Happy International Bacon Day! And, the college football season has finally arrived! Woohoo! There were three separate top-25 match-ups at this early point in the season: Texas A&M (#21) vs. South Carolina (#9), Clemson (#16) vs. Georgia (#12), and Wisconsin (#14) vs. LSU (#13)! Let the march to the first College Football Playoffs begin! The Michigan State Spartans (#8 in the preseason polls) opened their season against the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks on Friday night. The Spartans took care of business and will travel to Eugene on Saturday to meet the Ducks of Oregon (#3) for an early season top-10 match-up. The Big Ten had four teams ranked in the preseason polls: Ohio State (#5), Michigan State (#8), Wisconsin (#14) and Nebraska (#22). Go Green!
The upsets this week included:
South Carolina (#9) losing to Texas A&M (#21).
The close calls this week (games that were won by a touchdown or less) included:
Florida State (#1) defeated unranked Oklahoma State by only six (6) points.
LSU (#13) defeated Wisconsin (#14) by only four (4) point.
Washington (#25) defeated unranked Hawaii by only one (1) point.
Top-25 match-ups won by the higher-ranked team included:
LSU (#13) defeating Wisconsin (#14).
Georgia (#12) defeating Clemson (#26).
From A to Z (agnolotti [baby goats] to ziti), there are more than a hundred different shapes of pasta. Who knew? Did you know that orechiette means “little ears,” that vermicelli means “little worms,” that strozzapreti means “stranglers of the priest, and that maltagliati means “badly cut?”
Sometimes, the best advice (or wisdom) in life is brief. And in its brevity, easy to remember and very sensible. Here are several “three word” phrases to live by . . . many of these I already do . . . others, I could stand to do better.
Life is simple.
Keep her happy.
Chew your food.
Drink more water.
Don’t steal stuff.
Ferret aren’t pets.
Check your spelling.
Always say goodbye.
Invest in shoes.
Don’t be creepy.
Finish your swing.
Keep your word.
If late, call.
Stop shaving naked.
Hit the cutoff.
Count to ten.
Don’t hit people.
Ask more questions.
Make out more.
Practice the toast.
Eat more protein.
Study the loss.
Say you’re sorry.
Don’t get sloppy.
Make your point.
Listen, don’t talk.
Tell the truth.
Do your homework.
Lose the earbuds.
Salt pasta water.
It’s not ginormous.
Bring her flowers.
Consider the source.
Stop your whining.
Go all in.
Use vacation time.
Eat more hummus.
Same for guacamole.
Think before posting.
Don’t do drugs.
Take a honeymoon.
Clean your tools.
Facebook isn’t real.
Maintain your focus.
Floss every day.
Hold the door.
Get up early.
Start with layups.
Congratulate the winner.
Having never been married, I certainly have had more than my share of experience with bachelorhood. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining in the least. Over the years I have discovered the freedoms associated with such an existence are pretty darn good and would be hard to give up if this status were to change at some point in my life. I have also acquired over the years a rather cynical outlook on life . . . but what is cynicism? According to Aubrey Dillon-Malone (author of The Cynic’s Dictionary), a cynic is “a disillusioned idealist, and his scathing wit is a way of coping with the great divide between how things ought to be and how they actually are.”
Here are some additional “cynical” definitions of bachelor(s) courtesy of The Cynic’s Dictionary . . . enjoy!
“A man who never gets over the idea that he’s a thing of beauty and a boy forever.” (Helen Rowland)
“A man who never made the same mistake once.” (Anonymous)
“A man who knows that marriage is a device of society designed to make trouble between two people who would otherwise get along very well.” (Anthony Quinn)
“People who never vacuum behind the couch.” (Rita Rudner)
“People who know more about women than married men; if they didn’t, they’d be married too.” (H.L. Mencken)
This is the opening line from the popular song by Frank Loesser that was published in 1950 and introduced in the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls. But exactly how much volume is contained in a bushel and a peck? The answer: roughly ten gallons. A bushel is a standard unit of dry, not liquid, volume most often used in agriculture. A bushel is comprised of 4 pecks or 8 gallons. That’s a lot of fruit or vegetable. If you are looking for something a little smaller, you could always settle for a quart, a punnet, or a pint.
Here is a recipe for deviled eggs that is to die for (courtesy of Nicole [Pinch My Salt] . . . and there is bacon! Yum.
Chipotle Bacon Deviled Eggs
12 eggs, hard-cooked
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt, to taste
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and chopped
smoked paprika for garnish
Cut eggs in half. Arrange egg whites cut side up on a serving plate and put the yolks in a small mixing bowl. Mash yolks with a fork then stir in mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, chipotle chile, and garlic powder. Mash and stir all ingredients together well. Stir in chopped bacon, reserving some pieces to garnish the top of the eggs if desired. Taste and add salt if necessary. I found that these were salty enough with the bacon added, but it depends on your taste. Spoon some of the filling into each egg white half, dividing the mixture as evenly as possible between the eggs. Sprinkle eggs with smoked paprika and garnish with bacon pieces. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
A couple of months ago, I posted the one-man Les Miserables. Well, here is a wonderful medley of songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera sung by one person — Nick Pitera — what a versatile voice (and talk about a range with a fabulous falsetto) — Bravo! Well done!
These two hobbies (food lover and movie lover) seem to go hand-in-hand and I know that I am not alone when it comes to both of these passions. Numerous movies have been released over the years that are set in either kitchens and/or restaurants or about food and/or drink. Just this year there have been “Chef” and “The Hundred-Foot Journey.” Some of my other favorites include:
Babette’s Feast
Ratatouille
Like Water for Chocolate
Chocolat
Fried Green Tomotoes
Soylent Green
Julie & Julia
Who’s Killing the Great Chefs of Europe
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
Bon Appetit
No Reservations
To name a few . . . What are your favorite food movies?
I read this book (Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman) several years ago and just recently discovered that several leadership competencies had been identified for each of the four fundamental EI capabilities.
Self-Awareness
Emotional self-awareness
Accurate self-assessment
Self-confidence
Self-Management
Self-control
Trustworthiness
Conscientiousness
Adaptability
Achievement orientation
Initiative
Social Awareness
Empathy
Organizational awareness
Service Orientation
Social Skills
Visionary leadership
Influence
Developing others
Communication
Change catalyst
Conflict management
Building bonds
Teamwork and collaboration
Here’s a link to a more in-depth look at these competencies (from the book Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (by Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee).
Happy International Bacon Day! And, the college football season has finally arrived! Woohoo! There were three separate top-25 match-ups at this early point in the season: Texas A&M (#21) vs. South Carolina (#9), Clemson (#16) vs. Georgia (#12), and Wisconsin (#14) vs. LSU (#13)! Let the march to the first College Football Playoffs begin! The Michigan State Spartans (#8 in the preseason polls) opened their season against the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks on Friday night. The Spartans took care of business and will travel to Eugene on Saturday to meet the Ducks of Oregon (#3) for an early season top-10 match-up. The Big Ten had four teams ranked in the preseason polls: Ohio State (#5), Michigan State (#8), Wisconsin (#14) and Nebraska (#22). Go Green!
The Gun-Carryin' Librarian 