11.45 am – 12.21 pm: Milk with Spanish honey — my dad is determined to find The Perfect Honey, so he has several kinds in the pantry.  Also, pieces of baguette with Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Tomme Crayeuse and Brebis Ossau.

2.35 pm: Coke Zero (!) and quarter of an orange pepper that I’m supposed to be dicing for tabbouleh.  The dog begs for a piece of the pepper’s spongy innards; it’s a favorite snack, along with cucumber peels.

3.18 – 4.14 pm: Light lunch of tabbouleh and oven-roasted Brussels sprouts.

9.45 pm: La Chouffe at Vol de Nuit.

10.15 pm – 1.03 am: Dinner at Babbo with Joann and Keith.  We debate over whether we want the traditional or pasta tasting menus before deciding on pasta.  Our meal consists of the following: black tagliatelle with parsnips and pancetta; “casunzei” with poppy seeds; garganelli with “funghi trifolati;” pyramid-shaped ravioli with pomodoro; papperdelle bolognese; cacciotta fritters with honey and thyme; and chocolate with shaved dried chilis.  I swap my full plate for Keith’s empty one, much to Joann’s dismay.  I can’t eat spicy food, even if it’s chocolate.  For our last course, we each get a different dessert — Joann a pistachio and chocolate semifreddo, Keith a lavender honey spice cake with sweet potato gelato and me a Tyrolean carrot and poppyseed cake with an olive oil drizzle and orange gelato.  I may be a little biased, I think mine is the best.

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar, Pine Nuts + Parmesan
Makes three portions

2 ½ cups Brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 425°.  Toss the sprouts in a bowl with the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper until well coated.  Line a roasting pan with tin foil, then arrange the sprouts in a single layer across the bottom of the pan.  Roast for twenty to thirty minutes, or until the sprouts brown.
2. While the sprouts are in the oven, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, three to five minutes, stirring often.
3. Remove from the sprouts from the oven and transfer to a serving dish.  Mix with pine nuts and Parmesan, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

]]> http://blog.converget.com/2009/11/24/coke-zero-impossible-made-possible/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:06:28 +0000 alinatariq http://blog.converget.com/2009/11/24/coke-zero-impossible-made-possible/ http://droolingisntpretty.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/gotta-coca-cola-classic-and-a-losers-attitude/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:54:53 +0000 Emmanent Entertainment http://droolingisntpretty.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/gotta-coca-cola-classic-and-a-losers-attitude/

Pixie Geldof for Vogue UK September 2009 by Alasdair McLellan

“Ripped Slashed Studded Pinned Fashion Gets Hard As Nails” Dazed & Confused July 2009

A most fashionable soda and staple of the American diet…though I have to say I prefer Coke Zero

This is the “I’m feeling better” post.

41. When I have a cold and then, appropriately, get stuffy and nasal-y, I apparently sound like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.*

42. I’m normally a nitpicky movie-watcher, but when the haze of sickness and Tylenol Cold clouds my  judgment, I’m a film studio’s focus group’s dream.  I’ll buy into whatever lame-o plot devices the filmmakers throw at me without question, which is probably why I laughed coughed so much during Land of the Lost, didn’t mind the irritating twin robots in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and made it all the way through G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra without scoffing.

43. If I’ve got a sore throat, I’ll intentionally choose things to eat and drink that will either soothe or scratch it on the way down.  Examples include pizza/anything with melted cheese, toast with butter and strawberry jam, Coke Zero, shrimp-and-tofu stew from FuLoon and warm milk with honey.

44. Generally speaking, I’m happy to be a homebody — this goes out the window when I’m laid up on the sofa.  I go absolutely nuts and crave getting out of the apartment, even if I’m too tired to do much more than flail helplessly under layers of blankets.

45. The whole time I was sick, the only thing I wanted was a puppy to warm my nauseous belly.  I settled for a water bottle that leaked if I squeezed it.

* This is according to Keith and confirmed by Stephanie.  I’ve never seen the TV specials.

So today I’m wearing this nice brown polo shirt that Jenn got me for my birthday back in May. It’s a 2XL, and thanks to my dieting this week, today is the first time I’ve been able to wear it comfortably.

It’s been a lot easier this time around. I guess because of the new rules Jenn and I have set. Mainly, no soda, no sweets, and no fried foods for the next 18 weeks. Diet soda is okay, and we’re allowed 25 “cheats” during the 18 week period. So if we wanted to get a burger and fries, that would be one cheat (because technically, you can eat a burger on this diet). Not bad, huh? You’re also supposed to drink 72 oz. of water every day and work out, but I’m not so great on those. I wish I had time to go work out, then I’d be shedding pounds in no time.

Anyway, I think I’m finally past the caffeine withdrawal headaches. I did have a Coke Zero on Tuesday, and that seemed to have helped me feel better. I had a Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry yesterday, which is just delicious. I wish they had that year round, and not just during the holidays. That is some tasty stuff, friend. But yeah, the headaches seem to be gone finally, and I’m feeling SO much better now. Still kinda tired, but that’s just from pushing a crap-ton of mobile lab carts this morning. I try to encourage everyone to sign up early and not wait until the last minute, but that doesn’t really work. I know that most teachers do tend to have to sign up at the last minute for a variety of reasons, so I certainly don’t blame them for doing so. Besides, it IS a good morning workout for me.

That’s about all for now. Have a great day, friend.

iPSotD:

The new Stephen Colbert video challenge is up, and though it’s for no prize, it’s fun to do so I’m doing it. This time the challenge is to debate Stephen Colbert himself. I put on my pink suit, did my hair up fancy, and did my best.

Stephen vs. Happyjoel

I’d totally embed the video but I don’t think I can, so feel free to click it. Here’s a couple fun trivia facts about the video:

1) I bought my first set of lights, so even though the sound totally needs work, I’m really happy with the lighting. You can actually see me unlike many of my other videos filmed previously.

2) I’m not wearing any pants. I do have pants. I even have pink pants that go with my pink suit, but I’m not wearing them.

This is the fifth time I’ve made steak tips–each time I try a different marinade. I create new marinades by searching my refrigerator for anything that sounds like it would be good. It’s a good way to purge your fridge of any almost-empty bottles of things. My favorite marinade so far has consisted of a can of Coke Zero, Rice Wine Vinegar (pillaged from a dining hall. Shh, don’t tell), red pepper flakes, garlic powder, katsup, and worsteshire sauce. And of course salt and pepper. And a little bit of olive oil.

The phosphoric acid in the Coke tenderizes the meat well and you end up with a tender, juicy steak. It may sound weird, but it works really well!

When they were on sale, I bought a six-pack of steak tips. I individually wrapped them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and froze them. When I decide to eat one, I take it out, unwrap it, and place it frozen in the marinade. I leave in in the refrigerator overnight or out on the counter for a few hours. It takes a while to defrost.

Before cooking, you’ll want to make sure the meat comes to room temperature. If it’s in the fridge, take it out for an hour or two so it’s not too cold when you get to cooking time. If it’s cold, the meat may seize (the sudden change of temperature will shock it).

To cook, I put it in an oven at 400°F for about 15 minutes. It depends on the size of the steak tips. In order to determine when the Steak Tips are done cooking, I use a meat thermometer.

Insert the thermometer into the side of the steak and make sure it goes through the center of the meat. Put the steak in a glass pan. It should look like this:

Put the pan in the oven and check the thermometer often as the steak gets closer to being done. I like mine medium-rare, so I let it go until the little arrow on my thermometer reaches the point just between medium and rare. That’s about 135°F if your thermometer has temperature instead of a done-ness chart.

When you take the meat out of the oven, cover it in aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 7 minutes. I like to let my steak tips rest for about 10. The foil helps keep all the juices in the steak so they re-absorb back into the meat. If you cut it too early, all the juicy spills out and you end up with dry meat. Not good. So let it rest, because we all want juicy steaks, not dry ones.

Once rested, go ahead and eat! Cut against the grain of the meat and enjoy! I threw a slice of sourdough bread with butter on the plate with my steak because I figured I needed some form of starch to go with all that protein, but it’s not necessary.

You can use extra marinade as a sauce. If you boil it, it’ll get thicker and reach sauce-consistency. This is simple: throw marinade in a pot. Put over medium-high heat until it bubbles. Reduce the heat. Simmer until it thickens. Remember, that when it cools, it will be even thicker than it was while warm, so you don’t have to cook it for too long. Also, when I use red pepper flakes in my marinade, the sauce becomes very spicy while cooking. I like it like that, but if you don’t you may want to strain out the flakes before reducing.

I’m also a fan of A-1 Steak Sauce, so you can eat your steak tips with A-1, the sauce you made from the marinade, or no sauce at all!

Britney Spears’s new single, “3.” It has possibly the most pointless lyrics I’ve ever heard, but the backbeat is fun. The words are so easy to learn that you’ll be singing along soon as you dance around your kitchen. Watch the video and/or listen to the song:

Britney Spears – 3

There’s also this fun little remix: “You Belong With 3.” It’s a mashup of Britney’s 3 and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.” Check it out:

DJ Screvy – You Belong with 3

Happy Cooking!!

I weighed in last night, and lost ONE. MEASLY. POUND.

I was gutted. I know I’m “on”, and retaining water, and have been ill the last few days, and haven’t really been drinking as much water over the last few days as I should have, but I can’t help but be really annoyed. I didn’t cheat at all at the weekend, I didn’t even have one coke zero for fear of retaining water, and my body decided to go and do it anyway.

So this week I’m going to REALLY get my water in. 3L. 2.5 if I have coffee or tea that day.

I’m also still constipated. At the weekend, my friend recommended a tablet that apparently flushes your bowls and doesn’t break ketosis, so I’m trying to get the name of it off him today.

Oh well, at least it’s a loss. On Weight Watchers, at the ToTM I’d stay the same, so I guess I should count my blessings. And, I’ve lost 2.25inches off my waist in the last two weeks so I’m down to a 36.75in waist, so at least something is moving, even if it’s not the scales!

I have been doing a bit better on my previously posted goals-  I had the chance to flake out twice this week and I have not!  Hurrah!  This is a start; not much, but a start.  I am still consuming a bit of artificial sweeteners- though mostly via beverages (diet coke*, sugar free syrups and splenda).  The more I cut down the better I feel but it is definitely a difficult habit to break.  

I’m still pining for the guy.  I don’t know what my deal is.  I think it’s funny that I always want what seems unobtainable.  The thing is, I know I don’t want to hurt him… and therefore I know I should stay away from him.  Am I scared that I won’t find another?  I’m not really sure. I was comfortable with him but not to the level I wanted.  I need to be able to communicate with a person about things that matter.  I think part of the issue is that I am not entirely stable myself.  No- I am not “crazy”.  Emotionally, however, I have been through a lot so I think that it would be very difficult for anybody in my position to be emotionally stable.  So do I wait to become this stable person (who, to be honest, I have never been) or do I accept myself for the way I am at present?  A question to ponder. 

On another note- my uncle and I looked at a car the other night- a  2007 Toyota Yaris.  It was beautiful and it was such a smooth ride.  

2007 Yaris

I love the car but it is about $11,000 with 45K miles on it.  Financially, I think it would be wise if I aim for a car between 7K and $10K.  We are supposed to look at some cars at the Honda dealership on Friday night.  Once I have a car (of my own) I think I will feel a little better and slightly more independent.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a reliable car that is typically inexpensive?  I think the Toyota is my best bet  for this but I am open to suggestions.

My brother moved out  on Sunday and so my sister and  I are hoping to finally have our own space (we have shared a room our entire lives until I went to college- now that I am back we are together again and it has been a tough transition).  I think this will also lead to some obtainable independence and mental sanity.  My hope is that I will be able to organize my life a bit more once I am able to spread out.  For me, organization is key to feeling calm.  

* As a side note- I used to be a diet coke ADDICT.  Literally, 5 cans per day (cans only, not bottles).  Last night I bought coke zero because the store was out of diet coke.  Can we say disgusting? Apparently it has a higher Acesulfame potassium: Aspartame ratio… in the end, it’s all chemical.
  I don’t know how anyone can drink it… and I say this while I am choking down a can.     A bit hypocritical, maybe, but I’m desperate.  I’m trying to cut down on my caffeine and, seeing as coke has fewer mg than a cup of starbucks coffee I feel this is better.  Not better for my teeth.  After I buy (and enjoy) a 12 pack of diet coke THEN I will switch to coffee and tea.  

I miss diet cherry coke.

So, I went to London.

Did I deviate?

Did I hell! I stuck to Cambridge 100%. I didn’t even consider opening that bottle of Coke Zero! My friend ate a variety of foods, ranging from the “relatively healthy” to the “oh god I quite hate you for eating that in front of me” – but you know what, I loved him for it. I had temptation right in my face, and didn’t falter – not that he would have let me anyway! The one thing I did find quite hard to resist, was alcohol, especially as drinking water makes you feel quite full if you drink it at the same speed as somebody drinking booze!

I even ENJOYED going in the harrod’s food hall. It was liberating, to look at all the wonderful treats, and not let myself buy them – a year ago I’d have just bought loads, using no selective decision making whatsoever.

We did a hell of a lot of walking, so I was expecting to come home and find a massive loss, however, I don’t actually think I’ve lost very much. However, I think hormones may be to blame, plus I’ve been a bit rubbish at drinking water the last couple of days as, yes, I have a virus. Luckily it’s the type of virus where you want to vomit, rather than eat. Have my appointment with Y later, for weigh in – we’ll see! Either way, I’m hopeful that if this week’s loss isn’t stellar, I’ll have a biggie next week to make up for it.

And, as a treat for you all – some comparison pics.

Firstly, me before Cambridge, in July. I was about 190lbs here.

And me last Friday (in hallowe’en get up!) at around 166lbs (24lbs lighter)

So, I had my fourth weigh in last night and wasn’t expecting a great result as I’ve not been great with the water this week – partially due to the fact that our office at work is REALLY cold, so the last thing i want to do is drink our fresh from the water cooler water!

However… I lost (drumroll please)

3.5lbs this week!

I’ve lost 15lbs in 26 days – SO CHUFFED ! I’m now in the 11stone range! 11st 13.5lbs! I’d set myself a minigoal to be under 12st by hallowe’en and I’ve managed it! I didn’t think I could, so I’m absolutely astounded. Only 9.5lbs until I am no longer technically “obese”, so that’s my next goal.

I LOVE THE CAMBRIDGE DIET!!!

Going to London this weekend to visit my best friend (who’s also done Cambridge and lost a BUCKET LOAD) and I’m going to try to stay on plan all weekend – with the help of the tetrabricks (the little cartons of ready made up shake). I have a horrid feeling I’ll deviate though, so if I feel tempted, I am going to deviate… to one can of Coke Zero as it shouldn’t take me out of ketosis. I think if I don’t give in to that, I’ll just end up going totally off the wagon and eating McDonalds or something- I’d rather slightly deviate than stray entirely!

“Well it might not be 100% safe, but you’re doing 200 miles an hour so you’ve already made some choices”

Hilarious

So, it’s day 5.

I didn’t get chance to blog yesterday because I basically didn’t stop, from 7:30 to 11pm – longest day I’ve had in a while! I even managed to fall asleep whilst mid-msn conversation (I was on MSN in bed on my itouch, mind…). Well done!

So! Yesterday went well, I had my tea in the form of an exciting “brick” (aka carton) on the train to uni. It was actually really nice – tasted like your regular strawberry milk.

One aspect of the Cambridge Diet, and arguably the most important, is that your body goes into mild ketosis.
So, what is ketosis?
In English, basically, my liver is turning my fat into fatty acids and ketones. Ketones are what’s giving me energy (and presumably, keeping me feeling full).

Certain foods knock you out of ketosis. Carbohydrates, sugars, acids – all sorts of things can knock you out of ketosis. Which leads me to my dilemma – black tea is allowed, as is black coffee. I really fancied some floral / fruit / herbal teas to keep life a little interesting, so I rang my CDC to check with her as to whether this was allowed. Fruit teas aren’t, because they break ketosis, herbal teas are, and she said that jasmine tea (which is what I was asking about specifically), does not break ketosis. However, several lovely ladies on the minmins cambridge forum have told me that it WILL break ketosis. Which is rubbish, as I spent 7.50 at Whittards yesterday on jasmine pearls tea >< Hopefully I have the receipt in my purse so I can get my money back or exchange for some white tea!

I also bought some Ketosticks yesterday – basically you urinate on the little sticks and they go a certain colour – the darker it goes, the deeper your stage of ketosis. I was happy to see i'm in moderate to heavy ketosis! yay!

So, today, day 6. I've stuck to this 100% for nearly one week, and I'm so pleased. I feel so much better, and because there ARE no allowances for cheating (e.g. on Weight Watchers, you are allowed to *treat* yourself to a kitkat, for example, if you count the points into your daily allowance), the temptation to do so is entirely removed. It's liberating, not having to think about food 24/7, or make decisions. Those of you who do know me will be aware how notoriously bad I am at making decisions, so having all my "food" to hand is a godsend. Fridays are usually my hardest day. I usually get something really nice to eat and snack on, and some beers and veg out all evening. I can't do that tonight for the first time in months, and I'm a little afraid, to say the least, as to what I'll do to fill my time and how I'll break this habit. I do, however, have a lot of TV to catch up on, so I'll probably do that this evening. I am tempted to get a can of coke zero, as I've been told it doesn't kick you out of ketosis, however, I'm worried about bloat or the unlikely case it WILL knock me out of ketosis, so I'll probably just go with the water… maybe I'll pick up a bath bomb from lush or something!

Written by Thilde Vesterby

Ever wonder if you have a doppelganger? If there’s someone out there looking exactly like you? Well, with the new Coke Zero ‘Worldwide social networking experiment’ you might be able to find out. Coke Zero has created a Facebook app called ‘Facial Profiler’ which has the aim of finding people’s online lookalikes.

The idea behind the campaign is ‘If Coke Zero has the taste of Coke…is it possible that someone out there has your face?

The Coke Zero app encourages Facebook users to upload their picture to a database where Coke will analyse the characteristics and attempt to find the nearest match from other uploaded images. Give it a try and see if Coke is able to find your long lost evil twin

Revenons un instant sur le cas Coke Zero. Après s’être rendue compte que les mecs faisant attention à leur ligne complexaient de boire du Coca-Cola classique, Coca leur a concocté un produit pile pour eux, masculin, noir et James Bondien.

Jouant le décalage et l’impertinence, Coke Zero est un carton auprès des jeunes adultes. Toutes leurs actions sont cohérentes, bien articulées autour d’un concept fort = Coke Zero est exactement la même boisson que Coca-Cola, le sucre en moins.

Histoire de lever d’emblée le frein du goût, Coke Zero a commencé par trainer en justice Coca-Cola pour contrefaçon… Le ton était donné.

Leur dernière réalisation est une perle créative. Comment récolter des datas facilement? En proposant un petit jeu drôle auquel les gens vont adhérer et entrer leurs coordonnées sans se sentir pris au piège.

Dans le sillon de son positionnement, Coke pense qu’on a tous un jumeau sur terre (cf. Coke Zero = même goût que Coca). Il propose donc aux internautes de retrouver leur evil twin (une mythologie populaire postulant que nous avons tous plusieurs sosies sur terre) via une application Facebook .

Nul doute que cette idée va déchirer.

Source : Revolution

By Hans Wuerflein

Venezuela is considering a ban on “violent” video games and toys.  A law in Venezuela’s National Assembly would ban the “manufacture, importation, distribution, sales and use of violent video games and bellicose toys.”

Before I get into that though, I just want to point out that I cringed when I read that lead in the story I linked to, but it was the original AP story with some actual reporting in it, and not just another blog post, so it goes up anyway.

OK, back to Venezuela.

Officials are saying this ban is in an effort to combat violent crime in the South American country, and they have a point.  As the story states, Venezuela has a population about the size of Texas, but more than five times as many murders.

This just seems like an attempt by the Venezuelan government attempting to deflect some of the criticism over their failure to effectively combat the country’s problems with crime.

As bad as this assault on freedom of speech is, it really shouldn’t surprise anyone.  Hugo Chavez (pictured above) and his administration have been on a roll recently as far as issuing sweeping bans that have little to do with any actual problem.  They recently banned Coke Zero citing health concerns, but wouldn’t specify which health concerns.

Also, as some of you might have heard, they recently banned the airing of animated show Family Guy, and threatened to fine any broadcaster that does so.  They’re argument for the ban on Family Guy was that in a recent episode Brian started a campaign to legalize marijuana.

So, be glad you live in a country with something as strong as the U.S.’s first amendment.  The worst we get is the Governator trying (and failing) to restrict their sales to minors.

Is it just me, or do Coca-Cola ads keep getting weirder and weirder? Taking into consideration that they need to be on the leading-edge in marketing, and that they have different agencies working on different spots all over the world, they just keep getting more and more out there.

Today’s commercial is from Argentina. Maybe it works over there, and probably would never run in Canada. I don’t know.

Coke Zero: Happy Kingdom
Agency: Ogilvy, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Client: Coca-Cola

Having so many different agencies competing against each other for your business could be a blessing. You most likely end up with the best creative product. But at what point does the creative take over, and just stop making sense? It seems like every new Coke ad is trying to outdo the one before it. And all the audience gets is jumbled nonsense.

By comparison, here is the just-as-weird-but-somewhat-makes-sense campaign that is running in Canada:

Coke Zero: Brain
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam
Client: Coca-Cola

Maybe it’s just me. What do you think of the two campaigns?
Post below.

My lovely girlfriend drove up with me this weekend to see me off back to school in Oregon and how did I repay her? By watching football, more football, football video games and then even more football. I actually feel kind of bad, considering she is not a football fan. Let’s just say, when I said the Cowboys are playing on Monday Night Football, she asked me, “Who are the Cowboys?”

But don’t you worry; I made it up to her. And now I’ll make it up to you by delivering the funniest, most informative NFL Power Rankings you will read all week (as long as it’s the only one).

Truer words have never been spoken

32 (32) – Rams – The only thing more depressing than the Rams season is the latest episode of Entourage. Turtle got dumped, Drama had a heart attack, and E had an STD scare. Who wrote this, Joseph Merrick?

31 (31) – Browns – Take a look at Cleveland’s team stat leaders. Brady Quinn has 400 yards, Jamal Lewis has 95, and Braylon Edwards has 139. Those would only be mildly impressive for one game. Somewhere Matthew Berry is crying.

30 (30) – Chiefs – There’s a legitimate chance that Kansas City won’t get a win until week 9. They play the Giants, Cowboys, at Washington, and San Diego.  On the bright side, kicker Ryan Succop is perfect so far on the season.

29 (28) – Buccaneers – Does Raheem Morris really think Josh Johnson is the answer to his team’s offensive woes? I mean, he’s not even the best Josh Johnson in the state of Florida.

28 (25) – Raiders – The only reasons JaMarcus Russell is still starting are Charlie Frye and Bruce Gradkowski. Is the QB from “Glee” available?

27 (29) – Lions – Detroit Fans celebrated the victory like it was 1999. Unfortunately, they won’t be doing it again for a while as they face Chicago, Pittsburgh and Green Bay the next three weeks.

26 (24) – Panthers – This messed me up last night: the Jake Delhomme drinking game. Take a shot every turnover or three and out. Man, that second half was a killer.

25 (26) – Dolphins – Forget Chad Henne, play Pat White! Yes, you might not be very good, but you wouldn’t be anyway, and you’d instantly have the most exciting quarterback since pre-prison Michael Vick.

24 (20) – Redskins – First in free agency, last in the NFC East. After back-to-back pathetic performances against two of the worst teams in the league, the Lions and Rams, Washington gets a chance to play three more winless teams in row. This could get ugly.

23 (22) – Seahawks – So much for being the sexy sleeper pick in the NFC West. Seneca Wallace looked absolutely terrified that the game came down to him leading a two-minute drill against one of the NFL’s toughest D’s.

22 (21) – Bills – One week after getting his first touchdown for Toronto, T.O. get’s another first: his first game without a reception in 185 contests. Good news though, “Beast Mode” comes back next week.

21 (22) – Jaguars – Even with the win, my buddy Alon has finally come to the conclusion that Jacksonville sucks right now. Good for him.

20 (16) – Cardinals – After losing to the Steelers last February, Arizona is suffering a Super Bowl hangover worse than if Courtney Love and Artie Lang had a cocaine-infused love child and then 19 years later sent it off to college at Arizona State.

19 (17) – Texans – The offense has finally found its groove behind Matt Schaub, but the defense is giving up a league high 436 yards per game. It should be fun on Sunday to see who can suck more, JaMarcus Russell or Houston’s defense.

18 (18) – Titans – I wonder how quickly Kerry Collins could down a 6-pack. 3 minutes? 5, tops?

Legendary

17 (23) – Bengals – They’re a fluke catch from a white wide receiver away from  being 3-0. And I had them at number 32 in the preseason. I’m still not buying it 100%, but I owe Cincinnati an apology.

16 (19) – Broncos – I know they haven’t played anybody yet, but after all that has been said about how terrible their defense would be, it’s pretty impressive that they’ve allowed only 16 points in three games.  Unfortunately, there’s a pretty realistic chance they will be 4-6 after week 12. The upcoming schedule is brutal.

15 (14) – Cowboys – Did what they were supposed to do against the rotting corpse of Jake Delhomme. Don’t be impressed.

14 (13) – Bears – Hey Chicago, it feels pretty good to finally have a real quarterback, doesn’t it?  Although it was fun to see Jay Mariotti complain about Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman on Around the Horn.

13 (6) – Steelers – I know the loss of Troy Polamalu hurts, but come on, the Bengals, really? Give the man a Coke Zero, and get him back out onto the field.

12 (12) – 49ers – I’m sold. Going into Minnesota and giving the Vikings all they could handle was impressive. And even more importantly, Vernon Davis finally flashed the potential that made him the NFL’s highest paid tight end in 2006. With Frank Gore out for three weeks, this is Davis’ chance to really step up and carry the offense.

11 (7) – Falcons – Tim Hightower, Kevin Smith and pothead Ricky Williams are all ahead of Michael Turner in fantasy points this season. This makes me smile.

10 (15) – Packers – I wonder how many hours this week ESPN will spend hyping up Brett Favre’s first game against Green Bay. How many hours are there till Sunday? Yea, that many.

9 (9) – Eagles – Michael Vick said after the game that his return to the field (and two incomplete passes) was a top three moment in his career. I’m guessing he’s not counting his dog-fighting career. What, too soon?

8 (8) – Chargers –

Ron Burgundy: Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale’s vagina.
Veronica Corningstone: No, there’s no way that’s correct.
Ron Burgundy: I’m sorry, I was trying to impress you. I don’t know what it means. I’ll be honest, I don’t think anyone knows what it means anymore. Scholars maintain that the translation was lost hundreds of years ago.
Veronica Corningstone: Doesn’t it mean Saint Diego?
Ron Burgundy: No. No.
Veronica Corningstone: No, that’s – that’s what it means. Really.
Ron Burgundy: Agree to disagree.

Is any of that football related? No, I just thought it was funny.

7 (11) – Jets – Mark Sanchez is the first rookie quarterback to ever start 3-0. Of all the quarterbacks in NFL history, Mark Frikkin’ Dirty Sanchez. I am an Oregon fan, remember?

6 (10) – Colts – Arizona might not have the most impressive defense, but what Peyton Manning did on Sunday was pretty damn impressive. You can give them the previously and perennially overrated AFC South right now.

This Ravens team is hungry. I wonder how Big Ben's uniform tastes.

5 (5) – Patriots – Now that’s more like it. Without Wes Welker, Tom Brady and New England outclassed Atlanta in every facet of the game. Even grandpa Fred Taylor had over 100 yards and a touchdown.

4 (4) – Giants – The G-men held the always dangerous Tampa Bay offense (ha) to just 86 total net yards. That’s almost as bad as Keanu Reeves’s performance in “Much Ado About Nothing.” Keanu doing Shakespeare? Uckkkk.

3 (3) – Saints – New Orleans blew out the Bills despite a human performance from Drew Brees, by running the football and playing solid defense. That’s frightening.

2 (1) – Vikings – Only Brett Favre would command a career highlight reel during a football game he wasn’t playing in. I almost gagged.

1 (2) – Ravens – This Ravens team is scarier that Keifer Sutherland’s voice in Phone Booth. That still gives me the chills just thinking about it.

The ‘viral’ marketing started yesterday for Avatar with barely 3 months left until it hits the big screen. I’m confused because for some reason it’s sponsored by Coke Zero. Makes me wonder what they are intending to market at this point, the movie, the drink or both.

Considering this is the most (over?) hyped movie of the year combined with James Cameron’s return to form (ie. film making, sci-fi), you’d think they would have taken some notes on how to do this properly.

Let’s take a trip in the Dolorean to March 2007, roughly the same time 42 Entertainment began it’s marketing tactics for the Dark Knight. ‘I Believe In Harvey Dent’ billboards started popping up all over the US which were obviously supported by websites. And then the fake rallys started, giving out bumper stickers and signs to all the nerdiest fanboys that decided to show up. That was just the beginning because the really cool stuff started with the Joker ARG. Oh, and the movie didn’t come out for another year and half (July 18th, 2008). Rule #1, Avatar, start your viral marketing before your movie is the top of everyone’s mind, or in this case, before you ruin your hype-machine by releasing a lack-luster teaser trailer.

The Dark Knight campaign launched dozens of sites for the movie, some of which didn’t even directly reference the title and hardly referenced Batman. The nerds still found them.  Avatar so far has lauched it’s site AVTR.com and talks quite a bit about the Avatar project, which is about as subtle as a Michael Bay action sequence.  Rule #2: Let the Internet work it’s magic; have faith in your fans, they’re smarter than you think.

There’s also the fact that everyone is referring to this as viral marketing. Viral refers to something taking off to the point of it growing and spreading out of control. It does not rely on or associate itself with a pre-existing brand. If you’re looking to provide a realistic experience, why is Coke Zero involved, especially when they very likely have nothing to do with your movie?  Rule #3: You can’t make something go viral with the largest brand in the world’s logo on your webpage.

This isn’t a situation where you’re trying to make people care about something that is boring as hell. The interweb has been buzzing about Avatar for the better part of a year, and 20th Century Fox has missed an opportunity to put the hype for this film through the roof. Fail.

Note: if you’re interested in taking a detailed look at how intricate the entire campaign was for the Dark Knight click here.

“The blood level in my caffeine is getting too high” Woody Paige on ESPN’s Around the Horn

Today: 3 24 Ounce Cups of Southern Pecan Coffee with French Vanilla Creamer and Splenda

Which came first the chicken or the Egg McMuffin?  That is the type of life I have when it comes to a little thing that you never notice until you can’t do it…something called sleep.  Today is one of those days where the inner Chinese kids, Yin and Yang are trying to get themselves into some kind of equilibrium, or maybe even equilibriumnumnum after a pretty rough week and a night on call at the medical center.  As usual my insomnia and anxiety have joined their ever loving hands together to ensure that I have had less than optimal sleep.  Yesterday’s on call duty and that of last night was fairly relaxed.  I had my new residents with me getting oriented to pulling duty and I have to say they are a fun bunch. We have two Americans and two Canadians all with great senses of humor and all who have had some kind of combat tour.   I actually like being around them which I cannot say of everyone that I have worked with in 28 plus years in the military.  They are a joy.  Likewise I love being around the hospital staff doing my rounds at night and to top things off there were no tragedies.

This being said I still could not get to sleep last night which kind of tops off a week of crappy or too little sleep.  Love them or leave them crappy or insufficient sleep over a long period of time beat the hell out of you.  I know, it has me and to make an astute observation it makes me tired.

My battles with insomnia began about a third of the way into my Iraq tour. When we came back from a mission I would go to my “Can” and just sit awake either reading, playing chess on my computer or going out and watching the Dustoff helicopters coming in and out of the Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon helipad or looking off to the perimeter to see illumination rounds lighting up the night sky and hearing occasional gunfire and explosions.  It was incredibly hard to get to sleep no matter how tired I was.  That continued the whole tour and got worse.  Part was the late night flights that we so often took, part the danger that we faced and part the conditions that we slept in. At one FOB in Ramadi we stayed in an old trailer that we could hear the rats chewing on the ceiling. When we had to stay in Al Asad to catch a morning flight after having flown in our tents were near the flight line and F-18s flying in and out all night do not make for a quiet and restful night’s rest.  In some of the more remote FOBs the isolation and vulnerability made it hard to rest.  I think that it was about two-thirds of the way through that the dreams and nightmares started.

Too True I can Relate

Having talked to others with PTSD or other combat related injuries of the brain and nervous system I find that I am not alone and most of us are mid-grade to senior career officers.  It’s kind of weird because when you are young in the military you are taught just to “suck it up” and as you go through your career you tell others the same thing until it happens to you. Thus for us old guys I think PTSD is actually harder than for young people because it destroys our world view and our tough personas which most up us have cultivated over a long period of time.  My friends and I share the same or similar experience and we all are trying some way of managing it.  All of us have some drugs, the legal kind of course to help us with anxiety, panic, depression and insomnia.  However there are times when the drugs don’t work as well as they should, or they need to be adjusted or changed.  In those times you still have to find ways of getting to sleep and for the times where you can’t sleep ways of keeping sharp so you can stay in the game and not screw anything up.

Staying Awake

Some guys I know have added to the mix other kinds of over the counter drugs and supplements.  I don’t do that, not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I guess I never grew up.  I like my medicine whenever possible to taste good.  Thus my self-medication is limited to caffeine and really good beer.   My choice in caffeine is coffee which I have been drinking since I was 12 and I believe that by my junior year of high school Navy Junior ROTC my index finger was beginning to mould itself into the shape of a coffee cup handle.  With caffeine there is little moderation because since I don’t sleep I need to stay awake.  My alcohol consumption is moderate and I don’t drink hard liquor.  I always try to maintain the Yin and Yang of the blood to medicine to caffeine and alcohol at some kind of balance so I can get to sleep and then not be exhausted the next day.  I make sure that I don’t mix alcohol with my meds since I don’t want to do the Karen Anne Quinlan thing and end up in a coma, and end up in a broccolitative or asperagative state (I don’t do just any vegetables thank you).  However I know guys who have a lot heavier load of meds than I do who have no problem ingesting them and alcohol close together and most of these guys don’t just drink limited amounts of beer.  I’m quite happy not to be there and mixing meds and alcohol.  So for me the equation looks like this.  Please note I am a historian and not a mathematician and that since this is a new field of study for me that it does not yet factor in sleep quality:

Drugs- caffeine² ± beer÷ “defensive factor” (anxiety+ hyper-vigilance) + normal work and life stress ÷ spirituality factor² = sleep

Now also since I am a Priest and Chaplain there is the spirituality factor which is hard to quantify but can be stated very simply “Please God let me sleep + have I been to a baseball game.”  This is hard to quantify but I have given it a numeric value for the sake of argument. Now I’m not a mathematician by any means but this seems to work somehow.

Yep…Them Iraqi Snorklewackers Show up Often

Now back to me and the guys I know who struggle with this.  Pretty much to a man we all still manage to do our jobs.  In fact we all love what we are called to do which probably helps us as far as the management of our situation.  Many of the folks I know are like me and if we had the chance would go back to the fight.  You put us together with men and women who have similar experiences in combat and we are in our element, there is a shared brotherhood because of the real dangers that we faced.  However that is not necessarily true of others that we serve alongside who have not been, as is oft said “in the shit.” Within that category there are those who are people that help us and care for us, they are appreciated even if they have not been in our shoes.  The often exude a kindness and love that helps us make it when we have bad days.  But there are also those that don’t always seem to have our interests at heart or who would appear by their words and sometimes their actions to use our injury against us.

Amen!

So this whole deal gets weird when you can’t sleep due to anxiety or insomnia and have to maintain your ability to do your job.  Now this is where the art and science of self medication come together. You have to be able to figure out how things balance out. Medications are set by prescription unless you throw in a wild card of over the counter meds and supplements.  Thus for me they are a relatively stable factor.  Then you factor in the caffeine factor.  This may vary but in my case I drink 24-72 ounces a day of coffee which is usually spread over a 4-8 hour period, and maybe 12-24 ounces of Diet Coke, Coke Zero or Diet Dr Pepper later in the day.  My caffeine level is variable based on how tired I am. If I am well rested the amount consumed goes down.  Today I was maxing out the caffeine factor because my ass was whipped and it was all I could do to get through the day.  Today I was so wiped that I added in the Skittles factor to get the quickie sugar rush.  I hate skittles, when we were poor in seminary it was the only candy we got because the church food bank gave them out.  Skittles, Boston Baked Beans, Swee Tarts and Smarties are all great instant energy, the problem with them is that they are like lighting the afterburner; they are only good for short spurts.  Beer varies but if I am home I might have two beers at dinner.  I have stopped any late night drinks.  Then there is the “defensive factor” which for me includes my anxiety and hyper-arousal levels.  This is combined with normal life and stress and divided by the spirituality factor to get a night’s sleep.  That is the science.  The art is how to make the adjustments to the factors that are variable fit the current life situation and find those illusive Chinese kids, Yin and Yang.

So the week is coming to a close, I have now been up 36 of the last 40 hours and have worked every day since last Monday, though Saturday and Sunday were just a few hours each despite having the duty pagers. I am tired I had a decent meal complete with vegetables, several portions of fruit and other healthy things.   As soon as the Orioles game is over I plan on heading to bed and hoping my meds and my general sense of exhaustion will overcome any anxiety or insomnia that might join hands to interfere with me.  I think I have managed to bring old Yin and Yang into balance for the evening and if I didn’t I I do hope that the Deity Herself will assist this effort tonight.

Peace, Padre Steve+

We woke up this morning later than normal after our late night from the concert

I was going to get up and work out. I did get up but my body felt tired and sore so I said oh well and just headed down stairs to the breakfast bar.

Same thing different day. Why mess with a good thing?

After we checked out of the hotel, we were on a search for Al’s Italian Beef. Josh has been looking forward to eating at this place possibly even more than Gino’s, where we ate on Friday.

The first location we checked was closed due to “technical problems” and the second location, near a college campus, was closed on Sundays! We were about to give up when we checked a third location…score!

Josh was very happy to try this massive beef sandwich with provolone.

He said it was literally the best beef sandwich he had EVER had in his life. He can’t wait to come back to Chicago.

He also had some fresh cut fries..I tried a couple, they were pretty good. But I had fries last night so no more for me today!

Believe it or not, they had something Sarah-friendly! I ordered the veggie wrap with no cheese.

The veggies were fresh and there were lots of ‘em. This is the way to do a veggie wrap! It included lettuce, tomato, olives, red onion, peppers, mushrooms, regular onion and I think that’s it. I know some of it was their homemade relish. Yum

I also cracked up at the cups…can you see the message on the bottom?

“Caution:Beverage in this cup may be cold. Duh!” Ha ha.

After lunch, we walked across the street to use the bathroom at the original Gino’s East! Josh said this will be the street he comes back to next time for sure

We got back in the car and headed back home

I napped and read some magazines in the car, including this article that caught my interest in the September issue of Shape (I think).

More on that later…

We stopped at a gas station and picked up some snacks and drinks for the rest of the ride home (it takes us about 5 hours). Actually I just grabbed drinks and snacked on some more popcorn that I brought from home.

Josh got a huge stick of beef jerky…

And some Doritos which he said come second only to his Pizza flavored ones. Ew. We are so different, ha ha.

One thing we did have in common…

His and hers Coke Zero. I swear I’m quitting again tomorrow!

When we got home, I knew I had to make a list, sort the coupons and go to the store. So I ate some dinner because I was hungry and you never want to go grocery shopping that way.

I had a Boca vegan burger with tomato and mustard in a pita pocket with some romaine salad with raspberry vinaigrette. It was a nice light meal that fueled me through my errands.

I snacked on some Cheerios with soymilk later on.

It is time to get to bed so I’d better call it a night. Back to work tomorrow. What a weekend!

Hope yours was fun too

wow.

this is super cool ….

Bunny has been saying “no, thanks” to a lot of things she would have grabbed before she began this journey:

Muffins. Oh, how Bunny loves muffins. Especially after a healthy breakfast shake.

Wolfgang Puck’s Chicken Caesar Salad. Pre-packaged, yummy, for sale at your local Gelson’s. (Calories: 870, Fat: 66g, Carbs: 25g, Protein: 45g.) Bunny walked right past it and headed for the salad bar, where she assembled a lovely collection of fresh veggies. Good Bunny!

Starbucks. Bunny used to go with a Grande Chai Nonfat Latte with one Spenda. And 2 cookies. Today: Grande Nonfat Cappuccino, one Splenda, and definitely no cookies.

Deli DoRight. At the deli, Bunny passed on the bagel and bagel chips.

Football game snacks: She forewent—(oh, that can’t be the correct past tense of forego. BRB . . . Well, what do you know? According to Dictionary.com, it sure is. Moving on. . .) 
Bunny forewent the standard chips, ice cream and popcorn, and brought some nice green grapes to snack on. On which to snack. For snacking. She ate green grapes!

Zero Coke? Bunny is choosing water instead of Coke Zero. (Diet Coke is SO last-season!)