In the Neighborhood

Within walking distance of my home is a stretch of road littered with fast food joints. There are three fried chicken options -- Popeyes, Kentucky Fried, and best of all Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles.



Mmm, just typing about Roscoe's makes my mouth water. Chicken and Waffles is such a great combo of savory, sweet, and greasy. But alas, I don't eat like that any more. Also in the vicinity, you can find McDonald's, Burger King, and some icky place I boycott because the company gives money to right wing causes and uses Paris Hilton, the anorexic, non-eating dumbass that she is, to sell its artery-blocking garbage.

Standing tall, side by side with the rest, is the only fast food VEGETARIAN!!! drive-thru I know of.



I recommend the Orean veggie burger. With hot sauce, it's way better than Boca and Garden Burgers. It's made from nuts and grains and comes on a whole wheat bun. I've tried some other items too. Remember, if you get a salad, you need to tell them to hold the fake cheese stuff. (Yuck -- fake cheese! Why bother? Why not just eat gum wrappers with soy margarine slathered on?) My roommate swears by the African Quesadilla. Personally, I don't care for it as it has the funny textured protein stuff in it. Get baked fries with any order, and you'll be good to go.

More Updates

Xui posted a link to this column about supporting the war. I thought it was funny, and I'm passing on the information because I'm worried my readers, who don't regularly read The New Agency, might miss it. Mom, Eli's mom -- enjoy.

Also, I changed the comments requirements for Sheff's Special. I was getting splogged (I think that's what it's called when people post really lame ads in your comments). For now, you'll have to type in some letters to confirm you're putting thought into your remarks. It's supposed to slow people down who go for fast volume. They'll decide it's not worth it to mess with me. The alternative, as I can see it, is making people register with blogger. My tech guy is looking into other measures as well.

Finally, I think we're all due for an action shot of Pac'a. It's been a while.

Special Birthday Wishes

Today is Sheff's mom's birthday.

Lately, I've been thinking of things I can't do that my mom can. I hope there's enought time and intelligence in my brain to learn them.

Here's what I need my mom to teach me how to do:

- Can tomatoes (do you need to take the seeds out? I never even thought of that, but I bet my mom has);

- Make Jam and jelly from fresh fruit (I've got freezer jam covered, but I'd like to make a canned preserve that can sit on the shelf for a few months);

- Clean freshly caught fish (for now, I can go to Whole Foods, but what if someone brings me something fresh? I don't know what to do);

- Correctly i.d. almost all birds, flowers, plants, trees, mushrooms, and wildlife forms; and

- Read faster than anyone on the planet (Elias reminded me of this nifty trick).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Updates

I want to see The Brothers Grimm directed by Terry Gilliam. I've been a fan ever since I watched Time Bandits over and over again (twice at the Ukiah 4 Theater and dozens of times on cable on video rental).

It looks like that new movie, The Cave, is about caves and has nothing to do with Plato and shadows. So take it off your list, Eli.

There's no sense in my writing about So You Think You Can Dance again (especially since I'm engaged in an extensive discussion over at the New Agency; see its review of the latest show). All other t.v. sucks these days.

Elias and I are working on singing a song for an upcoming performance in front of people. I'm kind of freaked out, but encouraged by Eli's patience and direction. He's going to be such an awesome teacher.

I'm loving Izze pear soda these days. Mmm. With the heat and my recent sickness, I've not been that into cooking and solid foods. I finally started eating some of the tomatoes I grew. Otherwise, not much to report. When fall comes, I'll be excited about food again.

Anna Eng And I Are Getting Old

My dear friend Anna is 30 years plus one day old today.

Anna is great for so many reasons.

I can always count on Anna for honest, emotionally and ideologically charged discussions about welfare and the roles and obligations of government. We get into it about organized labor too.

Make no mistake, she has my back, and for that I am grateful. When I was doped up on painkillers last March, she helped me out in the driving department. With my latest illness, she made sure I kept up on nutrition. Also, she's a teacher about things biblical. Also, who else will go on basketball dates with me and Eli? (Basketball dates are outings to bars so Elias can watch games that come on cable. Knitting and drinking beer alone is kind of boring, and Anna has graciously come to keep me company on more than one occasion.)

I met Anna at a work function she attended as an outside community organizer and professional agitator. Immediately, I liked her. She had a good take on all the b.s. that surrounds do-good work. Also, her familiarity with the northwest is exactly the kind of thing I need in Southern California.

In conclusion, Anna is lovely, beautiful, and has finally joined me in the thirtysomething club.

What I'm Watching

So You Think You Can Dance is kicking into gear. I like the show, but it's been a little uneven. I'm glad they narrowed it down to 16 because, so far, it's been hard to get a good look at the dancers. The separate groups and rooms has meant that some dancers are on a lot. Others don't get much airtime at all.

I like hearing from the teacher/judges more than I like watching candid shots and interpersonal drama from the dancers. However, I have not overlooked the fact that both the hip hop teachers are white. The ballroom teacher, Mary Murphy, is a trip -- kind of fussy and judgmental but forgiving and gracious too. The modern (or is it lyrical?) teacher doesn't mince words. She is so kind and supportive of the dancers she likes and so cold and dismissive of others -- really dismissive.

I can't really tell yet who I think will win. Allen (Big Daddy) won't, I'm sure. Neither will Ryan, the b-boy with the spiky hair or Sandra, the tapdancer who reminds me of my roommate. I hope it's not Blake even though he is really good. I'm really curious about Jonathan. Because of the groups and rooms focus, Jonathan hasn't had a lot of air play, not a fraction of what we've seen from Allen and Blake. Here's a current play list so you can keep up.

What's Happening?

It seems like I have hardly written a thing lately. I've relied on Eli, my special friend, do most of the ranting here. I've been feeling kind of bored with the world around me -- sick of the same old same old in politics and celebrity gossip.

Also, I suffered an intense stomach flu about which I shall spare you any details. I will tell you that it is remarkable that I watched all that daytime t.v. and didn't write about each talk show and commercial I saw. O.K., I'll share one observation. I tuned into some soap opera I can't name or describe, but I watched it for a few minutes just to be sure I wasn't in a fever inspired hallucination. The leading good-guy men in it looked scruffy. They all had those patchy short beards worn by 16-year old guys who want to look like that guy married to Britney Spears. No offense to anyone, but I don't like that look.

Now that I'm better, I'm looking forward to rejoining the world. I'd like see Broken Flowers. Eli saw it. Maybe he'll write something about it. I'd also like to see 2046, but I still haven't seen In the Mood for Love. I hear it's a prerequisite. LA Weekly reviewed both.

Eli's Saved

No need for the "Save Kathy" t-shirts. Eli, aka SSF, just saw Battlefield Earth on DVD and says it sucks. I think he might over his sci-fi religion phase we all witnessed in last weeks postings.