HopsGuy

Very nice. Bravo. Also - NSFW, not that I care.

I don't think I'd trust an overly-skinny chef. I just can't get behind the idea that Giada De Laurentiis actually eats everything she makes. There's a real economy behind when the McRib appears: http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/a-conspiracy-of-hogs-the-mcrib-as-arbitrage

That reminded me that he was in "How to Make it in America". They should bring back that show and "Bored to Death" cross it over with "Girls" and have everyone at a Delmond Lambreaux gig. Bittersweet that "Boardwalk Empire" has (almost) already completed an entire season. It's really a fantastic show.

I get the feeling that HBO felt so indebted to David Simon for "The Wire" that they sort of just allowed to play in his New Orleans sandbox with his friends (Melissa Leo, Wedell Pierce, Clarke Peters et al). I really enjoy(ed) the individual stories as told in this context. Check out "Generation Kill" if you haven't already. It's about the invasion of Iraq (the 2nd one). Ziggy from the second season of "The Wire" is great on it.

There was a Buffalo reference in this week's Season finale of "Treme". The young investigative reporter said he was going to look into some deaths at the Erie County prison in New York. Melissa Leo said, "What, Buffalo?" He smiled and said, "Yeah."

Back when I was a senior in college ('93), I was walking back to my apartment around 3 PM. I was in my Army ROTC BDUs and had just run into one of my roommates coming from the dry-cleaner. He was coming from work so he was wearing a suit and now carrying his pressed shirts. As we turned the corner (this is in West Philadelphia) we saw a guy running towards us about 100 yards away with 2 of our roommates chasing him. One of our guys yelled out, "Get 'em, he broke into Phil's (not his real name) truck!" The dude looked up, saw us, and crossed the street. I dropped my book bag & my other buddy (a badass body builder) dropped his dry-cleaning and we moved to block his path. I had moved to the other side of the street and was on the sidewalk ready to... well I don't know what I was going to do... and the dude slowed up. The two roommates chasing were rugby players and the faster of the two caught up and slammed the guy into the building. Just then, the truck's owner (Phil) showed up and began to exact revenge. I was about to join in the melee (hey I was 23 and full of testosterone) when the fast guy said "Hops, call the cops!" So I ran up to our apartment (neglecting the fact that there was a pay phone right there on the corner) and called 911. While I was doing that, the dude's partner pulled up, brandished a tire-iron and said, "Let him go", which they did. When the Philly cops showed up, we gave them the plate number (which was stolen) and told them our story. I was holding a baseball bat that we kept near the door. One of the cops asked me, "Hey Rambo, how come you didn't use that? I would have been happy to fill out that paperwork." My buddy's truck needed some work on his lock but they rolled up just before he got to the column (secured with a Club). I replay the "what if" about choosing the wrong phone quite a bit and some of those scenarios make me glad I went to the apartment. Hope everything works out.

Cleveland 117 San Antonio 109

Darren Rovell (ESPN Sports Business reporter) tweeted: "From 1:38pm to 4pm, the Grinnell Pizza Hut will sell medium, 1-topping pies for $1.38 in honor of Jack Taylor." I couldn't find any confirmation of this but here's the tweet: http://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/272026949457674240/photo/1 I'm sure the pepperoni will all be crowded into a small group on one side with a lone slice hovering near the center.

Sorry to hear of his passing. He was a great example of "Figure out what you love - turn that into a business." He had all the chef skills but knew how to inspire regular folks to cook in 90 seconds. Rachel Ray (not a chef but someone Mr. Food had on his segments) took that concept and turned it into an empire (with help) but Art was happy doing his thing. I really admire that.

My dad was the cook in our family but he passed back in January. It's just me & my mom so we're keeping it simple. She made her cranberry/orange relish in the food processor yesterday and she'll doing a simple green bean dish because she's tired of the GB casserole. I put a turkey breast in the brine this morning and I'll do a simple stuffing/dressing later. Dad's specialty was baking and his best dish was pumpkin chiffon pie. I haven't attempted to make that and Thanksgiving is no time to be auditioning new dishes, so we bought an apple pie at the store. It won't be the same but it'll do. I'm sort of looking forward to the turkey sandwiches in the coming days.

We haven't done decorations since the Christmas Day explosion of 1989. "Ornaments? I thought you said 'ordnance'!"

Ah, thanks. Not much depth to Jackie but having her make the decision to stay there with Jenner was a good thought exercise. I was reminded of her when Daryl & Andrea found that guy in the woods that had "opted out" and was hanging from the tree. The survival instinct is strong but living in that world... suicide is a topic that needs to be examined. It's sort of like how religion/morality is something always hanging over "Dexter".

I never saw it, either. The fanboys at ComicCon were really excited that she was joining the "Dexter" cast this season. She sure is nice to look at.

Nothing has been confirmed but according to IMDb, it will be sometime in February 2013. Last year they started the second half of Season 2 on February 12th. I'd guess they'd do the same this time around and restart this season the Sunday after the Super Bowl. Breaking Bad will probably come back in July for the second half of the final season (Season 5). Mad Men will probably return in late March. These are just my guesses. Oh and "The Killing" is coming back for a 3rd season on Netflix. I heard that "Boss" was cancelled by Starz. I'd like to see that continue somewhere.

Dexter's 8th season (so 1 more) will be its last. I really liked "Rome" & the story-line of Lucius Vorenus & Titus Pullo. Stevenson stole every scene but that was probably the way it was written. I tried "Six Feet Under" once but I am ashamed to admit that the first scene I saw with MCH kissing a guy made me change the channel. That was quite a few years ago (& I'd like to think I've evolved) so I should probably give it another shot. I saw an indie film recently with MCH called "The Trouble with Bliss" that was decent. It opened with a Dexter-like inner monologue that hooked me. Not great but not horrible, either.

Quite a character but nobody chewed scenery like Michael Pitt. The dude could be in silhouette and still emote a few pages. Seeing Bobby Cannavale in this role is really weird. He's been a road comic for years and folks love him. He's shown up in a few things over the years (Google Louis CK & him for a great NSFW bit about re-starting CK's career; he was also funny in "Win Win" in a few scenes with Paul Giamatti). I really like this show. Seeing Owen & the other guy show up at the spa, you just knew it was going to turn out bad just because we know who really killed Joe "The Boss" Masseria. I guess I feel bad for Katie.

Agreed - I thought that was a great scene. You almost feel sorry for Izaak with him losing Viktor and now the brotherhood has turned on him. He rightly acknowledges that Dexter saved him by taking out George's hitter but he still harbors the need to take out our guy. The story definitely has some depth. If you haven't seen it already, make sure to catch Ray Stevenson in "Kill The Irishman". It's based on a true story about Danny Greene in Cleveland. Lots of great actors in a good mob story. Back to Dexter... man, I guess we weren't done with the "Deb loves Dexter" story. Ick. The end was something I don't think we've seen before from this show. The montage of what was happening with so many characters just to remind us what is happening: Deb is troubled by everything and will enjoy a couple tokes with Astor. Quinn is still a mess. LaGuerta is right there with putting Dexter as the BHB. And hey, Angel will have his bar! I'd hang out there.

So it was Amy, Jim, and Lori who Rick heard on the line. Who was the other? Was there another? Thoughts on this episode: I'm glad Daryl found Carol. I like their weird relationship. The Governor is one evil dude. Sending a death-squad after Michonne was definitely the wrong move. Eventually Andrea will find out. Andrea has horrible taste in men. Michonne is now with the prison group. I'm looking forward to a conversation between her and Axel. Bad news for Glen & Maggie... I hope things work out for them. That girl with the bow on the wall was going to be an Olympian? Really? She might have the worst aim in the history of the show. Two more episodes left for the first half of season 3. I figure there will be a huge thing or a cliff-hanger for S3E8.

I had something similar a few years ago. My spine was out of alignment to the point of someone telling me I looked "bent". I lost 35 pounds and did a little yoga. I stretch regularly. That did the trick for me. But someone your age shouldn't be suffering like that. Do you sit in a bad chair at work?

Gotcha. I'm going to have to watch this one again. I haven't read the graphic novels but I know that Michonne has a large fan following. I'm interested to see what happens with her. The Darryl/Merle meeting is another thing I'm looking forward to seeing.

It was an old-school phone that ran on a common-battery setup, so it's possible for the phone to ring even when there's no power. I set up something similar in my old office in Syracuse when we lost power for a week after that huge storm hit in September of '98. Andrea didn't seem to thrilled with the whole idea of "Walker Gladiators". Spolierish question:

Wait - T-Dog played at Georgia & teammate Hines Ward was in the last episode? Link Wow.

Nice to Det. Linden getting some work. Apparently her frumpy brown sweater was not attached to this film.

They've now revisited every season except Season 3 with Miguel Prado and the Skinner. It seemed obvious that Hanna wasn't going to be a victim but where they go from here is anyone's guess. Isaak will surely be walking the streets soon. Does Dex get Hanna's help in taking him down? She has the blood of at least 3 people on her hands but is now Dexter's first love interest since Lumen. Still waiting on LaGuerta to piece everything together.

I missed the solar panels. The power I was referring to was the tanks at the end and the reference to hot water for showers. They might have a gas supply for heating the water but they'd still need something to power pumps for pressure. Also, whatever the scientist/tea brewer was doing required some electrical equipment. The whole idea of an oasis like this run by a megalomaniacal dude like the Governor is intriguing.