The Life and Times of a Midwestern Movie Addict

Well I haven't been around much lately thanks to starting the school year.  Its my second year of teaching and guess what?  I feel a little bit more at home in the job.  Last week I started with a practice writing test and this week I started last year's lecture on grammar with a few new surprises, and I think I'm actually getting some of the kids to understand.  Also, this year's classes are basically good with only a few talkers with little to feed off of.  I tell you, everyday is like a vacation compared to what I did last year.  I'm really riding high.  We're only a few days away from a holiday weekend, so my endorphins are doing great. Now lets talk about tonight's movie.  Its a lesser known little gem from the Cohen Brothers, before they hit it big with Fargo and after they had success with Raising Arizona .  This film hit middling audience appeal and mixed critical appeal upon its release and was an attempt at reaching mainstream au...

I know today's post seems like the title of a Bond movie, but its actually a slogan from a low-budget favorite of mine which always gets me thinking about dessert and snack foods and the way such products are advertised and consumed.  I mean, how often do we ask ourselves what's in that pint of ice cream or that bag of chips.  Sure, we know the basic elements, but there's a TON of crap on that label that I have no idea what it is, or even how to pronounce it.  Researchers and journalists have all had a fun kick examining the Twinkie and what happens to it when it mutates in the microwave or when its been submerged in water...and have effectively proven that it can't possibly be food.  Yet people still eat it...why?  We must like the taste or something, or we've been seduced by what a Twinkie is supposed to be and thus want to be a part of it.  Either way, it goes against practical thought.  I suppose that Larry Cohen was thinking along the same lines w...

Its hard to believe that a week ago today I was in New York City with my friend Tall John.  We were friends in college and he lives in Connecticut now, quite close to the city that never sleeps, so I went up and we took the commuter train into the city and played around on dem ol' city streets.  It was a lot of fun.  I got to see a lot of my favorite landmarks and go into some fun stores.  We ate brunch at Ellen's Stardust cafe, where the wait staff sings.  That sounds like it could get annoying, but it was a lot of fun really.  The highlight of the meal was when a waiter and a waitress sang Meatloaf's "Paradise By The Dashboard Light", it was pretty awesome.  I hope some of those guys actually make it on Broadway (they were all aspiring actors) because they certainly had talent.  Later in the day we caught a matinee performance of Promises, Promises , a revival of the stage musical based on the classic film comedy, The Apartment .  It was he...

I'm very late in updating you guys on Friday's dinner party, but I thought you'd want to know that it was a raging success.  My friends all got along famously, considering two of them hadn't met the other two, and the personality dynamic was super.  We sat there talking and laughing for several hours and then played some video games.  The food was also a triumph.  Everyone loved the pizza bar, and I think its something that anyone could successfully pull off for an easy and fun way to feed your guests.  First, you make all your pizza dough in advance, a batch or more depending on how many people you have coming.  FYI, you really only need to make enough for each person to have one pizza cause they're very filling.  Here's the dough I used (credit goes to FabulousFoods.com): Mitch's Basic Pizza Dough 3 1/2 cups flour 1 cup warm water 2 tablespoons yeast 2 tablespoons honey 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt I always use a food processor....