Giving Thanks!

Though my immigration paperwork is still pending over at good ol' Homeland Security HQ, I have no qualms about giving "thanks" over this, arguably the most American of holidays (complete with Thanksgiving and Black Friday). And though the accompanying pictures make me realise it's time for some brand spanking new bake ware, Thanksgiving 2007 was a complete success.

This year however I thought it particularly appropriate to thank those who have made this day ever so special:

To the good folks over at Spago (and I suppose Wolfgang himself) for the turkey, a perk given to all the restaurant's staff. And then to my mum (and British TV cooking goddess Delia Smith) for the whys and hows of cooking said bird (it's all about the butter and bacon).

To Brian for probably the tastiest potatoes in the world. All the way from Lititz, PA in Pennsylvania Dutch county, lifted from a recipe book compiled by the folks at his mum's school. Shredded hash brown potatoes, sour cream, cream of chicken soup and corn flakes, there's nothing better.

To Carmen, Joe's ex-sister-in-law for her candied yams. Not too sweet and nice and crunchy. Deliciousity.

And finally to Essie, for giving Joe her mom's sausage and cornbread stuffing recipe, which, although it includes celery (not a favourite of mine), also has pecans, cranberries and walnuts. Though, according to my Joe, it's the fresh herbs that really give it it's kick.

Since it now seems questionable as to whether or not tryptophan really makes one sleepy, we decided to conduct a very unscientific experiment, with Bentley as our test subject, feeding the pup his own plate of turkey and gravy.

And the result...

One zonked out puptophan...

Stuck on the 10!

Talking of Doctor Who, remember that season 3 episode Gridlock where the Doctor and Martha find them selves stuck with the cat people in a decades long traffic jam on "The Motorway" in New New York. That's how I felt earlier today when I very sillily decided to take the 10 back from Santa Monica.

Less than an hour earlier I'd taken the 10 west to pick up a couple of things at West Elm, and the traffic going back east seemed pretty light. As soon as I drove off the ramp however I knew I'd made a major mistake, immediately hitting five packed lanes of slow-moving traffic, at only 20 to 4 in the afternoon. It took almost an hour to drive the less than 8 miles of freeway to the La Cienega exit (where the on and off ramps collide - great road planning people).

And people do this everyday!

Are they crazy?

Back with Who: Time Crash!

Presented by BBC TV presenter Terry Wogan (the man who made US 80's super-soap Dallas a huge hit in the UK) and bi-sexual hottie Captain Jack, was the following exclusive filmed for the Beeb's annual Children In Need charity appeal:


"You know what Doctor, you were my Doctor!"

Yes, that's the 5th Doctor played by Peter Davison, fresh from All Creatures Great and Small, complete with celery, cricket whites and trainers. And yes, he was my Doctor too! The one I too grew up with!

KPCC at 89.3

When 98.7's Jamie, Jack & Stench was unceremoniously taken off the air back in January, I searched the dial for a new morning radio show, and came across KPCC at 89.3, the local NPR station in Pasadena. I know a lot of the cool kids in SoCal seem to prefer KCRW with it's Morning Becomes Eclectic ditties, but I've always prefered talk radio (a la Radio 4 back in the UK), so I stuck with Morning Edition, Day to Day and AirTalk on KPCC.

Today is (supposedly) the last day of the fundraising effort with the intention of capping out at 9,000 members. I not sure I really believe Larry Mantle, Steve Julien et al. when they tell listeners they're not there to make us feel guilty during KPCC's Fall Member Drive. Hence, for the first time this morning I threw my hat into the ring, became a KPCC member and pledged my support.

Yes, they made me feel real guilty!

UKBFF: "James L" Wins!

Sunday night's light-heavy (90 kilo) class at the UKBFF British Championships in Nottingham was apparently a very close competition with James "Flex" Lewis just narrowly beating out James Llewellin. Fan consensus seemed to be that while Llewellin did have more upper body thickness, Flex took it with tighter rear shots (particular his lower back and glutes), better conditioning, and generally a more aesthetic shape.

Flex also took on heavyweight monster Darren Ball to win the overall and in so doing earned himself a pro card (yeah). He can now go play with the real big boys!

And finally Flex really took the bull by the horns by proposing to girlfriend Shina (who Joe and I met along with Flex at the 2007 Fit Expo in Pasadena last February). She of course said yes! Congrats to both of them!

Writing on his thread earlier today Llewellin was the most gracious runner up:

"I had an absolute ball. I loved every single minute of it and when my name was read out in second place I knew the right decision had been made. For all the talk and hype, I knew it was Flex's time and he deserved it thoroughly."

Words of a true champion, a man with real class, and one who I'm sure will come back bigger 'n' badder than ever. Good on yer James!

The Other "James L"

There's another "James L" competing in the light heavy's at tomorrow's UKBFF championships.

On Wednesday I posted some video of James "Flex" Lewis taken last weekend. Pictured here is another Brit also competing in the under 90 kilos (198.4 lbs) class. This "James L" is James Llewellin, overall winner at the UKBFF Birmingham qualifier back in August, and quite a force to be reckoned with back in the UK.

I've been sporadically follwoing this James' progress by reading his contest prep thread over at the UK-Muscle forums. This thread is probably one of the most informative and frank discussions on bodybuilding (from diet, to training, to supplementation) and consequently certainly something no US competitor would ever write. The guy seems to have great heart, knows his stuff ,and a good and loyal fan base.

It looks like there might just be a real fight on between these two "James L's" for overall domination!

Captain America, Not Dead After All!

Can't say I'm exactly surprised. I mean you knew those good folks at Marvel weren't gonna keep one of the all time superhero comic book icons dead forever.

Cap's new duds, designed by legendary comicbook artist Alex Ross, will debut in the January issue of Captain America, #34. This new (and improved) Cap (whoever he may be) will sport not only the classic shield, but also a knife and (for the first time in the comics) a gun!

Since writer Ed Brubaker and the folks at Marvel insist that good ol' Steve Rogers is well and truly dead (assasinated by his lover in Captain America #25), just who is this new Cap? My money's on former sidekick and current Winter Soldier, Bucky, but I suppose we'll just have to keep on reading and wait until January to find out!