Watch the Skies!

Today (June 30th) is International Asteroid Day.  It was founded in 2016 to raise public awareness of the asteroid impact hazard.  Of course, anyone who watches movies knows about the asteroid impact hazard.  But they might also think that you can send some miner up into space to save mankind.  So maybe we need International Asteroid Day to create a balance between science fiction and actual science.  

Watching Asteroid vs Earth might be a fun way to celebrate International Asteroid Day but it certainly will not help with that balance.  I'm not sure there is any actual science in this movie.

Asteroid vs Earth starring Tia Carrere and Jason Brooks

When a planet killing asteroid is discovered on a collision course with Earth, the military and scientists need to come up with a plan to avoid the impact.  Even if they have to move the Earth to do it.

With a name like Asteroid vs Earth you are not expecting an Oscar winning movie.  But it would be nice if you got the feeling someone was at least trying to make a coherent plot.  The science here is suspect at best.  It is impossible to move the asteroid enough to save Earth so, let's move Earth.  The US general immediately accepts this idea even though it is pitched by some arrogant, cocky, young guy he has never met before.  The question of what that will do to Earth is not brought up.  Will Earth still be in orbit around the Sun?  Who knows.  Apparently no one cares.  There is a group of soldiers schlepping nuclear warheads all over the globe.  One moment one man can barely shift one because they are so heavy and the next moment he is carrying two by pressing them to his chest with one hand on each.  I could go on but I think you get the idea.   There is also some overacting going on.  And I think Robert Davi's talent is wasted here.  If they played this for laughs it might be fun, but everything is very serious.  And the big climax was anticlimactic.  It wasn't one of those good in a bad movie sort of way movies that I was hoping for.  The whole thing was just lackluster.

It's Paul Bunyan Day!

Today (June 28th) is National Paul Bunyan Day!  To celebrate you could go chop down some trees but I think it might be better just to read some of the stories about him.

Paul Bunyan by James Stevens

A collection of stories about Paul Bunyan and his legendary feats.

This if fun.  It is one big, long, tall tale.  And as a tall tale everything is exaggerated and impossible things happen.  Everything is the biggest, tallest, toughest, coldest, strongest of its kind.  But that's what makes it fun.  Paul Bunyan, who came from Canada to the United States and became a Real American (along with his blue ox, of course) invents the logging industry and proceeds to move across the country felling trees, inventing great inventions (he invented algebra too), and having great thoughts.  He is so large a man he uses a tree for a pencil and when he goes hunting he carries the game home in his pockets.  He is also responsible for some rivers, coves and canyons along the way.  It is from another time so some of Paul's ideas might not be popular today.  For instance, Paul doesn't understand what women are good for because they are too frail to be loggers and when his men start writing poetry he calls it 'poison' and comes up with a plan to get them doing 'manly' things again.  But part of the story is how Paul's time has come and gone so you can assume the same of his ideas.  The book is full of crazy stories that sometimes get silly.  Once is got so cold (400 below) that the men's words froze in the air and the men had to be careful not to bump into them until they thawed out.  But outrageous, larger than life, impossible stories are what tall tales are all about.  And this book is full of very entertaining stories just like that.  I would say that if you like folk stories and tall tales this is a must read.

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A Not So Spooky Phantom

 

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

(from the back of the book)

For Milo, everything's a bore.  When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he's got nothing better to do.  But on the other side, things seem different.  Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason!  Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing.  Life is far from dull.  In fact, it's exciting beyond this wildest dreams...

Milo is bored.  With everything.  But when he goes through the phantom tollbooth and finds himself in a whole new world things start looking up.  He meets a watchdog, names Tock, who is horrified when Milo says he wants to kill some time.  It is bad enough wasting it, but killing it?  And so it goes.  He meets a Spelling Bee who is an actual bee, gets to the Land of Conclusions by jumping, makes a wagon move by staying silent because it 'goes without saying'.  The book is full of word play and puns.  I loved it, but I also think I liked it more as an adult than I would have as a child.  I think some of the wordplay would be lost on young children.  That doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun for children.  Milo goes on an adventure and meets all sorts of interesting characters that I think would hold a child's interest.  And our hero, Milo, learns some things along the way.  He is given some bits of wisdom like 'the only thing  you can do easily is be wrong, and it is hardly worth the effort', and 'so many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible',  He also realizes that all the learning that he didn't see the point of before comes in handy along the way.  It does tend to amble a bit.  At times it seems like Milo is going nowhere but I think the humor and wit of the story make all the stops along the way to rescue Rhyme and Reason worth it.  I think it is a fun adventure for young and old alike.

The Phantom Tollbooth starring Butch Patrick

One day Milo comes home to find a mysterious gift.  It is a tollbooth.  And since he is bored he decides to drive through it.  It takes him to a strange new world where he finds all sorts of adventures.

The movie starts out as live action, but as soon as Milo goes through the tollbooth he turns into a cartoon.  (He notices this and still goes through.  I don't think I've ever been that bored.)  He goes to all sorts of strange lands and meets all sorts of interesting characters.  He becomes friends with a watchdog named Tock, meets a which (not a witch), is forced to eat his words (literally), and goes on a mission to save Rhyme and Reason.  Milo goes on a grand tour of this new world realizing that all the things he was forced to learn, that he thought pointless before, are actually useful and maybe the world is not as boring as he thought.  By today's standards it is probably on the slow side.  It is full of wordplay and puns.  Which are fun and witty.  But it is based on dialog and there is some, but not much, action.  I think kids will like the crazy characters and fun concept and adults will appreciate the wit and wordplay.

Movie vs Book -

I liked the book and the book is a lot of wordplay and I think a lot of that works better in print than it does in a movie.  So I think the book comes out on top for me.  But I did like the movie as well.  And I was not disappointed like I often am by movie versions of books I like.  There are differences of course.  Some of the encounters Milo has in the book aren't in the movie and that changes the course of events slightly along the way.  And the ending, for some reason, is changed up more than I thought was necessary but I thought the movie stayed true to the spirit of the book.  And if you liked the book I think you will like the movie too (and vice versa).

Do You Like To Sew?

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Go here to win the Ultimate Quilt Sew Giveaway.  Contest ends June 30th, 2022, so hurry up.

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How Much is Your Life Worth?

 

The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson

(from the back of the book)

Our hero, a passionate film buff, leads a life that revolves around his part-time job at a video store, the company of a few precious friends, and a daily routine that more often than not concludes with pizza and a movie in his treasured small space in Stockholm.  When he receives an astronomical invoice from a random national bureaucratic agency, everything tumbles into madness as he calls the hotline night and day to find out why he is the recipient of the largest bill in the entire country.

What is the price of a cherished memory?  How much would you pay for a beautiful summer day?  How will our carefree idealist, who is content with so little and has no chance of paying what he owes, find a way out of this mess?

The protagonist in this offbeat story starts off sounding like a lovable loser.  But as the story goes along and the bill he receives for all the happiness in his life starts to add up, you begin to wonder.  This man that does not seem to have much going on is told that he has been happier than anyone else in all of Sweden.  And the more he tries to prove that his life wasn't worth the price, the more the price keeps going up.  Haw can that be?  What is it that makes his life so good?  That is what the story makes you think about.  About the value of lost love, about finding joy in the small things, about being happy with what you have.  You do have to grant the unbelievable premise that such a tally is possible, but it was delivered in a way that made you follow along without thinking about it too much.  The seemingly simple, short story, that is both funny and sad, has a surprisingly life affirming message.  It is a fun and thought provoking story.

Win Some Books!

 Books That Make You is giving away some books.

To win From the Potato to Star Trek and Beyond  go here.

Answer a very simple question and you are entered to win.  Bonus entries are available.

Contest ends June 30th.

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Contest ends June 30th.

Good luck!

The Friday 56

  Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My book this week is People I Want To Punch In The Throat by Jen Mann.  I want to start by saying I have never actually punched anyone in the throat.  I have, however, threatened to punch people in the throat many times.  So when I saw the title of this book I knew I had to read it.  It is a collections of essays about suburban life, PTA moms, neighbors and all sorts of things that make Jen want to punch people in the throat.

My Friday 56:

I found myself imagining what it would be like to borrow a cup of sugar from these people or carpool to school someday.  I let myself dream of a friendship that might be.

Given the title of the book and the fact that this comes from an essay titled 'Just Some of the Reasons the Neighbors Always Hate Us' I don't think this is going to go well. Jen is funny.  I like her blunt, sarcastic manner.  I look forward to reading the rest of the essays.

Let's Celebrate Bourbon!

 Today (June 14th) is National Bourbon Day!

I became a whiskey drinker later in life.  In fact, I didn't start to drink whiskey (or whisky) until I met my husband four years ago.  I never developed a taste for Scotch.  But Bourbon was another matter.  

Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with just pouring some bourbon in a glass and enjoying it just like that.  Or adding some ice and enjoying it chilled.  But bourbon also makes a great cocktail.

My go to cocktail for bourbon is the Old Fashioned.  Close to straight bourbon, but with some bitters and simple syrup.  

I love ginger beer, so I like the Kentucky Mule.  Like a Moscow Mule, but with bourbon.

Or you can try the Boulevardier.  Which is like a Negroni but with bourbon instead of gin.  

Also good, the New York Sour.  This one is like a Whisky Sour with a red wine float.  The red wine adds another nice fruity taste to the drink.

Derby

Also reminiscent of a whisky sour is a Derby.  This one has a few more ingredients than some of the others with sweet vermouth and orange liquor.  But with three quarters of an ounce of lime juice it was a bit much for me.  I would cut that a bit so I could taste the other ingredients more.

Similar to a Derby is the Man o'War.  But with lemon instead of lime and different proportions this one is not as sour and I think all the flavors come through more.

Almond Old Fashioned

If you want to go sweet instead of sour try the Peach Bourbon Cocktail.  The peach schnapps adds a nice sweetness and the orange juice give it a nice fresh flavor.

I like amaretto but I think it is too sweet to drink all by itself.  The Almond Old Fashioned is a good solution.  The amaretto is not lost in the bourbon but it is not too sweet either.

Revolver

Another spin on the Old Fashioned is the Galliano and Bourbon Old Fashioned.  Again, the Galliano adds a sweetness and the bourbon tempers the strong anise flavor of the Galliano for a nice balance.

If you want to add a coffee kick to your bourbon try the Revolver.  The coffee liquor adds some nice deep notes and blends well with bourbon.

Manhattan

Also worth a try is a Bourbon Manhattan.  Just bourbon, sweet vermouth and bitters.  Sort of Old Fashioned-esque but with some nice herbal flavors from the vermouth without it being bitter.

There are many more out there.  Go.  Explore.  Try different bourbons in the same cocktail and see how they change.  Have fun.  But, please, drink responsibly.  

Brandy might be a fine girl, but Mandy?

 

Mandy starring Nicolas Cage

Cage is out for revenge when a cult targets his wife, destroying their happy, peaceful life.

I have come to believe Nicolas Cage never turns down a role.  This is not the first of his movies I'm sorry I spent my time on.  The first half of the movie was shot with a red filter.  Everything was red.  All the time.  It lost all meaning.  The same with the ominous music.  It was constant.  Creepy cult members staring at Mandy as she walks down the road, ominous music.  But also, the couple at home watching TV, ominous music.  Until the ominous music became pointless.  And then it was Cage running around killing people and screaming.  He has special weapons stashed that hint at a violent past but we are never told about it.  Some of the bad guys seem to have powers that are more than human with no explanation.  It was a slow start that led to frenzied violence with a very thin plot barely holding everything together.  I'd advise you skip this one.

The Friday 56

  Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My book this week is Paul Bunyan by James Stevens.  The title kind of says it all.  It is a book about Paul Bunyan.  It is fun to read if you like tall tales.  Paul uses a pine tree for a pencil and can uproot a tree with his bare hands and all those impossible things that an ordinary human couldn't do, but Paul Bunyan the legend can.

My Friday 56:

Among the other livestock on Paul Bunyan's farm, which was down the river from the old home camp, was a herd of grizzly bears.  The great logger often amused himself by playing with them, and he had taught them many tricks.

According to this Paul Bunyan invented logging.  So he is the reason that all our forests are disappearing.  Thanks, Paul Bunyan.  

Let's Go Diving in the Abyss

Today (June 8th) is World Oceans Day.  

If you want to learn about the oceans, one book you might consider is The Brilliant Abyss.

The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales

(from the book jacket)

A golden age of deep-sea discovery is underway.  Revolutionary studies in the deep are rewriting the very notion of life on Earth.  In the process, the abyss is being revealed as perhaps the most amazing part of our planet, with a topography even more varied and extreme than its Earthbound counterpart.  Teeming with unsuspected life, an extraordinary interconnected ecosystem deep below the waves has a huge effect on our daily lives, influencing climate and weather systems worldwide.  Currently the fantastic creatures that live in the deep - many of them incandescent in a world without light - and its mountains, plains, trenches, and hydrothermal vents trap vast quantities of carbon that would otherwise poison our atmosphere.  Novel bacteria as yet undiscovered hold the promise of potent new medicines.

Scales gives a complete survey of the deep oceans.  She starts by introducing the reader to some very interesting creatures that live only in the very deep ocean.  There are some truly fascinating creatures, and they have some truly fascinating things that they do to be able to survive in a place that has no light, very little food, and some caustic conditions.  She goes on to explain how these deep sea habitats affect the oceans, the weather, and the climate of the entire world.  And how if these habitats are destroyed the consequences can be catastrophic in ways no one can foresee.  Then she outlines ways that these important deep sea habitats are being disturbed, by fishing, mining and pollution.  At the end I learned more about mining and rechargeable batteries than I expected (or, indeed, wanted) but the progression of the book shows how it is all related.  So it did not seem odd to start out talking about scaly footed snails and Yeti crabs and end up talking about how batteries are made.  It is a nice, readable account of all things deep sea.  From the way they are formed, to the animals that live there, to the impact of deep sea processes on people and people's impact on the deep sea.  If you have ever wondered what deep sea crabs eat, or what happens to all the plastic that is swept out to sea, or want to learn about why the things that happen so far below us are important to life on Earth this is a book worth your time.

Get Your Donuts Here! Or Is It Doughnut?

Today (June 3rd) is National Donut Day!  Go out and get your free donuts.  Well, sort of free.  If you have to buy a coffee to get a "free" donut, is it really free?  That is a riddle for another day.

To celebrate National Donut Day I learned all about the Donut King.

The Donut King starring Ted Ngoy

In 1975, Ted Ngoy came to America from Cambodia to start a new life.  He managed to build a multi-million dollar donut empire which he then used to help other refugees.

This is a fascinating story.  It is triumph and tragedy all rolled into one.  Ted fell in love with donuts and just decided that was what he was going to do.  He turned a job in a donut shop into one store than another and another and so on.  He then sponsored other Cambodian refugees so they could come to America and taught them the donut business.  It was interesting to see how he becomes a legend to the Cambodian community, a legend that continued even after he had returned to Cambodia.  It is a well told story that gives you the good and the bad.  It is a story that takes you to the highs and the lows of success.  And it is all the more impressive because it is true.

The Friday 56

  Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My book this week is The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales.  It is all about sea life in the deep ocean.  Where all sorts of interesting creatures live.  

My Friday 56:

Even if the hunt is over, it can be easy to discern what a gelatinous animal has recently eaten because the prey is visible through its transparent body.  Like a set of glass Russian dolls, there could be a krill inside a ctenophore or a fish inside a scyphozoan.

What is a ctenophore or a scyphozoan?  Not sure.  I'm sure the book will tell me when I get there.  But life has been conspiring to stop me from reading lately.  So I haven't gotten there yet.  I am very interested to find out.  

The Aquanaut Review

 

The Aquanaut by Dan Santat

(from the book jacket)

Who is the aquanaut?  Ever since her father was lost at sea, Sophia has been moping around Aqualand, a marine theme park.  But Sophia's world is turned upside down when an 'aquanaut' breaks into the park research lab.

To her amazement, Sophia discovers that the aquanaut is not what it seems: inside lives a band of goofy sea creatures!  And when they all realize that Aqualand is more sinister than advertised, Sophia is determined to help the aquanaut crew free the park's captive marine life before it's too late.

Sea creatures use an old diving suit to make motorized transport so they can get around on land.  They want to get to Aqualand, where they think they will be safe.  Sophia, who lost her father when his research vessel sank, feels alone and lost and wishes her uncle had more time for her.  Her uncle is dealing with the loss of his brother the best he knows how.  They all come together at Aqualand.  The illustrations are wonderful: bold, bright, exciting.  The story is fun and exciting too.  It deals with the themes of loss and handling grief,  of how you can lose sight of what is important, of family, and of the ethics of places like Aqualand that keep sea creatures in cages and make them perform for human entertainment.  But it is told with humor.  The sea creatures manning the diving suit are funny and have great personalities.  And you grow to care about Sophia as she learns to live in a world without her father where she never seems to quite fit in.  I liked this one a lot and am going to go find myself a copy of Santat graphic novel Sidekicks right away.

Do You Dream of Turtles? (Dreaming in Turtle Review)

Today (May 23rd) is World Turtle Day.  

I like turtles.  Who doesn't like turtles?  Of course, some people like them for pets, some for medicine, some for food and some as a source of income.  But everyone likes turtles.

Peter Laufer, Ph.D. decided to write a book about turtles and all the ways humans interact with them and think about them and feel about them.

Dreaming in Turtle by Peter Laufer, Ph.D.

(from the book jacket)

Everyone has a turtle story.  Turtles that disappeared, then reappeared years later.  Turtles used in attempts to cure cancer, impotence, and infertility.  Turtles sought for sage wisdom and to promote longevity.  Investigative journalist Peter Laufer explores the stories we tell about the slow-moving, shelled critters and the facts about their world we need to know - before we destroy these links to dinosaurs.

Laufer travels the world to find turtle stories and expose the plight of these slow moving creatures, but also to show the hope of those who work to save them.  There is a lot of things in here that are hard to read.  People do horrible things to turtles and Laufer tells you about lots of them here.  You hear stories about turtles being butchered alive, kept in boxes piled on top of each other, packed up and sent through the mail or hidden in all sorts of ways to transport them overseas.  Laufer talks to people who hunt turtles, both legally and illegally, sell them, both legally and illegally, eat them, try to save them, use them for medicine and everything else you can think of.  He tries to understand why so many people love turtles and why people are willing to break the law to have or to eat them.  And how people who claim to love or revere turtles can treat them so badly.  You get all sorts of turtle information.  I find it all very interesting from the turtle myths to the interviews with people who smuggle turtles to the conservation efforts.  I especially like the little Fred breaks.  Laufer takes care of a turtle for a while that he names Fred, and every once in a while, he gives the reader an update on what Fred is up to.  I would like to meet Fred.  He sounds like a very interesting guy.  If you have ever stared at the tortoises at the zoo, or sought out the turtles at the aquarium, or have fond memories of a pet turtle you will like this book.

Save the Bees!

Today (May 20th) is World Bee Day.  We need bees.  Well, it's more that plants need bees and we need the plants.  But it amounts to the same thing.  So what can you do to save the bees?

If you want to donate money so other people can save the bees you can go here:

The Karma Honey Project

Project Apis m 

Pollinator Partnership

Bees For Development

Planet Bee Foundation

The Bee Conservancy

If you would like to be a little more hands on there are a few things you can do in your own backyard.

One is to stop using synthetic pesticides and herbicides.  Bees don't like them.

You can also give bees a place to live.  Most bees are solitary and don't live in hives.  Many live underground, so if you can leave a plot of undisturbed earth for them or put up special bee houses.

You can put up a bee bath.  Which is much like a bird bath, but for bees.  You can fill a shallow bird bath or bowl with water and put some stones in that break the surface so the bees have a place to land and get a drink.

And of course you can plant flowers (and trees) that bees like.

For some ideas on some plants for bees look here:

Bees and Blooms

Southern Living 

Gardeners World

Country Living

Garden Design

This is my brother's bee house for his Mason bees.  He takes good care of his Mason bees and makes sure when he mows the lawn that he leaves the clover for them.  (And besides, the clover is actually pretty, so why cut it down?) 

Will Humankind Survive?

When Earth Shall Be No More by Paul Awad and Kathryn O'Sullivan

(from the back of the book) 

Environmental scientist Constance Roy is one of forty-nine refugees rescued from Earth's destruction and transported to the ark spaceship Orb by an automaton race called the Curators.  Twelve months have passed since their rescue.  But now, with the ship's orbit decaying, the refugees seem doomed to crash into Jupiter's fiery belly.

In a parallel universe on present-day Earth. another version of Constance seeks answers to the questions that have haunted her since childhood: How and why did her mother die?  The head of a mysterious corporation housed at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility can give her the answers, but not without a price.

Two timestreams collide when the Constance on Earth discovers that Nicolas, her son, has the ability to save the Orb and its inhabitants.  Now she must battle treacherous Curators wishing to destroy Nicolas, while on the Orb, another Constance must fight to save the ship from Jupiter's fatal pull.

Only together can they save their son - and the future generations of humankind.

I think duel universes is always a solid starting point for a sci-fi story.   And I like the way you are given both stories simultaneously without ever losing track of which universe you are in at any given moment.  But some things in this story just didn't come together for me.  Especially with Nicolas saving all of humankind.  I was never really sure how what he did proved what it was supposed to prove.  And at the end there were a couple of things that were kind of resolved but still left me with questions. And there were times when situations were presented with more gravitas then they actually ended up having.  Probably to build tension and suspense, but what it led to was me being a little disappointed with the solution.  You have a spaceship and all souls on board about to be destroyed by Jupiter's gravity, creepy Curators running around and you don't know if they are friend or foe, experiments into traveling between universes, and a young boy who has to make some life and death decisions.  There should be tension and suspense enough without forcing it.  I did like the concept of the Curators, what they were and where they came from.  And they were suitably creepy.  I liked Nicolas and you did care what happened to him.  And towards the end there was a good amount of tension and suspense that kept you reading.  For me the good and not so good balanced out into an okay story.  It is neither great nor bad.

What is your favorite dinosaur?

Today (May 17th) is National Dinosaur Day.  (Don't worry if you are not prepared.  You will have another chance on June 1st.  Which is also National Dinosaur Day.)

It is hard to pick a favorite dinosaur.  They are all cool in their own ways.  I have an affinity for sea creatures so I have always liked the Plesiosaur.  But I have recently found out that he is not actually a dinosaur.  So I guess I would have to go with the Ankylosaurus.  I like his armor plating and club tail. 

There were no Ankylosaurus or Plesiosaurs in The Good Dinosaur, but I watched it anyway.

The Good Dinosaur starring Raymond Ochoa

A young Apatosaurus ends up far from home and befriends a young human on his quest to find the way home.

I was entertained.  And that's what it all comes down to in the end.  But this isn't going to be one of my all time favorites.  Arlo, the young, lost Apatosaurus is trying to prove himself to his family but he is afraid of everything.  When he finds himself alone and lost he doesn't even know how to feed himself.  It seems a little unlikely to me that Arlo can live in such a time period and still be so afraid all the time.  I know that in this world dinosaurs live in houses and plant crops and are highly civilized and all that but still.  And I think they missed a chance here with the concept that the asteroid missed the Earth and the dinosaurs did not go extinct.  It could have been a cool concept but it was established in the beginning and then was not really a part of the story after that.  And the story is very predictable.  You know where this is going right from the beginning.  There are really no surprises here.  Another issue I had was that the human, named Spot, acted too much like a dog.  I understand the point that dinosaurs are more advanced than humans at this point but it made Spot look like more of a pet to Arlo than a friend.  I know that is a lot of negative things to say about a movie that I found entertaining.  But it was still a cute, if not too original, story.  Arlo has to overcome his fear while learning that doesn't mean he won't be afraid.  And the importance of family and friendship is stressed here as well.  There are a few slow moments and a couple of scenes that might be scary for young children but as an adult I was entertained and would watch this with my nieces and nephews.

Friday 56

  Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My book this week is Dreaming in Turtle by Peter Laufer Ph.D.  It is an exploration of all things turtle.  From the turtle lore, to turtle soup, to the plight of the endangered turtles, to the people trying to save them.  I haven't gotten very far into it yet.  I just hope it is as interesting as it sounds.

The Friday 56:

The English made turtle broth and used the turtle meat only for the flavoring, tossing it out before the meal.  The French added roux, the Spanish added spices, and some hungry soul added turtle meat and yelled out, "Oh my God, taste this!"  Turtle meat soup was born.

I have never had turtle meat in any form.  They do not look like they would be tasty.  Maybe when it is prepared well it is delicious.  Maybe.  But it is unlikely I will ever find out. 

Need a Little Luck?

Today (May 13th) is National Leprechaun Day!  (Am I the only one who thought this would be in March?)  It seems odd that we are celebrating what could be the luckiest beings in the world on Friday the 13th.  Maybe the good luck and bad luck will cancel each other out.

I did not want to dress up like a leprechaun to celebrate today so I decided to find a nice leprechaun friendly movie to watch instead.

Luck of the Irish starring Ryan Merriman and Henry Gibson

When Kyle Johnson loses his lucky coin odd things start to happen and he learns that he is part leprechaun.

Kyle has been lucky all his life.  He is great at basketball.  He never loses anything.  He finds money wherever he goes.  But when someone switches his lucky coin with a fake all that changes.  And when his mother starts to act differently and speak with an Irish accent he knows something is going on.  It's a Disney made for TV movie, so it is kid safe in the extreme.  Nothing really bad happens to anyone, there is no swearing or violence.  I can see how children would have fun with this and as an adult it is something I didn't mind watching either.  There were some moments when you just had to remind yourself you are watching a children's movie and let it go.  Kyle wants to know about his heritage but when he asks his parents they say they are from Cleveland and act all suspicious instead of just saying he's Irish or telling him where the completely human side of his family is from.  But that sort of thing is for comic effect and you just have to go with it.  You know, for the children.  It's silly at times but fun too.  I enjoyed watching as Kyle's leprechaun side started coming out and he staring using phases like 'Oh, saints preserve us!' all of a sudden.  And Merriman did a good job with the role.  It isn't something I would choose to watch again myself, but if my niece is over it is a family friendly movie that won't have me tearing out my hair.  

Moonshine for My Birthday

I didn't actually drink any moonshine on my birthday.  Although, I wouldn't be opposed to that.  But I did have a couple of drinks at Moonshine 152.

I don't even know how to describe the cuisine at Moonshine 152.  They have jalapeno crab rangoon, short rib grilled cheese, lamb meatballs, braised rabbit pasta, tapas style patatas bravas, Hawaiian poke bowls, Thai fried rice among other things.  They seem to have a little of everything.  

The restaurant isn't huge but the whole front of the building is windows so it
feels open and roomy inside without losing the warm inviting feeling.  Make sure you check out the chef's artwork that you can find hanging on the walls.  

We were early and had our choice of seats and sat at the bar.  The bartenders were friendly and helpful.  They had a nice selection of bourbons and we didn't feel rushed to order while we sat and enjoyed a drink before dinner.  But the bartender was right there when we were ready.  

We got the 'Moonshine's Boston's Best Fried Chicken' to start.  It is buttermilk fried chicken wings with a poblano ranch dressing.  It was awesome.  The chicken was cooked perfectly.  The batter was light and crispy.  And the sauce was the perfect compliment.

There were a lot of things on the menu I was interested in trying but when I first go to a restaurant and am unsure if I will be going back I usually go with something familiar.  Something I have a large basis for comparison for.  Like a burger.  Which is what both my husband and I got.  

Once again it was cooked perfectly.  It was juicy and flavorful.  The shoe string fries that came with it were good as well.  

Picking dessert was a challenge.  It was between the butterscotch pudding and the Oreo layered fudge brownie.  The couple sitting next to us at the bar said we had to try the butterscotch pudding.  And that tipped the scale.  I like butterscotch, so I might be bias, but it was delightful.  Rich and creamy, and the Chantilly cream on top was perfect.  It was sweet but not too sweet.  We ordered one to share and it would have been plenty for both of us but the chef actually came out and gave us a complimentary Oreo layered fudge brownie!  I didn't even mention it was my birthday.  So I got to try them both anyway.  The brownie doesn't look like much on the plate but, trust me, it is plenty big.  It is very sweet so we were not able to finish it but it was tasty.  If you like Oreos that is.  It is a good fudgy brownie with Oreos in it.  How can you go wrong?  

I also had a couple of cocktails.  The Old Fashioned was great but my advice is stay away from La Diabla.  She lives up to her name.

It was a wonderful evening and I plan to go back.  I will pretend I am going to try all new things from the menu but will probably get the fried chicken again.  I was still thinking about it days after I ate it.

Calling all Shrimp Lovers

Today (May 10th) is National Shrimp Day.  How do you celebrate National Shrimp Day?  You eat shrimp of course.

There are a million shrimp dishes out there to try so you have a lot of choices.  Maybe you can even try several dishes.  I mean, you are probably going to eat three meals today.  Why not make them all shrimpy?

The one I chose was Shrimp and Grits from the Food Network.  Why this particular Shrimp and Grits recipe?  Because of all the cheese obviously.  

I didn't try grits until later in life.  And the first time I tried them I was not impressed.  But I decided to give them a second chance.  I thought maybe what my first taste of grits was missing was 2 cups of cheese.  Turns out I like grits.  (I have tried them without the cheese.  I still liked them.)

It turns out that Shrimp and Grits is pretty easy to make.  The hardest part is deveining the shrimp.  I hate doing that.  It isn't so much that it's messy but that it takes me forever.  I keep hoping I will get faster with practice.  Problem is I don't practice very often.  So I'm still slow.  Now, the recipe says prep time is 15 minutes.  Those estimates are always wrong.  I always thought it was the time it took to prepare.  But now I think it does not take into account any chopping or, say, deveining that has to take place.  So if you have all your ingredients in the state they are asked for (i.e.. sliced, chopped, minced, deveined) then it will be 15 minutes of prep.  If not, you will need to add some time.  

All that being said, there are some things to chop and mince and juice.  But it is all simple cooking prep.  By the way, you will be surprised how hard it is to cut raw bacon.  Well, I was anyway.  

Now, the recipe calls for stone-ground grits.  I couldn't find any.  I just bought a can of store brand grits.  Which took about 5 seconds to cook as opposed to the 20 to 25 minutes the recipe says the grits will take.  You can make up some of that deveining time here.  But you need to watch them.  Because I'm not joking.  It's quick.  (Be careful when you are adding the salt.  Remember that you will be adding a lot of cheese to the grits and then bacon to the shrimp.)  Then you add 2 cups of cheddar cheese.  That is a lot of cheese.  I like cheese.  But that was a lot of cheese even for me.  But they were delicious so...

The shrimp are cooked in the grease left in the pan after you cook the bacon.  (You use 6 slices of bacon.  Which leaves you with left over bacon.  I mean, you can't let it go to waste.)  Then you add the other ingredients, like garlic and scallions and such and you are done.  All you have to do is spoon out the grits and put the shrimp mixture on top.

Grits do not reheat all that well.  If you do not eat them immediately they will not be the creamy, spoonable texture, they will be a solid, sliceable mass.  They will still taste good though.  I brought this for lunch, having made it the night before.  I put it all in the microwave.  The grits, as I said, were solid (but not hard) and the microwave didn't do the shrimp any favors either.  But it was what I had to work with and the food still tasted great.  Fresh, this is a delight.  With the creamy grits with the meltly cheese, and the firm but not rubbery (hopefully) texture of the shrimp and the bacon to add a nice savory, salty touch.  I think Shrimp and Grits would be a perfect way to celebrate this wonderful holiday.

Have a Coke and a Smile

Today (May 8th) is National Have a Coke Day.  (Yes, it is also Mother's Day.  I know.  I didn't forget.  I got my mother something, so don't judge me.) 

I like Coke.  Regular original Coke.  Not diet coke.  That sucks.  But Coke can get even better if you add some alcohol.

There are several cocktails that use Coke.  Most of them are pretty tasty.

There is, of course, the Rum and Coke.  You can use either white or dark rum.  Both are yummy but the

lounge lizard

molasses flavor of the dark rum really compliments the coke well.

If you add some lime to a rum and Coke you get a Cuba Libre.  Also yummy and the lime adds a bright note and something to offset the sweet of the other two ingredients.

Or you can have a simple Coke and Vodka.  Just as easy as it sounds.  It is basically a glass of Coke with a kick.

time bomb

If you use tequila instead of vodka you get a Batanga.  I liked this one but not as much as some of the others.  Tequila doesn't mix as well with Coke as some other alcohols.  But if you are a tequila lover you might disagree with me.  

If you are a fan of Kahlua you might like the Time Bomb.  It is not as scary as it sounds.  This one also uses rum which we already know is great with Coke but adds Kahlua.  Which, as it turns out, is also great with Coke.

Another Kahlua Coke combination is the Cherry Coffee Cola.  Not the most inventive name but it is very accurate.  You need Luxardo liquor for this one.  But it might be worth picking up a bottle.  The cherry flavor is a nice compliment to the rich, darker flavors of the other two ingredients.

I was a little unsure when I tried a Colorado Bulldog.  The idea of cream and Coke together?  But it

bulldog

works.  It tastes like a White Russian with a fizz.  

If you like root beer try the Root Beer.  This one also has Kahlua.  But with some Galliano it all comes together to taste very much like root beer.

I love amaretto.  So I love the Lounge Lizard.  Rum, amaretto, and cola.  It is sweet and delicious.

There are more obviously.  You should go out there and explore them all.  But please drink responsibly.

The Friday 56

  Rules:

* Grab a book, any book.

* Go to page 56.  Or 56% on your ereader. 

* Find a snippet, short and sweet.

* Post it and add the url to your post at Freda's Voice

My Friday 56 this week comes from When Earth Shall Be No More by Paul Awad and Kathryn O'Sullivan.  In one universe the last 49 of Earth's human population are in a decaying orbit around Jupiter.  In an alternate universe a woman (whose counterpart is on the ship orbiting Jupiter) learns that her son may be able to save the 49 doomed humans.

The Friday 56:

"Hmm," Nicolas said.  He inspected each book's cover and description.  "This might take a while."  He retrieved a book from the top shelf, sat on a nearby stool, and turned to page one.

Nicolas is at a book store and has just been told he can only pick out one book.  He is taking the decision very seriously.  I have had that same feeling.