Waste not, want not

So, I’m trying to teach myself how to cook. Of course, that’s only fun if you’re being creative. For that reason, I try inventing my own recipes. So far, I’ve had some success. Here’s a trio of companion recipes.

On today’s menu is the attractively titled Vegetable Rind Soup, Chicken and Peppers and Roasted Veggies.

This recipe started out as just the Chicken and Peppers. But I like the challenge of using what I have instead of going out and buying ingredients, so I made the other dishes with the leftovers.

Fair warning, when I’m cooking someone else’s recipe, I like explicit instructions. When I cook my own, everything just kind of happens. Still, these culinary masterpieces are worth trying.

And they’re healthy too! (I think.)

I Would Feel Used

One day after signing a one year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs kicker Jay Feely was cut. He was brought in to compete for a roster spot with Connor Barth and Nick Novak and when they performed better than he did during a two day “kick off” Feely was cut. I get the impression that Kansas City just wanted to see how Barth and Novak would react to the pressure. Otherwise why would they not even give Feely a chance to get acclimated before making a final decision on his future with the team?

Obama’s nomination official

Historic moment today, it will be some time before we understand where the nomination of Barack Obama ranks among major moments in the history of race relations in these United States, but it seems inarguably to be the culmination (for now) of the Civil Rights Movement.

If Obama loses the upcoming election, his mere nomination will be remembered. The emotional reaction of those in attendance reflected what the moment means to African  Americans. My meaningless support is with John McCain,* but it was still cool to see history happen live and in color (but not in Hi-Def because the CNN HD channel wasn’t working.)

*That’s what happens when you select a known, blatant plagiarist like Joe Biden as your running buddy. As a journalist, that’s an offense I can’t forgive.

American efforts to coddle children maintain momentum

Sometimes I get so damn irritated I can hardly express myself. I suppose this is one of those types, so I’ll keep my input to a minimum.

In Connecticut, a nine-year-old kid has been banned from his baseball league because of his 40 MPH fastball. No, he hasn’t hit a single batter, but “facing that kind of speed” is scary. That, from league attorney Peter Noble, is enough to justify his expulsion.

Give me a break.

Find the bias

Take a look at the dom photo of Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal. Then read the caption that ran under the photo.

Georgians in blindfolds sit on a Russian armored personnel carrier while being detained by Russian troops in the port city of Poti in western Georgia Tuesday. (AP)

Can you spot the manipulative use of language?

Finally Someone Stands Up To The Chinese

According to the Yahoo sports blog “4th Place Medal” the International Olympic Committee has started an investigation into the age of Chinese gymnast He Kexin. I expected it to take years for something like that to happen. I think they should be investigating the whole team personally, but He Kexin is a start. I do hope this investigation is thorough and complete, but I have my doubts.

The verdict is in on E:60

So I’m sitting here watching ESPN’s news magazine show, E:60, and I’m about ready to vomit. When the show was announced, I was excited at the prospect of deep sports journalism on TV. When the first couple shows felt contrived, I gave them a pass. It was still in its infancy afterall.

Now, I just can’t believe how bad it is. The main problem is how overproduced each piece is. It feels polished, manicured and fake. On that note, I’ll go as far as to say they push some ethical boundaries of journalism.  Apparent dramatizations aren’t clearly marked. Thanks to ESPN’s size, conflicts of interest are unavoidable, but the show doesn’t do enough to avoid them. For example, as ESPN begins to broadcast NASCAR races, and as NASCAR deals with a lawsuit from a female minority employee, another minority woman involved in the sports is profiled as “the most powerful woman in NASCAR” by E:60. Fishy? I’d say so.

Medalist disqualified for no good reason

I can’t think of any legitimate reason to strip someone of a medal besides discovery of cheating. The Olympics is all about the competition. Everything else, even temper tantrums, should be secondary.
The International Olympic Committee doesn’t quite see it the same way though and disqualified a Swedish wrestler, Ara Abrahamian, after he discarded his bronze medal on the mat and left the ceremony.

The IOC executive board ruled Abrahamian’s actions amounted to a political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow athletes.

“It was felt that his behavior on the medal podium and during the medal ceremony was not appropriate,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. “His behavior was not in the Olympic spirit of respect for his fellow athletes. Whatever grievances you may have, this was not the way to go about it.”

Obviously, it wasn’t political demonstration, but I guess the committee needed to deem it as such to disqualify Abrahamian. Must be nice to not even worry about changing the rules when you can manipulate definitions.

The Olympics are actually pretty entertaining

I have a confession to make.

I’m enjoying these Olympics. Before they began, I thought I’d hardly watch them. But I caught the opening ceremonies, grudgingly admitted that it was an impressive spectacle and was intrigued. I was ready to give the games a chance.

Boy howdy was that a good decision. The other-wordly performance of Michael Phelps is something special. I’m not usually one to appreciate dominance—it’s pretty boring when you know the winner before the onset of the competition—but watching Phelps stalk super-extraordinary-once-in-a-lifetime-you have-to-make-up-a-word-just-to-describe-it-greatness is something I’ll remember.

Good Move For Vick?

As soon as 2009 Michael Vick might find himself in a football uniform and playing professional football. Team? Unknown. League? Most likely not the NFL. Another new football league is on it’s way in. This one, the United Football League touts itself as home to the “stars of tomorrow”. I thought college football was the home of those guys, but what do I know? I guess I don’t keep up with the Vick situation that much because I didn’t think there was even an outside shot of Vick playing in the NFL in 2009.