I love snow. The rapper.

I took this picture yesterday just behind my apartment complex, while thinking to myself "is this really Oregon?" It felt more like the setting of a Stephen King horror film, or the set from the movie Fargo. The storm of the century has arrived in the northwest. Although it did provide me with a day off of work, it may cancel my plans of driving to Grants Pass for Christmas.
My girl lives in Denver and is WAY more used to the cold than I am. She probably thinks I'm a giant poo-tang for not wanting to go anywhere in this cold weather - but I will accept the title of a poo-tang any day as long as it keeps me indoors and warm. While we're on the topic of warmth, I was just thinking of a warmer, much more iller form of snow......Yes, I'm talking about Snow the Canadian rapper from the 90s. As you can see in this clip titled "Informer" Snow rips the cut with his smooth swagger and easy-to-decipher lyrics. Snow's flow is cold enough to warm my soul.

A True Inspiration

Merrill Howard Kalin brought smiles to millions of Internet geeks for years. The 45-year-old cooking guru lost his lifelong battle with retardation on June 20, 2008 at his home in Ohio. As a cable access television cooking show host, Merrill always seemed to shine when the camera rolled. Some of my favorite moments have to include: his accurate impersonations of celebrities, smashing lettuce (including "cwunching it up") onto an unwashed poultry cutting board, sounds of orgasms throughout the show, forgetting the address of the building his show is being taped in, being out of breath and having to drink water 34 seconds into the show, his use of the words Jesus Christ under his breath, jello salad, and preparing "licking good chicken." Although every one of these moments changed the way I think about cooking, his advice to "not cook alone" and "to not use a knife for ANYTHING" had the biggest impact on me. My life has never been the same since I first watched
The Merrill Howard Kalin Show last October. If I ever felt down, Merrill cheered me up. If I ever needed a laugh, Merrill was there. I think everyone who has ever thought about a future in the cooking industry owes you an enormous thank-you. I know Chef Gordon Ramsey would be proud of your extreme cleanliness and the amount of creativity you put into your dishes. I can smell the finger licking good chicken being baked, visualize the jello salad jiggle, and hear the words "Wowie Kazowie" echo throughout the pearly gates of heaven for eternities to come. Thanks MHK - and R.I.P.

The Hogan Family: America's Nightmare

I was never a big wrestling fan as a kid. Although when i was 10 years old I got the opportunity to watch a live WWF event at The Pond in Anaheim. One word came to mind: Ridiculous. The highlight of the show was being able to see all 600 pounds of Yokozuna's amazingly sculpted body from the nosebleed section. The downfall of course was NOT seeing Hulk Hogan.

Hulk Hogan is to wrestling what Michael Jordan is to basketball. A threat on and off the court. But the only threat the Hulkster has these days is being IN court.

As you have all heard by now the Hogan Family HAD their own reality show on VH1 wisely titled "Hogan Knows Best." Of course it shattered their family and ended in divorce. Classic reality TV. Let me break down the Hogan family for you:

Linda - a friend more than a mother. A bad wife. A very bad dresser. A very unintelligent excuse of a human being.
Nick - an aspiring racer, with a focus on drifting. A douchebag. A fantastic crash test dummy, specializing in wrecking high-end sport cars.
Brooke - a terrible singer. An empty mind. A train wreck. A very bad actor.
Hulk - a middle-aged bald man who is slowly losing his family as well as his money. An ineffective father. A shame.

Earlier this year, Nick decided to street race his yellow Supra and.....well......just look at the picture.

Nick got released from jail a couple of months ago, and though his life will go on - the only passenger John Graziano can thank Nick for making him a vegetable. I personally feel Nick's punishment was way too light, but then I started thinking....he is a Hogan - so I think that's punishment in itself.