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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Friday afternoon I picked the kids up from school and we all headed to the movies to see the new Harry Potter movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Overall we thought it was the best movies of the series. The movie focuses mainly on the Tri-Wizard tournament, and, as usual did a wonderful job in helping visualizing many of the aspects of the story.

I've read a number of reviews that point out how the movie was horrible because of the things the movie leaves out, things such as Ludo Bagman, Rita Skeeter's animagus abilities, Hermione's S.P.E.W. campaign, and revises storylines as Bagman Jr is with Voldmort and Wormtail in the very beginning.

To all of these people, you never should have gone to see the movie in the first place. The movie is the movie and the book is the book, the movie is not the book and the book is not the movie. No movie can ever be as good as the book and anyone that expects it to be is setting unrealistic expectations.

Overall I love what they did with the movie and congratulate everyone that worked on the project for doing an expert job. I can't wait to see it again.

Patrick's in Da House

I'd like to start off by apologizing for not writing here in awhile, not much has been going on outside of work and poker stuff. CC and I have been doing wedding stuff, and we're looking forward to a fun Thanksgiving back in Jamestown. We also have a guest in our house!

My brother Patrick currently lives in Rochester NY and plays hockey for a team that's post high school, but pre college, and this past weekend they were playing in Philly. So CC and I drove up to see him since it's only about 1.5 hours away. They did pretty well but blew a two goal lead and ended up with a tie after a single overtime attempt.

After the game we checked with my brother to see if he wanted to come back with us to stay for a week and we'd take him back to my parents with us. He checked with his coach and got permission to leave with us, and right now he's hanging out at the house with CC and the kids.

Thursday we'll be back in Jamestown for Turkey Day with Mom, Dad, Seester, and a whole slew of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins all trying to eat my Thanksgiving Dinner. Thankfully I've had a whole years worth of power eating on them so I feel I'm well prepared.

Either Friday or Saturday I'm taking the family up to Niagara Falls for a day. We've been up there before but we're going up again. I was hoping to have better luck with the weather, but it looks like it's going to snow the entire trip. That's a good thing because we love snow. I've never driven the new car in the snow, but it's front wheel drive so it should handle well.

Soup Weekend

A few months ago when Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was released CC and I picked up a great soup book and now that the weather's getting colder, it was a perfect time to break it out.

Friday started with a family broccoli cheese soup recipe (we didn't like the look of the one in the soup book) it turned out quite good (broccoli could have been cooked a bit more). One down two more days (and soups!) to go.

Saturday was crab day since claw crabmeat was on sale at the grocery store (buy one get 1 free) so CC made delicious crab cakes with one pound, and then made an equally god Maryland Crab Soup with the other pound. Even the kids loved it. That's how good it all was.

Sunday was the day to finally break out the soup book for a recipe that I have been trying to get right for years. Of course I've only attempted it a few times but I never could get it to turn out as good as I wanted it to. What is this elusive soup recipe you ask? French Onion Soup. As good as you can get in the restraints. It turned out pretty good, but still not great, it was a bit on the weak side, so I ground up five bullion cubes and stirred that in. Perfect.

Since this weekend is supposed to be on the cooler side again, we might try another recipe or two. Maybe some beef stew, and homemade bread bowls, those are always yummy.

Belated Halloween Post

I apologize for the belatedness of this post, however last week was rather hectic. Saturday we had my step son's birthday party at the local laser tag place. They have a great setup with pizza, finger foods, private party rooms, ice cream (we brought a couple of cakes), and they give everyone $5.00 worth of tokens to go blow on various video games machines. Since three of his friends couldn’t make the party CC, me, and CC's ex-brother in law (M's uncle) got to play laser tag along with all the boys. I'm happy to say we gave them a sound thrashing and took all 4 of the games. We rule.

Sunday M & K went to their grandparents (Dad's side) for more birthday fun so CC & I just lounged around for the day. I started to get the pre-sick yuckies but hoped some rest would help me feel better. It didn't.

Monday was Halloween. I spent most of my day resting in bed but once the kids came home I got up to help with the festivities. M went as a zombie skater punk while K opted for the pop diva singer. CC went out to take the crew (about 6 of them) through the neighborhood in their quest to bring home loads of free candy. They succeeded, and how.

Tuesday I had to call in sick from work as I was up all night being violently ill and was in no condition to sit at the office and do nothing all night. All in all we had an enjoyable Halloween, now on to Thanksgiving!

Why You Shouldn't Have Sex With Chickens

**I actually posted this at another blog I used to write in and thought I had cross posted it here as well, however after looking for it, I realized I hadn't. As it is quite possibly my favorite post I have ever written I thought I needed to save it here as well. Enjoy. **

Every day at some point, I roll a six sided dice to see what kind of blog I should post that day. 6 = Game Review, 5 = User Review, 4 = Rant, 3 = Memory, 2 = Free Post, and 1 = Completely off the wall non game related I should convenience people I should be committed blog. Today I rolled a 1, which brings me to the title of today's blog. Why you shouldn't have sex with chickens.

First off, I have to state that this is just a theory, because for it to be considered a law, one of two (impossible) things must occur depending on weather it is a social law or a scientific law. For a social law, the government, either state or federal, would have to pass a law, and B: it would have to be scientifically proven to be true in all instances. Neither of these will ever happen for the following reasons. The government will never pass a law forbidding chicken sex simply because it would then be a short jump before the populace demanded a law to prohibit (or at the very least restrict) the practice of Chicken Choking. Given the affinity for Congressional Chicken Choking (both personal and intern based) it is extremely unlikely that they would risk the chance to end something they hold so dear to themselves.

The scientific proof is able to prove with 87% accuracy that the theorem "People shouldn't have sex with chickens." Unfortunately as this is not a guaranteed truth, it can not be considered a scientific law. As a side note, the additional 13% is currently split 12/1 respectively between France and Arkansas. When brought before the United Nations, France conveniently argued that if they were not allowed to have sex with chickens, they would not be able to have sex at all, and their country would be plunged (even deeper) into chaos. There were no objections so the issue was dropped. Arkansas has successfully been able to prove that the reports of chicken sex are directly linked to the dates the Clintons are in state.

According to recent statistics published by the CFA (Chicken Fuckers Anonymous) the majority of all "relationships" begin with men (and a growing number of women) attempting to prove which came first, the chicken or the egg. This has already been medically proven as it has been successfully shown that it is impossible for eggs to reach sexual climax due to their underdeveloped sexual organs. The CFA also reports that the numbers may possibly be significantly lower than the actual number of acts committed due to the popular belief that many chickens do not come forward with instances of abuse and instead simply scratch at the ground and dig for worms when questioned. Freudian psychologists argue this is a damning statement of abuse, however it is currently unsubstantiated due to the fact that during official experiments, the Control group often exhibits the same behavior as the test group. There is currently on ranking member of the CFA who is attempting to prove that there is a direct correlation between socioeconomic status and the perceived "Squawkers" segment of the poultry community. The current perception is that the lower the chicken's socioeconomic status is, the greater the likelihood that the chicken will upper almost porn like squawks during times of peak intimacy. This doctor believes however that it has much more to do with the chickens innate repression level than socioeconomic status. He states that upper society chickens, referred colloquially as "City Chickens" are under a far greater amount of pressure for social conformity than their "Free Range" brethren. With this pressure comes the fear of loss of self control and an ultimately lower level of sexual gratification and less powerful orgasms.

Legal and scientific bantering aside, the ramifications of chicken sex, sometimes referred to as "Poultry Poon Tang" can be overwhelming. Common symptoms of Post Poultry Intercourse Syndrome (PPIS) can include decreased same species sex drive, loss of apatite (especially at Chinese Food Restaurants, KFC, and Popeye's), and the breaking out in a cold sweat whenever someone nearby utters the now catch phrase, "Taste's like chicken."

I was fortunate enough to be allowed to interview a number of members of the CFA under the condition of anonymity and have come across some startling, and some not so startling discoveries. A few women claimed it to be a "college/sorority" thing, but the majority of women traced their beginnings of the sorted affairs back to a "Girls Night Out" where they remember mentioning wanting a "little pecker to play with" to some of their girlfriends after a night of drinking and dancing. When asked why they continued to keep up the affairs, most women blushed and admitted that it was the feathers that kept them coming back for more.

Whereas the women seemed genuinely ashamed of their acts, the men of the CFA were generally much less so. The following speech received a standing ovation when the newest member of the CFA, "Cletis" relived his initial moments of chicken lust. "I a was jus standin dere, a lookin over da fence when I noticed er. She was a bobbin er head, and a bendin over, and a scratchin at de feed we'd jus trown dare. When I whistled at er, she jus looked up at me wit dem big brown eyes, and I newed it was love. I walked aroun back of da hen house and she done followed me, and it was dare, behin that there hen house, dat we firs made love."

Medical doctors argue however that chicken sex, weather protected or unprotected can be dangerous for both parties involved. Men tend to suffer the greatest number of ailments such as chaffing and soreness in the phallic region, while women most commonly suffer from infections due to the substandard level of chicken feather hygiene. The chickens themselves were unavailable for comment on the common symptoms they often suffer from.

In conclusion, regardless of one's perceived opinions either for or against chicken sex, there is ample evidence that it should be abstained from as much as possible. It is important to work with and understand those individuals who still currently pop "corn" chicken (a nickname given to plump "juicy" chickens) and show them that they are indeed sick sick individuals.

*** No chickens were sexually molested during the writing of this strange article.***

A Birthday Weekend

To start off with, I have to say that I am very disappointed that not a single person wished CC a Happy Birthday. Not. One. Single. Person. Shame on you all. Thankfully I did not forget to say Happy Birthday and in our typical family fashion, we had a whole Birthday Weekend as opposed to a single day.

Saturday we finally went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. We've been meaning to go since we started dating two and a half years ago, however we either never have the money, or remember it the week after it closes. This year though, we made it, or rather, we were reminded of it when our good friends T & L called to invite us to go with them and some of their other friends. A good time was had by all, especially during the throwing of sharp pointy objects. The food was good, I had a turkey leg, bit of Steak on a Stake, a bit of M's Clam Chowder in a Break Bowl, and Cheesecake on a Stick. K got a headband/tiara of dried flowers while M opted for a small mug, he initially wanted either a wax hand or a pressed coin, but both took over an hour to do and we were on our way out. Next year CC and I might get dressed up, but we'll have to wait and see.

Saturday night I had to work at the grocery store, but I used the time there to shop for fun birthday stuff, mainly for a good birthday breakfast. My shopping list included:

Bacon

Freshly ground coffee

Flowers

Corned Beef Hash (for me!)

Yogurts

Potatoes (Fried Potatoes w/onions)

Birthday Cake

I wasn't exactly sure what kind of cake she wanted this year, so I made a list of three or four I could make for her and figured she could choose Saturday morning and I would make it later on that day. Ultimately she choose something I never would have thought of (Blueberry Pie) so my decision to hold off was a good one. I told her if we couldn't find one, I would make her one from “Scratch” (meaning a pre-made pie crust with pre-made blueberry pie filling).

The next morning started off well with the kids sneaking up to the loft, jumping into bed (burying Mommy) and singing “Happy Birthday”. I got her present from the closet and gave it to her. She got sock monkey flannel PJ's with matching slippers. Sweet. The kids and I went downstairs to start breakfast while CC changed into her new PJ's. The kitchen was a wreck so I started by doing the dishes, then made coffee which smelled absolutely incredible, and started cutting up potatoes and onions to throw in the cast iron skillet. Eventually breakfast was done, and it was time to do more dishes. By the end of the day, I will have done dishes 3 times. Ug.

After Breakfast we decided to take a walk to the grocery store, partly because we needed to get the Birthday Pie, but more importantly because it was really nice out and we wanted to go for a walk. The store didn't have any pre-made blueberry pies so we were on our own to make one. We grabbed a couple of cans of Blueberry Pie filling, a Pre-made crust and a few other snacks for the upcoming week (school lunches don't you know) and carried it all back home.

Dinner that evening consisted of a pot roast, candied sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, onions, and carrots, and spaghetti squash. The kids, continuing their trend to hate everything ended up with macaroni and cheese. Heathens. Desert of course was Blueberry Pie ala mode.

After dinner we played Monopoly until bedtime before calling it an early evening. All in all CC had a wonderful birthday weekend, which is the whole point of a birthday weekend.

I apologize for not posting more this week, but I've been busy with work stuff, and obsessing with some poker stuff as well. Monday I had off for the holiday (Columbus Day) so I spent most of the day playing poker and sleeping. It was a very nice day off. Tomorrow is another day off (A guy could get used to these sorts of things) so I'm going to spend more time playing poker and sleeping.

Sunday is CC's birthday! I'm going to wait until Monday to post what I got for her, as if I posted it here, she'd read it and it would give away the whole surprise. She also got a package from her parents today and the kids promptly stole it and hid it from her so she won't open it until Sunday. Be sure to leave a comment to wish her a happy birthday! I'll post all the juicy details about all her presents on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone.

Wegman’s Day

This past Sunday marked one of the most monumental days in my life since I moved to Maryland almost 10 years ago (It’s actually 8 but I’m rounding up). It’s a day I’ve been waiting almost two years for. It was Wegman’s Day.

For those of you not indigenous to the Western New York area, you may not be immediately familiar with the supreme greatness that is Wegmans. To define such a thing of supreme perfection is difficult, however if I break it down to its simplest term, Wegmans is simply the mostest bestest, kick assinest, monumentally tubularist grocery store in the history of human existence. It’s as if God Himself/Herself decided that we, his servants, deserved to be rewarded for vanquishing the evil Nazis, and reached down Himself/Herself and created a divine grocery store. It’s that good.

What makes it so amazing you ask? (Go ahead, you can ask, it’s all right, no one will laugh) First and foremost, they have Western New York foods like Chiavetta’s Barbeque Marinade (the absolute best chicken marinade ever….Ever!), Websters Mustard, Kimiwick Rolls (rolls with salt and caraway seeds, used for the famous Buffalo Beef on Weck sandwiches), and sometimes they even have sponge candy. That’s just the beginning though, they also have about ten times the selection of meats, seafood, deli, and bakery items than any two or three local stores combined. Add in outstanding customer service, genuine smiles of happy employees, and top notch prepared foods and you can begin to see why Wegmans is the grocery store to end all grocery stores. And they just opened the largest ever store in the company’s history in Maryland. Sure it’s about an hour from our house, but in this area, an hour drive is considered right around the corner.

So Sunday the kids were with their dad, so CC and I had the day to ourselves to spend at the new Wegmans store. We got there around 11:00 AM or so and were amazed at the full to capacity parking lot, thankfully we got lucky and managed to snag a spot in the second isle we drove down. The next challenge was trying to find a free shopping card, we eventually ended up following a gentleman who had his two daughters in the cart to his car and took it off his hands for him. We were now ready to finally hit the store. I almost broke out into song.

We love you Wegmans!

Oh yes we do!

We love you Wegmans!

And we’ll be true,

When you’re not near us,

We’re Blue!

Oh Wegman’s we love you.

The song ended relatively quickly however as the store looked akin to the Baltimore Beltway at rush hour. Apparently Baltimorons shop like they drive. Actually it wasn’t anyone’s fault, it was just jammed with people. After about fifteen to thirty minutes of not going anywhere, we decided it would probably be in our best interests to return the cart to the front lobby and just grab a couple of baskets instead, and about ten to fifteen minutes later we had baskets in hand and were ready to explore.

Rather than try to fight our way back through bakery where we had been with the shopping cart, we decided to hit produce instead. We ohhed and ahed our way through produce to find the holy grail of Wegmans, the Olive Bar. We love that olive bar. With our twenty varieties of prepared olives to choose from, we ended up with about four containers of just olives, and of course we needed to get a couple of containers of hummus. Next to the olive bar is the cheese section. It’s far more than an island, and has hundreds of varieties of cheese. We picked up a smoked gouda for CC while I went with the Uniekaas Parno Gouda.

After the cheese heaven section, we made a brief stop at the deli to grab some ham and turkey and then we were off to check on the seafood section. Oh my effing gosh (mustn’t offend the bible beaters). They had so much stuff it was insane. We choose the Old Bay Garlic and Herb Shrimp (which was easily the best tasting shrimp I have ever had) two huge sea scallops, and two swordfish steaks (about 6oz each). Sunday nights dinner was good.

The remainder of the time we just wandered around the store somewhat aimlessly checking out the various departments, sections, and isles. We picked out a few more things, and were delighted to see that they do indeed carry Chiavetta’s Barbeque Marinade.

You know how you have a good hopping experience and it’s all but, if not completely, ruined by a horrendous checkout experience? Well that didn’t happen to us, not at Wegmans, Wegmans loves us. As we neared the checkout section we were approached by a man with a clipboard (he must have been important) who asked us if we needed a Wegmans card, we didn’t as we already have one! So he smiled and pointed us to a small checkout area which had 0 people in it’s line. We were checked out in less than five minutes, and in a store that was so crowded you could hardly move. Go…sh I love Wegmans.

I’m sure there are some of you out there reading this that think (I’m insane, you’re right of course) I may be exaggerating. Go here. Read the article, go ahead, it’s good for you. Done? Now sell you house, rent a uhaul, and move to an area that has a Wegmans. Chances are, they’ll have churches and schools there two, and a Wegmans, gotta have a Wegmans.