Not tooo Shabby

Well I suppose that posting on average every 2/3 days isn't too shabby! Certainly far better than I expected myself to do.

A few pictures of the Ranch for those of you who enjoy such things at this glorious time of year:

Next to the highway...

Close Up (yes I played with the saturation):

Holy Smokes it's on fire!

I know, right? LOOKS LIKE IT'S ON FIRE. I also enjoy how the cloudy sky is totally overexposed. Makes the fire brighter.

Also - note to random tourists: Please do not climb out of your car and wander around taking pictures. Where there is heavy machinery. And, when politely asked to leave...don't stick your tongue out. You look like an idiot.

In other news, the overabundance of gift guides in the Reader has me thinking of the holidays. I love Christmas. No amount of Scrooginess, or Grinchiness will deter me. I have carols on the iPod. I am busting out the ornaments. I am desperately craving spice of gingerbread, the headiness of hard sauce. I want to BAKE people.

In a word: Ready.

Can't. Even. Handle. It.

Team, I just...I can't even...

I LOVE THE INTERNET.



MUPPETS. AND QUEEN. ALL AT THE SAME TIME.



I'm..I'm just so happy right now.

Right.

I KNOW ALRIGHT?

I KNOW.

Any comments you various peanut galleries might have currently have the relevance of a cow's opinion.

They are moo.

HOWEVER, I would like to take the time to discuss with you all...the Bonfire. I was not fortunate enough to attend Saturday's game as I have in the past, so all I have to say regarding THAT is...

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YEAH GO BEARS.

At least my absence meant that I did not have to sit through a performance of the Stanfurd Banned. Small blessings, I suppose.

Anyway, despite the rain on Friday, the Coz and I did manage to make it out to the Greek. I fought my way through campus - I couldn't even make it past Wheeler! I am hesitant to offer an opinion, but I must say that the Regents are dealing with a bad situation. The budget crisis is the reason for this mess, and really - slashing public education is so friggin' short sighted I can't even think straight.

RIGHT - moving on: there was FIRE and the University of California Marching Band and The UC Men's Octet (and the Golden Overtones too) and Tom Edwards and the Axe Cheer and FIRE and for once there was a funny sketch! There hasn't been a funny sketch in all my years of going.

It was awesome. To placate you I have pictures.

Before...

During...

And after...

Aaaaand then we left. Because it was pouring rain! And I've been to 6 bonfires. It was freezing, we went to La Burrito, went back to her place, made brownies, and eggnog, and watched Star Trek.

Awesome.

So today, I forgot my Ipod.

No - let me rephrase. I forgot my entire music apparatus - no headphones OR iPod. Even worse, I realized I didn't have it RIGHT when I was getting on MUNI. I was filled with a curious combination of chagrin, resignation, and...horror.

Of course, I have forgotten my music before, but this was the first time I actually analyzed my feelings about it. Horror? Really? That I had forgotten music to listen to whilst working? Is that the hallmark of my generation that we have to constantly have some sort of input into our brains to distract us from matters at hand?

I, clearly, survived. It was a near thing, though, I'll tell ya.

The Blonde was training the Mav tonight, and the following conversation ensues while The Mav whimpers quietly.

"What are you writing about tonight, Fran?" says the Blonde.

"Writing about how I left my iPod at home." says I

"...Interesting..."says The Blonde, vaguely sadly and distinctly let down.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I TRY TO SHARE PROFOUND THOUGHTS WITH YOU ALL.

WELCOME...TO SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

At the very last minute (aka Yesterday) The Mav asked me if I would be interested in going to go see the So You Think You Can Dance live tour in San Jose. I gave it some thought, argued with my internal accountant, before collapsing, inevitably in the face of awesome.

And team, I was not disappointed.

Ok - I was slightly disappointed that they didn't do the Argentine Tango.

BUT EVERYTHING ELSE WAS AWESOME.

It was sort of like a ridiculously high production value, super talented high school performance. The performances were amazing, and seeing it live was incredible. The transitions from performance to performance...were not.

For example, to introduce each other, they dragged out the name like they were announcing the MVP at the Super Bowl. HEEEERE'S JAAAAASOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON.

*cue screaming*

Seriously though - I had a great time. There was a running joke all night referring to the Russian Dance Routine that got SLAMMED by the judges. Jeanine and Phillip appeared at least 5 different times attempting to perform it, and were gently shooed off stage by the other dancers until finally the entire group performed a mashup hip-hop/folk-dance routine.

Crazy.

It was clear that either they themselves had written their own lines, or a random intern at the studio who had no idea what she was doing. However, the bottom line was that the performances were amazing, and the audience reaction was HILARIOUS. For example, the vampire routine with the music from Twilight - 40,000 females squealed.

As The Mav's friend said - SYTYCD simply brings out the 15-year old girl in all of us. Both my younger counterpart and I were well pleased.

The HELL Are We Gonna Do with THESE

Well.

We have had a busy night here at Chez Sweetness. I stroll out of work to discover that, unbeknownst to me, it has begun to...mist. It's not rain, it's not drizzle, it's mist - that peculiarly San Francisco fog bank that comes into town EXPRESSLY to frizz hair.

It is extremely aggravating.

At any rate, I am due in Cole Valley to meet up with the Blonde, who has elected to come up from the dredges of F.C. and gallavant about The City. But first, she is coming to visit. I decide to kill two birds with one stone and do something productive, while she primps etc. And does this:

.

I don't know what this is.

At any rate, I decide to cook the what-the-hell-are-we-gonna-do-with-these shortribs.

They shall hence forth be known simply as The Ribs.

After the travesty of the last Cal game, I had gone to BBQ in Berkeley. Spareribs are not the most tidy of meals, and I had brought the leftovers (bones) to gnaw on in the privacy of my apartment. The Mav was duly jealous, and I picked up some ribs the next time I went grocery shopping.

NEEDLESS TO SAY. I picked up shortribs by accident. NO I DON'T have a slow cooker. Or a grill. Or any BBQ sauce handy.

So I did what The Sweetness does best when it comes to cooking. "Meh - looks about right" and lots of "Whatevs - close enough"

I made this: Braised Shortribs.

And to respond to the inevitable question of whether or not I made the accompanying horseradish gremolata and pumpkin orzo...Judging from the rest of the content on this blog, what do YOU think?

I set right to work, and you know what team? Turned out pretty friggin tasty! Sure there were some hiccups...like realizing that I had not taken them out this morning to defrost:

Yes, I needed a hammer.

Or getting distracted by these:

How are these even LEGAL.

But at the end of the night, I had a pretty delicious stew with The Ribs. I can do stew. Remind me sometime to tell you about my venison stew. Pretty delicious.

Well, I could tell you. But then I would have to kill you.

Tomorrow - SYTYCD...LIVE!!!

Stay tuned.

On Goats

Tonight, The Man took me out to go see The Men Who Stare at Goats.

I liked it. He did not.

Ok, so it's true. I like most things! The Mav would say that there is hardly a movie I don't like, except for, you know, award winning dramas.

Whatever. I don't like movies that make me sad. I feel it defeats the purpose of the escape, if watching it makes you miserable.

BUT - I liked the acting. I enjoy George Clooney - he does a terrific deadpan. This wasn't even deadpan: he was seriously explaining to Bob, Ewan MacGregor's character, that he was a Jedi. I thought the movie was gently amusing, mostly because of Jeff Bridges, and his gentle soldier.

The Man thought the acting was fine, the cinematography was fine, and the movie was not. If you want to see George Clooney in a good desert movie, he says to go watch Three Kings.

But Three Kings does not have a goat:

The goat was totally the star. And Kevin Spacey. Because you can't tell Kaiser Soze that he got upstaged by a goat.