Saturday, May 19, 2012
Here's gooey, chocolatey recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth.
There is no darker place than the mind of a chocolate mad teenager. So deep is my daughter's love of chocolate that she can tell the difference in taste and texture of nearly every market-variety brand chocolate and quite a few artisan offerings. Many a time I've brought home a treat and I've been told that it had the wrong cacoa percentage. Really? Is your palette that sophisticated? Well, apparently it is. One of the things that I strive to achieve as a parent is a little culinary independence. I have always encouraged my kids to experiment in the kitchen and make some of their own creations. My daughter is turning into quite a baker because of her deep seeded love of chocolate. Last week was no exception. I brought home a perfectly good…
It's fun and games with the "un-dead" and Johnny Depp.
Anyone remember “camp’? No, not summer camp or camping out in Yellowstone: good old-fashioned, over-the-top, no-holds barred “camp” as in...well, as in Tim Burton’s latest assault on our visual senses, Dark Shadows. The late Susan Sontag wrote in her essay “Notes on Camp” that the style’s trademarks were “artifice, frivolity, naive middle-class pretentiousness, and ‘shocking’ excess.” All the preceding and more can be applied in spades to Dark Shadows. I have not seen a single episode of the famed (aka infamous) daytime TV soap opera that fueled the inspiration for this inglorious mess, and whether that counts as a plus or minus depends on your tolerance for such fare. I came with a blank slate, mixed expectations after somewhat tepid …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Raising kids in this day and age can be a challenge.
When they say, “What goes around, comes around,” they must have had me in mind. That’s because I gave my parents a certain degree of difficulty during my teen years. Now, I have double that trouble, since I have two teens at home. The good news is that one of them will be heading off to college in six months. The bad news is that the one left behind is as or more difficult than his older college-bound brother. My mom always said that familiar parenting saying, expressed differently by so many people, which went something like, “The aliens took you (when I became a teen) and returned you sometime in your mid-twenties.” But, on looking back, I tend to think my rebelliousness was a lot milder than that of my two boys and a lot milder than …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Surprise Mom by making one of these delicious meals.
Mother's Day is this Sunday... so what do you have planned? Why not surprise her with a homemade brunch. Nothing says "I love you, Mom" like taking the time to make her a special meal on her special day. If you've decided on making our Mind Over Platter Mother's Day omelette but need something to go with it, below are four recipes that are easy to make and allow the kids to join in the fun. Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: Preparation: Peel and chop onion with the help of your assistant. Pour oil into Dutch oven or large saucepan. Place pot on burner. Turn heat to medium. Heat oil for 1 minute. Add onions to hot oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon, for 5 minutes…
It's mom's special day. When Mom's happy, we're all happy.
So my darling husband asked me yesterday, a scant three days before Mother's Day, what I wanted to honor my awesomeness. For those of you who think it might be cutting it a bit close, this is a vast improvement over past years, as he usually asks me at about 10:30 p.m. the night before. As I pondered the question, so many options ran through my mind. World harmony, inner peace, the sudden and miraculous loss of 50 extra pounds. Yeah, that would be sweet! On a more practical level, I'd like a new camera body, the Canon EOS 60D or the 7D, but I won't be picky, either one would make me very happy. Those all sound like really great gifts in my mind, but I think I want what every mom wants on Mother's Day. I want to know that I'm loved and …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Trying to get through vacation without the device I always carry with me.
Note: This column was written while on vacation for nine days at the start of April. I have just embarked on a heli-skiing trip to the Cariboo Mountains. I chose NOT to bring my iPhone. First, I had thought there was no reception at the lodge. Second, every time I go to Canada, I incur stupid charges that piss me off. And, third, I thought it would be a great experiment to go without it. AAARRRGGGHHH!!! It’s been three hours and I’m going crazy! No, just kidding. It’s been all day and while I have reached in my pocket for my iPhone a few times, the frequency is diminishing. So far, the biggest problem is knowing the time, since I have become used to checking the time on my iPhone rather than wear a watch, much like most kids do these days…
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Learn the secret to Mrs. Goldsmith's guacamole.
Now I'd like to think that living in Arizona for six years has given me the edge in guacamole preparation, but the credit—or at least the inspiration—has to go to the mother of a friend of mine, Mrs. Goldsmith. Don't let her name fool you, she was extremely proud of her Mexican heritage (Goldsmith is her married name), and she lays claim to making the best homemade salsa and guacamole ever! Seriously. I believe her secret was her garden fresh vegetables and years of practicing the art of creating the perfect blend of avocado, tomato and spices. I have very fond memories of nursing away a Saturday night hangover at her home for Sunday brunch featuring chorizo and eggs and huge bowls of her guac and salsa. While I haven't seen her in years…
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Not enough men get the kind of support they need from other men.
As a dad advocate that means I’m also a man advocate. Years of doing “men’s work” have taught me much, but top of the list is the fact that men need other men in their lives. A great way to have men in your life is to be part of a men’s group. There are many kinds of men’s groups. After you’ve read and agreed with this list, go out and find one that is right for you. The sad generality is that as men get older, have families, and get involved in their careers, they tend to allow their male friendships to drift. Or they become friendships around carousing: poker games, trips to Vegas, golf, or other hobbies/sports. Do men get together and “Shoot the sh*t?” like women regularly do? You know the answer. I’m a believer in the non-PC notion …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
See this and find yourself uttering, "Oh, how sweet!"
I knew that sooner or later, I’d see a movie with REAL animals and think to myself, “Wow! What wonderful CGI’s or animatronics.” Blame it on years of seeing films such as Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Men in Black, to name just a few. We’ve all been bombarded for so long by the artifice of films that reality comes as a sharp slap to the mind. One of the pleasures of the new documentary Chimpanzee is to remind us that no matter how far visual technology has come since the dawn of the computer age, there ‘aint nothing like the real thing, baby. Although probably equally suited to home viewing with the kids, the film is gorgeously shot in the rain forests of the Ivory Coast, although Gabon and Uganda are listed in the credits as well. Take your…
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Bruce compares the new movie 'Chimpanzee' to real life.
I’ve often dissed Hollywood and Madison Avenue for their depictions of dads, and men in general, for that matter. It is still not optimal, but it is changing for the better. How surprising to me that the best current portrayal of a father-son relationship came in a documentary about chimpanzees! Yes, the DisneyNature movie, Chimpanzee, does their usual Disney formula of killing off a parent. But this time it’s mom and this time dad steps up. Not reluctantly, but with pride and purpose. And this time it was real and not a writer’s choice. I loved the movie. I loved how they captured the family structure, world and highs and lows of life in the rain forest. And, no, they did not choose the story–the story chose them. It was indeed #IRL–In …
Rich Manners
4:25 pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Mr. Sallan tells it like it is, especially here in American society. In our culture, men are taught that being "manly" means to be tough, a lone wolf, depending on no one and bottling up feelings inside, especially those deemed by the culture as feminine or weak: fear, sadness, empathy, despair and many others. To me, real men are those who are strong enough to admit their "weaker" emotions to … more ›