Which only leaves realistically 8 hours or less for daily interactions. Now if we divide 8 hours amongst 19 kids, that is only 25.26 minutes a kid per day, and this might even include both parents at the same time since they do have to work and you assume the younger children require more supervision than the older kids. Either way once again the realities of the world and even time are being ignored by this family, and this is not the only example.


Now this one might be really controversial for some people, as it has very strong religious ties for a great many people but it is a perfect example of refusing to acknowledge the realities of the real world yet again. In India the (insert name) River is a very sacred and holy place. People come from all over to bath in the holy waters of this river as well as drink them. This river is also where the people of India wash themselves, their clothes, their livestock, dump waste, and their dead. making it one of the most contaminated bodies of water in the entire world! Yet because it holds religious significance, people still flock to it and drink of it daily. These severely populated waters have been linked to the high rate of birth defects in India as well as several diseases, infections and even deaths. But that does not matter to the people of India who still regard this river as being sacred.
even though it is in fact poisonous.

Bob's Big Boy

When I was growing up it was fairly common to eat at a Bob's Big Boy, and I remember it being a rather nice experience overall. Though the last time I had Bob's Big Boy I think I was still a teenager or younger, and there hasn't been a Bobs Big Boy in my neighborhood since the early 90's, and even then I didn't eat there. I do remember their Blue Cheese salad dressing being really good though, which I imagine is the reason why they sell it commercially at most super markets. Though personally I don't like to spend 5 bucks on a jar of salad dressing that I know will only last me a week at most, irregardless of how good it is. Still it is always nice to have a little piece of one's childhood or to be reminded on ones childhood, especially the older one becomes. So many places I really enjoyed eating at as a kid, have since gone away, never to return. And not only does it make one feel incredible old, it is also really disheartening. Like tiny pieces of yourself have drifted away, never to be see or heard from again.


I still haven't tried the new Bob's Big Boy, and do not plan to til November at the earliest. I have too many tests this month as well as my trip to the Bay Area and the EEB in San Francisco. For until next month I will not have the time, plus I have seen a rather long line outside of the just opened one near me, or more precisely near my former university. Once I have gone there again though, I will make sure to right some sort of review as well as take a few pictures of what they currently have to offer. I just hope it still tastes like my childhood memories.

Bumblebee, a 8GB Memory Card & Free Concert Tickets!

Last night KROQ partially hosted a DVD release party for the latest Transformers Movie Sequel, Revenge of the Fallen. Initially I wasn't even sure I wanted to go, as it is somewhat of a hassle to get to certain parts of Los Angeles, to sit in rush hour traffic, to find parking and all that. But the last time they had an 18 foot Bumblebee from the movie on display, I was wasn't able to make it. So this time I made sure that I was able to attend, even if it was just to take a few quick pictures and leave. Which is almost exactly what I did, with a few stops here and there along the way.


I actually arrived just about 8pm or 8:15pm, as I wasn't looking at my watch. Nothing really seemed to have happened, and hardly anyone was taking pictures with Bumblebee. There were a few people surrounding the KROQ booth, but that was to enter a drawing for a free Blu Ray player made by insignia, who I know suck from working in retail all those many year! I still entered irregardlessly, though I left a fake number as I am tired of junk callers getting my cell phone number. Anyway after I took my pictures, and entered the drawing, there wasn't really anything to do and I got rather bored rather quickly. Which is why I took a little trip upstairs to the Target store in the 2nd level. i was surprised to find that this Target had to be the busiest one I have ever seen in my life, when it was not actually Christmas time and not a weekend-day. I was also surprised to find that most of the prices were about 10% higher or more than most other Target stores, something that pisses me off about chain stores that I was address in another post at a later date as I digress.


When I returned the KROQ booth was asking the audience Transformer trivia questions questions and I won a pair of concert tickets. I had my choice of Snow Patrol, whom I would have liked to have seen, and The Sounds which is the concert I picked. Namely because it was at 6:30pm at the Wiltern on Wednesday, and Snow Patrol was just after my Japanese class finished and I doubt I could get there in time. So this Wednesday I will be see The Sounds, who I have already seen in Europe at either Frequency or Roskilde ( The same goes for Snow Patrol as well). I am hoping it will be an enjoyable experience, but since the concert is free, it doesn't really matter either way. Though it does help me fulfil one of the promises I made myself recently, and that is to get out more and see more LA things, especially all the free things LA has to offer. I am going to try and smuggle a camera inside, so we will see if I can get some good shots or not, though you never know how tight security will be.


But that's not all, for while I was at the DVD release event, I also found an 8GB SD memory card for a camera! Which is something I have been wanting for awhile as the largest memory card I own so far is only 4GB and I have actually used almost all of the memory up. And I know I will definitely need some space for this weekend's trip to the SF Bay Area and the Exotic Erotic Ball as well. Though before I simply just absconded with the memory card I took the time to the pictures to see if I could identify who owned the memory card or if the pictures were actually valuable or sentimental. For you never know here in Hollywood, as they could belong to a tabloid photographer or something. Though in this particular case there were only pictures of plants and trees, at some sort of huge indoor/outdoor garden or something. But seeing as this is LA I would assume it was one of those places that provides or sells plants and trees to movie sets and Hollywood productions.


So all in all, my initially dreaded trip to the corner of Santa Monica and La Brea wasn't all that bad. I mean I got my picture taken with an 18 foot Bumblebee from the film, won concerts tickets to see The Sounds at the Wiltern and I found an 8GB memory card. I also got some Transformer buttons and a movie poster, although I was initially hoping for a copy of the film. Which I am not even sure if they actually gave out since I left early. Still it was not a bad evening and it was nice to get out of the house. Although I do have a somewhat scary as well as annoying story about some fat assed black tranny whose motorized wheelchair would not fit in the bus and delayed us by over 20 minutes. More on that in another post!

Almost time to Fly to the Bay Area

Thursday I leave for a flight to the SF Bay Area, where I am from originally. I am flying in specifically to attend the EEB or Exotic Erotic Ball in SF on October 24th, but I am taking almost a full week off to see my friends and my family in the area. Though in all likelihood I will most likely only see 2 of my cousins from the black side of the family and my brother whom I will be staying with in Berkeley for part of my trip. I am supposed to see some friends from High School and College, but as people get older and get married, it gets harder and harder to meet and see old friends. So I doubt That I will see any of my old friends from before IO loved to LA. Though I am hoping to see one of my cousins from the white side of the family. I do not think we have seen each other in some 10 years, despite the fact that we live in the same state and are only an hours plane ride away. We are supposed to meet and discuss ideas for a cartoon series or a series of children's books, which I would illustrate. Since it is fairly similar to what I do already with my custom fairy tales for parents featuring illustrations and story lines specifically geared around their own children or living people.


Anyway my cousin and I are supposed to meet, and he mentioned attending the EEB with me but who knows if that will come to pass. It is not every one's cup of tea and the tickets are $79.00 this close to the actual event ( earlier they were $30.00 in honor of the Balls 30th anniversary, but I got mine when they were $69.00). Which is rather expensive for an event you have never been and are not familiar wish. One of my other cousins went with me a couple of years ago and left less than an hour into it, after paying all that money which to me was just stupid as hell. So I am possibly expecting the same thing to happen with my other cousin, so he is more of a horn dog so it might just be up his alley. Time will tell, and I will definitely be posting some pictures from the event later on in the month. But you can't post pictures you haven't taken yet.


Aside from the Ball and meeting some of my friends and family for dinner. I am also hoping to explore a little bit of the city of SF this trip. Since I have my hotel booked for 2 days during the Ball, I might as well take advantage of the surrounding sights and sounds the city has to offer. Especially since I never went to the city if I could help it growing up, as I thought it was just too cold, and too hard to get around. What with it's small windy uphill roads and it's far too many one way streets. Plus it's a bitch to park and quite frankly there are (sadly) a lot of transients and just filth in general all around SF that I can gladly do without.

Crunchy Oven Roasted Fish

To prevent overcooking, buy fish fillets that are at least 1 inch thick. The bread crumbs can be made up to 3 days in advance, cooled, and stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Serve with Sweet and Tangy Tartar Sauce (see related recipe) or lemon wedges.


All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!




INGREDIENTS:


Serves 4 4 large slices white sandwich bread , torn into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup plus 5 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish (optional)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/4 pounds skinless cod fillet , or haddock fillet, or other thick white fish fillet (1 to 1 1/2 inches thick), cut into 4 pieces (see note)
Lemon wedges



TARTAR SAUCE

This sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes about 1 cup 3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 small shallot , minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons drained capers , minced
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together in small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand to blend flavors, about 15 minutes. Stir again before serving.




1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse bread, melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in food processor until bread is coarsely ground, eight 1-second pulses (you should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs). Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Cool crumbs to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Transfer crumbs to pie plate; toss with parsley and shallot. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

2. Place 1/4 cup flour in second pie plate. In third pie plate, whisk eggs, horseradish (if using), mayonnaise, paprika, cayenne pepper (if using), and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper until combined; whisk in remaining 5 tablespoons flour until smooth.

3. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Dry fish thoroughly with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dredge 1 fillet in flour; shake off excess. Using hands, coat with egg mixture. Coat all sides of fillet with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to fish. Transfer breaded fish to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 fillets.

4. Bake fish until instant-read thermometer inserted into centers of fillets registers 140 degrees, 18 to 25 minutes. Using thin spatula, transfer fillets to individual plates and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

I'll Bible Study You!

I was born and raised in Northern California, and only moved to Southern California to go to school in the 90's. So I am definitely more aware of the vast differences between Northern and Southern California. Especially when it comes to personal interactions and making friends in general, as Northern California people are far less guarded and much more friendly. It is a lot easier to approach people and to start up a conversation, and not have the person you are talking to think you are trying to sell them drugs or God forbid-Rape them! Which sadly is the way I feel sometimes when I am talking to people here, compared to back in my home town. So when I initially moved to Southern California I was still behaving and reacting as if I was living in Northern California, by talking to strangers and being open to meeting and getting to know new people. Which quickly proved to be somewhat detrimental to my personal sense of well being. Especially on campus with specific regards to the numerous religious freaks who try to get you to come or trick you into coming to bible study with them! Or even worse giving you an impromptu sermon right then and there in the open!


This annoying event actually happened to me quite a lot while I was still attending CSUN and it really continues to piss me off to this day. Especially since I still see them on campus when I am there for research or use of their library. For there I would be sitting contently by myself, reading a book or having a nice peaceful lunch on campus in the nice warm California weather, when all of a sudden I would be approached by some religious zealot...Actually make that "zealots" since they always worked in pairs-which really does speak volumes about their motives and method of approaching people. The religious zealot initially plays the whole situation off as just some random person innocently striking up a conversation with another random person purely for the sake of being friendly. But the whole while everything they have done and said is only to see if they can lure you into coming to bible study with them and/or talking about the lord ad nauseum. It is one of the most annoying things that has ever happened to me on a regular basis on campus and it's also insulting as hell! For One they have no idea if the person they are approaching is actually religious or not to begin with, and their means of approach or attack as it were is so painfully obvious! After the first couple of times it happened to me, I really started to pay more attention and to be on guard as it were which is sad. As such I can usually spot them way before they can even get near me. For they always works in pairs and you can actually see them planning on who they will approach ahead of time, standing there pointing at people and debating which person at first sight seems the more likely candidate to be "saved" by them!


And what's worse is that it doesn't just stop there. There are also a bunch of religious nuts who stake out bus stops and hand out religious propaganda there as well, in English and Spanish. Which tells me that what all these religious people really have is an agenda! For they are always targeting bus stops and bus stop patrons. Thinking that the people who take the bus are the types of people who need religious saving, as if taking the bus means you are a sinner or weaker willed than the rest of the populace. Which is darn right insulting as well as infuriating! For I, or anyone else for that matter should be able to sit or stand quietly, read our book or be left alone with our thoughts, and not be molested by religious fanatics every couple of minutes. I mean I do not go into any of their homes, where they hang out, or to their school and talk to them about evolution. So they damn well shouldn't come and bother me with what I believe to be nonsense in my own time, in my own personal space!

State of Fear

Normally I am not someone who is too susceptible to manipulation or succumbing to irrational fears, like when George Bush JR. repeatedly used fear to win a 2nd presidential term. By constantly throwing out the word terrorism in every single speech again and again, playing off the public's fears and in some cases stupidity. But irregardless of my personal resolve not to be a fearful person susceptible to manipulation, all of the media's prolonged threat of terrorism attack talk does seem have had an impact upon myself. Whether I wanted it to or not.

Case in point I was taking the bus awhile ago to school, and noticed a middle eastern gentleman almost lovingly carrying what looked like a cake box wrapped in some sort of cloth material. Which I thought was rather strange since you do not normally see anyone carrying around cake boxes covered in cloth material. Plus I couldn't help but focus on the strange way that he kept caressing the box, as if he was worried about the contents in the box itself. By this point my imagination started to run a little rampant and I actually got off the bus way before my stop and decided to wait for the next one just to be safe. Something I have never every done in my entire life, and when the bus went it's way and didn't blow up, I felt incredibly foolish for my actions. As there was no real reason for me to be so paranoid or fearful of a person, just because he was middle eastern. California had middle eastern people living here way before 911 and it still has them now and always will. Not everyone who is middle eastern is a terrorist or religious extremist, yet my view, or at least my subconscious views have been corrupted by the media to the point that that is exactly how I view them in my mind.


It is something I have always been aware of, and it is something I have always tried to keep under control. As I know it is just conditioning to a certain degree. Like how every time there is a German person in an American TV show or movie, there is always some sort of Hitler or Nazi reference. To such a degree that every time I heard anyone speak German, no matter what they said, I was always thinking of Hitler and/or Nazis in my head. This only went away after I moved to Austria and lived there and actually learned to speak German myself. So I know it is the same thing for me and others when it comes to middle eastern people. For every time they are also in an American TV show or movie, they are portrayed as religious extremists or terrorists. Which is obviously not true, as you can't blanketly label an entire people in such a derogatory fashion. Still the damage has been done, and if I am so acutely aware of the problem and make conscious strides to correct or at least control it, I can only imagine how much worse it is for other people from less enlightened states as it were. States with higher percentages of citizens lacking in intelligence, willpower, education, cultural sensitivity or mental reserve. Which I know sounds really pompous, but California does have it a lot better than most of the United States, and we do not have some of the less intelligent or less forward thinking people that some of the other states are saddled with ( Feel free to comment, complain or argue about that last comment and we can talk about specific states later on). Yet people still make mistakes and jump to conclusions, just like I did and it's shameful to say the least.

The Bogen: Nothing but Bars, back to back to back

I was never much of a drinker, even in college. Though once I moved to Innsbruck, Austria, and started working in an Irish Pub, all of that changed. I started to drink on a pretty regular basis, and probably reached alcoholic levels, without being an actual alcoholic. For I would drink several pints of beer in a sitting or maybe a liter of Vodka with red Bull throughout the night. Usually 3 to 5 days a week, after I finished working at the Pub which would be around 2,3 or 4am on any given night.


And the majority of my excessive drinking would take place along th Bogen, which is actually the name of a street for those of you who are not familiar with Innsbruck, Austria. Said street is literally one bar after another for the entire length of the street, and most of them are open until 4, 5 or 6am. So everyone in Innsbruck heads to the bogen pretty much on a nightly basis, or at least when the other regular clubs and bars close. There is a bar for just about anyone's unique drinking taste or style, from tough biker bars, trendy bars serving exotic drinks, bars with strippers, all the way to bars that serve food like all you can eat Spaghetti.


Usually me and my friends ot co workers would go to Plateau

Where the Wild Things Are

I remember as a cild enjoying the book, Where the Wild Things Are, very, very much. Especially the art work, as it was one of the reasons why I love art and drawing so much! I use to copy the pictures I saw in the book, as well as create my own monsters, for hours a day in my room.

Someone's in Trouble

I think by now everyone is aware of the infamous balloon hoax perpetrated by Richard and possibly Mayumi Heene. How the unstable father of 3 conspired to trick the nation into thinking his 6 year old son Falcon ( someone is going to be beaten up a lot in school while growing up!) had taken off in a runaway homemade weather balloon. When in fact he was safely at home and not in the attic as it turns out, as originally claimed, but somewhere his parents were aware of. Thus the whole thing was a poorly thought out publicity stunt gone horribly wrong and now the parents of said hoax are going to be facing some serious legal troubles, possible imprisonment and some hefty fines upwards of $500,000.00. Police are currently in the process of going through the family's computer records and personal documents to see if there are any more pieces of evidence pertaining to their hoax and more examples of willful fraud.


There is also heavy speculation that the kids will be taken away or placed in protective custody along with their mother. Who earlier police reports suggest has been the victim of domestic violence at least once in the past. When police officers responded to a frantic 911 call and found a bruise on the mothers cheek and a burst blood vessel in her eye, which she claimed was from her contacts lenses. Which anyone who has contact lenses knows is pure bullshit! It is very hard to burst a blood vessel in your eye, you need to be hit or a have a lot of pressure applied to it and contacts just do not do that on their own. Plus if anyone has seen the Henne family on ABC's Wife Swap, then they know the father is an extremely volatile person if no outright insane. Resorting to shouting and playing the harmonica at one point when his temporary wife lectured him on his bizarre and irresponsible behavior and how damaging it could be for his kids to grow up in such an environment. He is also desperate for media or world wide attention, and would stoop to almost nothing in order to receive it.


So time will only tell what is to become of this very bizarre and unstable family, especially if the wife is not willing to report abusive behavior. Though if it were up to me I would sit everyone down in the family and make them take a lie detector test. I would also specifically ask the wife if her husband abuses her or his children and I would have a child psychologists interview all of the children to see if they are other signs of abuse as well. Mental or emotional, for while I think the husband is a monster, I do not think he is that kind of monster. Or at least I really hope he is not for all concerned.

Tagging: Reaching Pandemic Levels?

Los Angeles is full of graffiti or tagging, on every street corner, on every bus stop, on every building wall. And it is only increasing. I cannot tell you how many times I have personally witnessed people tagging walls, signs and even the inside of the bus while other passengers simply stared and did nothing. Most likely out of fear that they will get shot or stabbed, which unfortunately is a real possibility in today's gang filled Los Angeles and age.

I remember once being on the way to school and a kid who was sitting across from me was tagging the bus. I told him a few times to stop it and he ignored me so I tap-hit him on the shoulder with the book I was reading to get his attention. He asked what that was for and I replied that he needed to stop tagging the bus. He then got angry at me saying I shouldn't have come at him like that and it was disrespectful. And I thought to myself, here is some stupid ass punk kid, tagging a bus, which is illegal and he thinks I am the one being disrespectful. Which only shows that there is a huge chasm between what is considered just and moral in the eyes of today's youths. I only wish I had kicked his ass to teach him a lesson in respect, but I am just not a violent person. Several months later I was waiting for a bus and noticed a kid not more than 3 feet from me was tagging a bus stop bench. I told him he needed to stop or I would call the police. He then threatened to have his crew come to my house and tag it. Which to me seemed like a lame threat since once I rent, and two this kid doesn't know where I live and it's not like he is going to follow me home on the bus.

Either way this is a major problem, and almost nothing is being done about it. Your average citizen definitely doesn't do anything about it, as there have literally been at least a dozen witnesses the vast majority of times I have seen someone engaging in tagging public property. Since I am 6'5 I guess I do not really have to fear from any sort of physical retaliation from anyone for speaking my mind or standing up for my principles, which is what your average citizen really can't or doesn't feel they can do because of their size. And like I said the very real fear that they might get shot or stabbed, since tagging crews are essentially gangs or at least they have gang connections. They also appear to be mostly Hispanic which I think speaks very poorly of the Hispanic community at large if there is something about their culture that promotes such criminal activity and/or they simply allow such negative going-ons to stereotype them even more.


Though it is not just the gang ridden streets of Los Angeles as I have seen an uprising in graffiti and tagging in my European travels as well. Especially during the Roskilde Music Festival. As I witnessed several youths going around tagging people's tents, writing their lame gang symbols or whatever the hell it was in spray paint, because it was essentially unreadable. I also saw random scribbles on every piece of furniture that adorned the festival, so that a few days into the festival every formally clean surface was completely covered in nonsense symbols. It was like a bunch of people who couldn't speak or write English saw a show about graffiti or tagging on TV and decided to copy it.

Just too Darn Old to Drive!

Today while I was getting a light snack at Wendys...I know, I know it's horrible and I should not eat there, but I was in the area and I really wanted some 99 cents Chili and a Vanilla Shake, I happened to notice an elderly man getting out of his car. This was on my way to the restroom to use the facilities and to wash my hands afterwards. This above mentioned man was still getting out of his car when I returned to the front counter to place my order. The simple act of getting out of his car alone took several minutes total and once he finally managed to extricate himself from his vehicle, he had to use a walker and was incredibly slow. He was also hunched over and couldn't really see or hear well. Which made me think about a subject that has been milling around in the back of a lot of people's heads from time to time for quite awhile now. The simple fact that a lot of elderly people out there on the road are simply too old to continue to drive or to continue to be allowed to drive moving vehicles. For there is not a doubt in my head that the man I saw with the walker, could every react quickly enough in any situation that required quick reflexes or making a split second decision. Decisions that average drivers, especially here in LA are often faced with. Which makes drivers like the walker-man, extremely dangerous on the road and me fearful for my own safety knowing that they are out there.


Which is why I would suggest or support any ruling that forced drivers over a certain age, let's say 70 to have to take an actual driving test, not the paper on, each year they wish to continue to operate a moving vehicle. And this test would also see if they are in fact still lucid enough to drive in the first place. As there are some elderly individuals that are rather mobile for their age but they mind is not what I once was, and these people should also not be allowed to drive under an circumstances. Though getting a bill like this to pass would be very hard, since most of the voting public is the elderly. Especially in states like Florida, which is known as a retirement state. Still issues like this rally do need to be addressed as elderly drivers have been the main cause of death in several auto related accidents.

GLEE

I am not really a fan of musicals and I am way too old and not gay enough to enjoy the likes of High School Musical, but I have to admit that I really dig FOX's GLEE. There is just something wacky, dark, entertaining and immensely enjoyable about the show as a whole. I love pretty much the entire cast and their weird little character traits. Especially the more screwed up, repressed or neurotic characters on the show. Plus it is always fun to see people being tortured in High School for their nerdiness or for being social outcasts. Though I do not think anyone at my High School was ever that mean to anyone, especially those people who were in band, Theatre or the Audio Visual Club. Although come to think about it, I do not recall if we actually had a Glee Club at my High School, or at least I didn't notice if there was one. I guess I was too popular, so there was no reason why I should know. Though I am aware we had a pretty prolific music and theatre department, so maybe the Drama club was our Glee Club as it were.





Later on in Feb/march there will be a special panel at the Paley center for Radio and television featuring just about all the cast from Glee and I am really looking forward to attending that. Tickets go on sale for members starting Friday the 22nd and I imagine that Glee will sell out right away! I will of course take a shit load of pictures and I will post them here, as well as the pictures from any of the other Paley center events I might attend. More info to follow in the coming months.

Smashy Smashy

Today I witnessed a car accident, or rather I heard a car accident as it was over by the time I turned around to see. As the picture illustrates, there are two cars involed at the middle of an intersection. Apparently one car struck the other when it was attempting tocomplete a left turn, most likely after the lne had turned red. As most intersections in the LA area do not have a light for left turns, thus drivers are forced to run red lights to make left turns. You think they would simply install lights hat included a left turn signal instead of havingso many similar accidents.

Travel Tip: Number 3

CHEAP AIRFARE: Discount Online Tickets



I think this one is a pretty big no brainer, as it has to do with buying your tickets via web discount or through online ticket agencies if you will. A lot of the major online discount ticket agencies like Orbitz and Priceline are very good and usually much cheaper than dealing directly with the airline, but not always so it pays to shop around. Hence my advice to you is to check out these sites and make a note of all the days, times, flight numbers of what your itinerary would be if you had actually bought a ticket through them, and then compare the info with the initial airline's actual website. A lot of times you can get rid of some web service charges or broker fees as a result. You can also call the airlines toll free numbers and see what they have to offer, and you might even be able to haggle a bit. A lot of airlines nowadays will price match their flights in order to get your business, so make sure to ask about that as well.


Another thing to consider is Priceline's Name your own price, where you can actually submit your own price or the maximum amount you wish to pay for your flight. When Priceline.com first launched you really could suggest just about any amount and it was possible to be accepted, but now the best you can hope to save is about 40%. Another important fact to consider is that when you suggest your own price, you do not get to pick the airline, the exact times and in some cases the exact days. You could get a very cheap price, but you could possibly have up to 6 connections and a flight that normally takes 4 hours, taking upwards of 10 hours. You could also leave earlier or later than you initially wanted to as well as come back under the same conditions. So I would not recommend trying this tactic with flights that would almost always include multiple connections, like European flights or transatlantic flights to Asia, Australia or New Zealand. As you could save a ton of money, but end up spending a lot of time traveling or just waiting in airport terminals for connecting flight.


Which brings us to another very important consideration! If your flight or one of your connecting flights is delayed and you subsequently miss your connecting flight, you will have to pay for catching the next plane yourself. Which can be very, very expensive, as you will pay the last minute price. So once again Name your own price is not recommended for long flights or flights that will have multiple connections. This is a little fact that very people who buy online from discounted ticket agencies are aware of and it is a costly fact to be ignorant of.

PHOBIAS: Part 2

This is totally random on my part, but I have always had more than just a passing fancy in the names of all the many real-life phobias that people can and do suffer from. Despire the fact that I personally do not have any phobias to report myself, or at least I do not think the fears that I do peronally have could be considered phobias. Since real phobias are supposedly so intense that the person afflicted with them would be rendered totally unable to act if they were actually confronted with their fear. This list will be updated periodically, and in several parts since there are so many phobias out there. I also also try to find some of the more amusing ones an hi-lite them.


Febriphobia or Fibriphobia or Fibriophobia- Fear of fever.
Felinophobia- Fear of cats. (Ailurophobia, Elurophobia, Galeophobia, Gatophobia)
Francophobia- Fear of France or French culture. (Gallophobia, Galiophobia)
Frigophobia- Fear of cold or cold things.(Cheimaphobia, Cheimatophobia, Psychrophobia)

Galeophobia or Gatophobia- Fear of cats.
Gallophobia or Galiophobia- Fear France or French culture. (Francophobia)
Gamophobia- Fear of marriage.
Geliophobia- Fear of laughter.
Gelotophobia- Fear of being laughed at.
Geniophobia- Fear of chins.
Genophobia- Fear of sex.
Genuphobia- Fear of knees.
Gephyrophobia or Gephydrophobia or Gephysrophobia- Fear of crossing bridges.
Germanophobia- Fear of Germany or German culture.
Gerascophobia- Fear of growing old.
Gerontophobia- Fear of old people or of growing old.
Geumaphobia or Geumophobia- Fear of taste.
Glossophobia- Fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak.
Gnosiophobia- Fear of knowledge.
Graphophobia- Fear of writing or handwriting.
Gymnophobia- Fear of nudity.
Gynephobia or Gynophobia- Fear of women.

Hadephobia- Fear of hell.
Hagiophobia- Fear of saints or holy things.
Hamartophobia- Fear of sinning.
Haphephobia or Haptephobia- Fear of being touched.
Harpaxophobia- Fear of being robbed.
Hedonophobia- Fear of feeling pleasure.
Heliophobia- Fear of the sun.
Hellenologophobia- Fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology.
Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms.
Hemophobia or Hemaphobia or Hematophobia- Fear of blood.
Heresyphobia or Hereiophobia- Fear of challenges to official doctrine or of radical deviation.
Herpetophobia- Fear of reptiles or creepy, crawly things.
Heterophobia- Fear of the opposite sex. (Sexophobia)
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia- Fear of the number 666.
Hierophobia- Fear of priests or sacred things.
Hippophobia- Fear of horses.
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- Fear of long words.
Hobophobia- Fear of bums or beggars.
Hodophobia- Fear of road travel.
Hormephobia- Fear of shock.
Homichlophobia- Fear of fog.
Homilophobia- Fear of sermons.
Hominophobia- Fear of men.
Homophobia- Fear of sameness, monotony or of homosexuality or of becoming homosexual.
Hoplophobia- Fear of firearms.
Hydrargyophobia- Fear of mercurial medicines.
Hydrophobia- Fear of water or of rabies.
Hydrophobophobia- Fear of rabies.
Hyelophobia or Hyalophobia- Fear of glass.
Hygrophobia- Fear of liquids, dampness, or moisture.
Hylephobia- Fear of materialism or the fear of epilepsy.
Hylophobia- Fear of forests.
Hypengyophobia or Hypegiaphobia- Fear of responsibility.
Hypnophobia- Fear of sleep or of being hypnotized.
Hypsiphobia- Fear of height.

Iatrophobia- Fear of going to the doctor or of doctors.
Ichthyophobia- Fear of fish.
Ideophobia- Fear of ideas.
Illyngophobia- Fear of vertigo or feeling dizzy when looking down.
Iophobia- Fear of poison.
Insectophobia - Fear of insects.
Isolophobia- Fear of solitude, being alone.
Isopterophobia- Fear of termites, insects that eat wood.
Ithyphallophobia- Fear of seeing, thinking about or having an erect penis.

Japanophobia- Fear of Japanese.
Judeophobia- Fear of Jews.

Kainolophobia or Kainophobia- Fear of anything new, novelty.
Kakorrhaphiophobia- Fear of failure or defeat.
Katagelophobia- Fear of ridicule.
Kathisophobia- Fear of sitting down.
Kenophobia- Fear of voids or empty spaces.
Keraunophobia or Ceraunophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.(Astraphobia, Astrapophobia)
Kinetophobia or Kinesophobia- Fear of movement or motion.
Kleptophobia- Fear of stealing.
Koinoniphobia- Fear of rooms.
Kolpophobia- Fear of genitals, particularly female.
Kopophobia- Fear of fatigue.
Koniophobia- Fear of dust. (Amathophobia)
Kosmikophobia- Fear of cosmic phenomenon.
Kymophobia- Fear of waves. (Cymophobia)
Kynophobia- Fear of rabies.
Kyphophobia- Fear of stooping.

Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.
Laliophobia or Lalophobia- Fear of speaking.
Leprophobia or Lepraphobia- Fear of leprosy.
Leukophobia- Fear of the color white.
Levophobia- Fear of things to the left side of the body.
Ligyrophobia- Fear of loud noises.
Lilapsophobia- Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes.
Limnophobia- Fear of lakes.
Linonophobia- Fear of string.
Liticaphobia- Fear of lawsuits.
Lockiophobia- Fear of childbirth.
Logizomechanophobia- Fear of computers.
Logophobia- Fear of words.
Luiphobia- Fear of lues, syphillis.
Lutraphobia- Fear of otters.
Lygophobia- Fear of darkness.
Lyssophobia- Fear of rabies or of becoming mad.

Macrophobia- Fear of long waits.
Mageirocophobia- Fear of cooking.
Maieusiophobia- Fear of childbirth.
Malaxophobia- Fear of love play. (Sarmassophobia)
Maniaphobia- Fear of insanity.
Mastigophobia- Fear of punishment.
Mechanophobia- Fear of machines.
Medomalacuphobia- Fear of losing an erection.
Medorthophobia- Fear of an erect penis.
Megalophobia- Fear of large things.
Melissophobia- Fear of bees.
Melanophobia- Fear of the color black.
Melophobia- Fear or hatred of music.
Meningitophobia- Fear of brain disease.
Menophobia- Fear of menstruation.
Merinthophobia- Fear of being bound or tied up.
Metallophobia- Fear of metal.
Metathesiophobia- Fear of changes.
Meteorophobia- Fear of meteors.
Methyphobia- Fear of alcohol.
Metrophobia- Fear or hatred of poetry.
Microbiophobia- Fear of microbes. (Bacillophobia)
Microphobia- Fear of small things.
Misophobia or Mysophobia- Fear of being contaminated with dirt or germs.
Mnemophobia- Fear of memories.
Molysmophobia or Molysomophobia- Fear of dirt or contamination.
Monophobia- Fear of solitude or being alone.
Monopathophobia- Fear of definite disease.
Motorphobia- Fear of automobiles.
Mottephobia- Fear of moths.
Musophobia or Muriphobia- Fear of mice.
Mycophobia- Fear or aversion to mushrooms.
Mycrophobia- Fear of small things.
Myctophobia- Fear of darkness.
Myrmecophobia- Fear of ants.
Mythophobia- Fear of myths or stories or false statements.
Myxophobia- Fear of slime. (Blennophobia)

Darwinism at work: Boy falls out of homemade hot air balloon

UPDATE: It seems that the little boy in the story faked the whole thing under his parent's guidance, namely his unstable father. In fact the boy Falcon was never actually in the runaway balloon to begin with and everything, all the worry, alltegh money spent to search and rescue him, as well as all the subsequent news coverage was all for naught. So it definitely looks like Child Protective Services and the police will be making a visit to the Henne's residence to make formal charges ufnot outright arrest. For what transpired definitely constitutes fraud and cost the state close to a million dollars in wasted resources, at a time when every State desperately needs to conserve as much miney as it can in these troubling ecomonic times.


It's really sad that certain people lack common sense to such a degree, that it results in their untimely death or maiming. Such tragic events have been morbidly refereed to as prime examples of Darwinism at it's purist. Take for example the recent homemade hot air balloon tragedy where a 6-year old child climbed into the basket of said hot air balloon, that his parents conveniently left unsecured for him and his older sibling in the backyard, apparently where they were playing completely unsupervised around an improperly tethered Balloon. Thus 6 year old Falcon Heene
was able to take off and travel for over an hour and a half, completely disappearing himself sometime before the Balloon eventually landed in Colorado.


Though it has not been confirmed yet, it is very likely that the boy fell out of the balloon sometime before the actual balloon itself landed some 60 miles away from it's place of departure and is dead. Either that or the kid somehow managed to get out safely and is hiding somewhere afraid that he will get into trouble for what happened ( as well he should). On a side note the parents of Falcon Heene were on the 100th episode of ABC's Wife Swap and are apparent science enthusiasts, routinely conducting their own experiments. Thus the reason they even had a homemade balloon in the first place, as the hot air balloon was going to be used to gather information come the next tornado. Because of all the media hoopla, I imagine that if their child is actually still alive they will be getting a visit from child protection services in the near future.

Whiskey Soaked Chili

All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!





INGREDIENTS



1 1/2 Cup Whiskey (Jack Daniels is fine)
2 Cups Chicken Broth (Low Sodium if possible)
1 Cup Black beans
1 Cup Red beans
1 Cup Normal/White beans
2 Pounds ground beef, pork or chuck
5 Large white Onions
5 Cloves of garlic
3 Tablespoons paprika
4 Tablespoons Black or ground Pepper
10 Large tomatoes/diced
1 Tube of tomato paste
2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Several sprigs of fresh Herbs: Oregano, Basil, Tyhme, and Chives
Tabasco Sauce to taste
Salt and Pepper to season


In a large mixing bowl or pot pour the whiskey and chicken stock/broth in and add the beans. Let these soak for 12 hours or more in the refrigerator if possible. This will help ensure the beans do not break during the cooking process and/or to help seal in the whiskey and chicken/meat flavors ( If you cannot do so 24 hours in advance, a few hours is just as fine). Before you are ready to start cooking the meat, dice all the Onions, Garlic, and Tomatoes and set them aside for later. After that finely chop all the remaining herbs and set them aside as well to be added later.


Brown the meat using Olive Oil adding salt and pepper to taste as well as some of the herbs and about 1/3 of the diced onions and garlic towards the end of the cooking process ( These will be cooked again so you do not need to over due it). In a large pot empty the cooked meat and all the juices that were in the frying pan, and add some additional Olive Oil. Stir the meat and add the tomatoes, as well as the rest of the onions and garlic. Then add the beans that have been soaking in the Chicken broth and whiskey. Stir everything around to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed together over a medium heat.

Next add all of the remaining ingredients, herbs and spices, including the Tomato paste and cover. The Tomato paste is mainly being used here as a thickening agent for the Chili, but the starch from the beans will do this as well. During the cooking process you'll want to try and reduce some of the liquid so the chili is thick enough to support a fork or spoon straight up, but you need to do this very, very slowly as not to burn the Chili. This will or can take several hours if done right, so keep checking on the Chili and add salt and pepper as well as Tabasco Sauce to taste as you cook. Depending on how mild, spicy or hot you wish your Chili to be. This meal can serve a small army of people and should be served with BBQ meats and chicken and/or with Rice-Enjoy!

Travel Tip: Number 2

Eurail Passes: Make sure to get the most for your money

Eurail Train passes are a great way to get around (most of) Europe, especially since the train system in Europe is extremely comfortable, easy to use and for the most part very, very reliable. But it's not always the cheapest way to get around, depending on where you are going or how often you will be traveling by train. Though if you plan to travel through Germany for almost any length of time, I would recommend getting a Eurail Pass. Any 1st class travel anywhere in Germany is very, very expensive and the pass literally pays for itself as a result of such journeys!


For those of you who do not know, Eurail passes are train passes that are specifically for Americans traveling in Europe. They come in three different classes, Child, Student and Adult. For the purpose of this post I will be mainly talking about and referring to the Adult pass, as I am well past 26 years old, which is the age limit on the student Eurail pass. Plus the Student Eurail pass is only a 2nd class ticket and not a 1st class ticket like the adult pass. Said Eurail pass allows the bearer to travel for a certain number of days, in a certain number of countries in 1st class. No reservations need to be made ( unless the train you are taken specifically requires it, and even then it usually just late night or direct rush hour trains), you just pick your train, get on and go! The number of days you want to travel and the number of countries you wish to travel in is all up to you. Which is why it is important to kind of know what you plan to do and where you plan to visit beforehand. For there have been a few times that I purchased more of a pass than I actually needed, and ended up wasting a few days. Though since I always travel though Germany via 1st class, I still end up saving quite a lot of money. For most travel through Germany via a 1st class ticket costs several hundred Euros, and with the exchange rate being what it is, that is close to double the price in US dollars. hence my annual trip from Innsbruck, Austria through Germany to Roskilde, Denmark, via 1st class, would cost me over 500 Euros alone or around 750/800 dollars!

Liar Liar!

Richard Strandlof repeatedly claimed that he had survived the September 11th attacks on the Pentagon. He also said he survived the detonation of a roadside bomb while stationed in Iraq, killing 4 of his fellow Marines. He'd also point to his head and tell people that he had a metal plate, an example of collateral damage from the roadside bomb explosion. Though the truly surprising thing about all of this is not that that he survived all of these horrific events to begin with, it is the fact that all of these statements are out right lies! Richard Strandlof never did any of the things he claims to have and he was also never in the Marines. In fact he was apparently watching the September 11th attacks from a homeless shelter in San Jose, California.


Now I can understand why some people lie. to make themselves look better, to impress a lady or to land a better job. Lying by small degrees is something that almost everyone in the world is guilty of. But lying about so many substantial events and things gets to be a bit too much, especially since anyone with half a brain should be able to verify if he was indeed telling the truth with a few key strokes on the computer. But apparently not everyone is as diligent when it comes to sniffing out the truth, as many politicians who had Richard Strandlof stand by their side while giving speeches can attest to. As they were fooled for months and had no idea that everything he was saying was utter bullshit. Eventually people started putting two and two together and realized that Richard Strandlof was not telling the truth.
So this past Friday October 9th, the FBI finally arrested him on the rare charge of "stolen valor." Which carries a One year sentence in jail and a maximum of $100,000.00 fine. Though my guess is, knowing today's screwed up society, he will probably get a movie and a book deal out of this and the fined will be paid that way. I just see a romantic comedy now about a guy who fakes all of the above in order to win the love of some girl, probably Sandra Bullock or some other romcom starlet. Sending the message that lying and cheating can actually pay off!

Phobias: Part 1

This is totally random on my part, but I have always had more than just a passing fancy in the names of all the many real-life phobias that people can and do suffer from. Despire the fact that I personally do not have any phobias to report myself, or at least I do not think the fears that I do peronally have could be considered phobias. Since real phobias are supposedly so intense that the person afflicted with them would be rendered totally unable to act if they were actually confronted with their fear. This list will be updated periodically, and in several parts since there are so many phobias out there. I also also try to find some of the more amusing ones an hi-lite them.


Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing.
Acarophobia- Fear of itching or of the insects that cause itching.
Acerophobia- Fear of sourness.
Achluophobia- Fear of darkness.
Acousticophobia- Fear of noise.
Acrophobia- Fear of heights.
Aerophobia- Fear of drafts, air swallowing, or airbourne noxious substances.
Aeroacrophobia- Fear of open high places.
Aeronausiphobia- Fear of vomiting secondary to airsickness.
Agateophobia- Fear of insanity.
Agliophobia- Fear of pain.
Agoraphobia- Fear of open spaces or of being in crowded, public places like markets. Fear of leaving a safe place.
Agraphobia- Fear of sexual abuse.
Agrizoophobia- Fear of wild animals.
Agyrophobia- Fear of streets or crossing the street.
Aichmophobia- Fear of needles or pointed objects.
Ailurophobia- Fear of cats.
Albuminurophobia- Fear of kidney disease.
Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens.
Algophobia- Fear of pain.
Alliumphobia- Fear of garlic.
Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions.
Altophobia- Fear of heights.
Amathophobia- Fear of dust.
Amaxophobia- Fear of riding in a car.
Ambulophobia- Fear of walking.
Amnesiphobia- Fear of amnesia.
Amychophobia- Fear of scratches or being scratched.
Anablephobia- Fear of looking up.
Ancraophobia- Fear of wind. (Anemophobia)
Androphobia- Fear of men.
Anemophobia- Fear of air drafts or wind.(Ancraophobia)
Anginophobia- Fear of angina, choking or narrowness.
Anglophobia- Fear of England or English culture, etc.
Angrophobia - Fear of anger or of becoming angry.
Ankylophobia- Fear of immobility of a joint.
Anthrophobia or Anthophobia- Fear of flowers.
Anthropophobia- Fear of people or society.
Antlophobia- Fear of floods.
Anuptaphobia- Fear of staying single.
Apeirophobia- Fear of infinity.
Aphenphosmphobia- Fear of being touched. (Haphephobia)
Apiphobia- Fear of bees.
Apotemnophobia- Fear of persons with amputations.
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Arachnephobia or Arachnophobia- Fear of spiders.
Arithmophobia- Fear of numbers.
Arrhenphobia- Fear of men.
Arsonphobia- Fear of fire.
Asthenophobia- Fear of fainting or weakness.
Astraphobia or Astrapophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.(Ceraunophobia, Keraunophobia)
Astrophobia- Fear of stars or celestial space.
Asymmetriphobia- Fear of asymmetrical things.
Ataxiophobia- Fear of ataxia. (muscular incoordination)
Ataxophobia- Fear of disorder or untidiness.
Atelophobia- Fear of imperfection.
Atephobia- Fear of ruin or ruins.
Athazagoraphobia- Fear of being forgotton or ignored or forgetting.
Atomosophobia- Fear of atomic explosions.
Atychiphobia- Fear of failure.
Aulophobia- Fear of flutes.
Aurophobia- Fear of gold.
Auroraphobia- Fear of Northern lights.
Autodysomophobia- Fear of one that has a vile odor.
Automatonophobia- Fear of ventriloquist's dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues - anything that falsly represents a sentient being.
Automysophobia- Fear of being dirty.
Autophobia- Fear of being alone or of oneself.
Aviophobia or Aviatophobia- Fear of flying.


Bacillophobia- Fear of microbes.
Bacteriophobia- Fear of bacteria.
Ballistophobia- Fear of missiles or bullets.
Bolshephobia- Fear of Bolsheviks.
Barophobia- Fear of gravity.
Basophobia or Basiphobia- Inability to stand. Fear of walking or falling.
Bathmophobia- Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
Bathophobia- Fear of depth.
Batophobia- Fear of heights or being close to high buildings.
Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians, such as frogs, newts, salamanders, etc.
Belonephobia- Fear of pins and needles. (Aichmophobia)
Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
Blennophobia- Fear of slime.
Bogyphobia- Fear of bogeys or the bogeyman.
Botanophobia- Fear of plants.
Bromidrosiphobia or Bromidrophobia- Fear of body smells.
Brontophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.
Bufonophobia- Fear of toads.


Cacophobia- Fear of ugliness.
Cainophobia or Cainotophobia- Fear of newness, novelty.
Caligynephobia- Fear of beautiful women.
Cancerophobia or Carcinophobia- Fear of cancer.
Cardiophobia- Fear of the heart.
Carnophobia- Fear of meat.
Catagelophobia- Fear of being ridiculed.
Catapedaphobia- Fear of jumping from high and low places.
Cathisophobia- Fear of sitting.
Catoptrophobia- Fear of mirrors.
Cenophobia or Centophobia- Fear of new things or ideas.
Ceraunophobia or Keraunophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.(Astraphobia, Astrapophobia)
Chaetophobia- Fear of hair.
Cheimaphobia or Cheimatophobia- Fear of cold.(Frigophobia, Psychophobia)
Chemophobia- Fear of chemicals or working with chemicals.
Cherophobia- Fear of gaiety.
Chionophobia- Fear of snow.
Chiraptophobia- Fear of being touched.
Chirophobia- Fear of hands.
Chiroptophobia- Fear of bats.
Cholerophobia- Fear of anger or the fear of cholera.
Chorophobia- Fear of dancing.
Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia- Fear of money.
Chromophobia or Chromatophobia- Fear of colors.
Chronophobia- Fear of time.
Chronomentrophobia- Fear of clocks.
Cibophobia- Fear of food.(Sitophobia, Sitiophobia)
Claustrophobia- Fear of confined spaces.
Cleithrophobia or Cleisiophobia- Fear of being locked in an enclosed place.
Cleptophobia- Fear of stealing.
Climacophobia- Fear of stairs, climbing, or of falling downstairs.
Clinophobia- Fear of going to bed.
Clithrophobia or Cleithrophobia- Fear of being enclosed.
Cnidophobia- Fear of stings.
Cometophobia- Fear of comets.
Coimetrophobia- Fear of cemeteries.
Coitophobia- Fear of coitus.
Contreltophobia- Fear of sexual abuse.
Coprastasophobia- Fear of constipation.
Coprophobia- Fear of feces.
Consecotaleophobia- Fear of chopsticks.
Coulrophobia- Fear of clowns.
Counterphobia- The preference by a phobic for fearful situations.
Cremnophobia- Fear of precipices.
Cryophobia- Fear of extreme cold, ice or frost.
Crystallophobia- Fear of crystals or glass.
Cyberphobia- Fear of computers or working on a computer.
Cyclophobia- Fear of bicycles.
Cymophobia or Kymophobia- Fear of waves or wave like motions.
Cynophobia- Fear of dogs or rabies.
Cypridophobia or Cypriphobia or Cyprianophobia or Cyprinophobia - Fear of prostitutes or venereal disease.


Decidophobia- Fear of making decisions.
Defecaloesiophobia- Fear of painful bowels movements.
Deipnophobia- Fear of dining or dinner conversations.
Dementophobia- Fear of insanity.
Demonophobia or Daemonophobia- Fear of demons.
Demophobia- Fear of crowds. (Agoraphobia)
Dendrophobia- Fear of trees.
Dentophobia- Fear of dentists.
Dermatophobia- Fear of skin lesions.
Dermatosiophobia or Dermatophobia or Dermatopathophobia- Fear of skin disease.
Dextrophobia- Fear of objects at the right side of the body.
Diabetophobia- Fear of diabetes.
Didaskaleinophobia- Fear of going to school.
Dikephobia- Fear of justice.
Dinophobia- Fear of dizziness or whirlpools.
Diplophobia- Fear of double vision.
Dipsophobia- Fear of drinking.
Dishabiliophobia- Fear of undressing in front of someone.
Domatophobia- Fear of houses or being in a house.(Eicophobia, Oikophobia)
Doraphobia- Fear of fur or skins of animals.
Doxophobia- Fear of expressing opinions or of receiving praise.
Dromophobia- Fear of crossing streets.
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.
Dysmorphophobia- Fear of deformity.
Dystychiphobia- Fear of accidents.


Ecclesiophobia- Fear of church.
Ecophobia- Fear of home.
Eicophobia- Fear of home surroundings.(Domatophobia, Oikophobia)
Eisoptrophobia- Fear of mirrors or of seeing oneself in a mirror.
Electrophobia- Fear of electricity.
Eleutherophobia- Fear of freedom.
Elurophobia- Fear of cats. (Ailurophobia)
Emetophobia- Fear of vomiting.
Enetophobia- Fear of pins.
Enochlophobia- Fear of crowds.
Enosiophobia or Enissophobia- Fear of having committed an unpardonable sin or of criticism.
Entomophobia- Fear of insects.
Eosophobia- Fear of dawn or daylight.
Ephebiphobia- Fear of teenagers.
Epistaxiophobia- Fear of nosebleeds.
Epistemophobia- Fear of knowledge.
Equinophobia- Fear of horses.
Eremophobia- Fear of being oneself or of lonliness.
Ereuthrophobia- Fear of blushing.
Ergasiophobia- 1) Fear of work or functioning. 2) Surgeon's fear of operating.
Ergophobia- Fear of work.
Erotophobia- Fear of sexual love or sexual questions.
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news.
Eurotophobia- Fear of female genitalia.
Erythrophobia or Erytophobia or Ereuthophobia- 1) Fear of redlights. 2) Blushing. 3) Red.

TRANSFORMERS 3: How much will they screw this one up?

When a movie, even a really shitty movie makes millions upon millions of dollars, there is obviously going to be a sequel (if not a dozen). Which is why it was no real surprise when Michael Bay announced that production on Transformers 3 was already underway. Though hopefully the next film in the franchise will be much better than the last piece of crap, as well as have a substantially better story. Which might be a distinct possibility seeing as two of the original writers are no longer working on the upcoming sequel. Although who knows, since it could actually be that they were responsible for making sure the film wasn't 10 times worse than it could have been. After all it was reported that Michael Bay was actually the person responsible for the extremely stupid and racist twin stereotypes, the seemingly retarded Mudlap and Skids. Who I regard as the Transformer equivalent of Jar-Jar Binks and almost as offensive. I hope that in the sequel they simply are either killed right away, not feature at all, or simply do not receive a lot of screen time. For there are much better characters from the Transformers mythos to use in the new film.


Which brings me to a very important point, that Michael Bay and the powers that be behind the Transformer movie series really need to consider. It does the original series, and all the fans a huge disservice when established character are carelessly used, recycled and subsequently rendered unrecognizable in everything but name. Like in the case of Sideswipe and Skids, who were well known characters from the original TV series and toy line from the 80's. Sideswipe was the twin brother of Sunstreaker whose car form was a red Lamborghini, while Skids was a blue mini van and theoretician. Not the bubbling idiot he became in the film, which really needs to stop. Either use the character (and everything associated with them) correctly, or create completely new characters from scratch. Aside from Optimus Prime in the movies, not a single character seen so far has any of the already established personality traits, or character traits as the original. They don't even have the same vehicle forms or colors, which is just another affront in a long series of insults.





Now in some cases I can understand that certain changes have to be made, especially since a lot of the Transformers alternate forms are severely out of date. Like Soundwave couldn't realistically be a hand tape recorder, since they don't even make them anymore. So by changing him into an satellite was understandable and not a bad choice, since Soundwave's specialty was communications and anything having to do with covert reconnaissances and operations. But in the case of the other characters, no changes needed to be made or should have taken place. Like Ironhide is supposed to be a red van, but in the films he became a black truck. This was completely unnecessary since there are updated/modern vans and they can be easily painted red. The same things goes for Ratchet who should have been an actual red and white ambulance, and not some ugly yellow emergency vehicle. The person of these films is to entertain people and fans of the original series alike, not to sell cars. For that is exactly what the Transformer film have become, a series of very long and loud car commercials. It's actually shameful when you think of it as not everything in Hollywood should be about making money or advertising.

Cell Phone Updates: Number 6

Twilght Nonsense, Phobias, Mad TV vs SNL, Cable TV Shows, Flash Forward, Transformers 3, Disney Cartoon Stereotypes, Jak and Daxter series, Air Travel and more.

Nyokee or Gnocchi Recipe

All recipes posted here are a composite of random recipes found online, in various cookbooks, taken from family, friends, neighbors and dishes/creations I have tried and/or made myself. Any similarity to people's personal or unique family recipes is purely coincidental, and no one actually owns the rights to any food combinations if you think about it. No matter how unique. Food for thought?!



INGREDIENTS:



Instant Potato Mix (or make mashed potatoes from scratch)
One egg
Olive oil
Hot or mild Marinara sauce
Melted butter
Romano or Parmesan cheese


Gnocchi/Nyokee


1 Container Whole-milk Ricotta Cheese (15 – 16 oz.)
2 Large Slices White Bread, crusts removed and bread torn into quarters
1 Large Egg
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Basil
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
Table Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Grated Parmesan Cheese
6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour



Sauce:


4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 Tablespoons Minced Shallot
2 Teaspoons Minced Fresh Sage
1 Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1/8 Teaspoon Table Salt





These are pretty tasty and not too hard to make, especially if you use an instant potato mix. You can also make it with Ricotta Cheese instead or you can go though the trouble of pealing, boiling and mashing potatoes, it's up to you. Otherwise prepare the instant potatoes according to the directions on the package or the Ricotta Cheese. To make Gnocchi/Nyokee for two people, simply prepare a 2 person serving size of the instant potatoes. Beat the egg into the instant potatoes or Ricotta Cheese, and then mix in enough flour to form a slightly sticky dough but not too sticky. Roll the dough into strands about one inch in diameter. Slice the strands into small pieces. Dip a finger in flour to keep it from sticking to the Gnocchi/Nyokee and press down in the center of each piece to form a little pillow. Drop the pillows into boiling water that contains a Tablespoon of olive oil. The olive oil will prevent the pieces from sticking together while cooking. Stir the Gnocchi/Nyokee occasionally. Boil until most of the pieces float to the top, and then pour them out into a colander and drain excess water. Arrange the Gnocchi/Nyokee on a cookie sheet. Baste the pieces with melted butter and sprinkle with Romano or Parmesan cheese. Broil in the oven until Gnocchi/Nyokee turns golden brown. This step is optional in the Gnocchi/Nyokee recipe and will take only a few minutes. Check on them frequently to make sure you do not burn them. Finally serve Gnocchi/Nyokee with hot or mild Marinara sauce for dipping and/or you can drizzle olive oil with garlic and herbs over it.