Titans of Science Fiction

Ridley* Scott’s prequel to Alien, Prometheus, begins as a grand quest to discover the origins of life until, inevitably, it all goes horribly,horribly wrong. [Spoilers?]

Movie Week #5: Prometheus

The ‘Alien’ movies, especially the first two, were seminal movie-going experiences for people of my age.  I was 12 when ‘Alien‘ was released.  I vividly remember the TV commercials for it – the minute I realized which commercial it was, I’d run to hide behind the TV set.  Needless to say, the ‘Alien’ series left a strong impression, and I count the first two among my favorite movies of all time.  So, when Ridley Scott decided to re-visit the Alien universe, I was torn – would ‘Prometheus‘ be another glorious film a la ‘Alien’, or would it be a disaster?  Read on to find my take on it…. {SPOILER ALERT – I will discuss plot elements – BEWARE]

The Memory of Grilling

David and I cooked this meal before I went on my family vacation last week. Free Blogging tip : Write stuff as it happens. A week of vacation is a lot of new memories.

We’ve had a great early spring here in Minnesota so our meal this time had to be on the Grill. It was David’s turn to host so he got the main course, which was some awesome kabobs with chicken, grilled veggies, and chunks of salmon. I’ll let him tell you about those recipes, but suffice it to say they were all delicious. David’s grilled veggies are what I have set the bar at for vegetables on the grill. He marinades them in oil and spices ahead of time and now I don’t believe there is any other way they should be grilled.

Cooking Week #5: The First Grilling of the Season

The summer season doesn’t really begin until you have your first chance to grill something.  This year we went the shish-kabob route, with speared veggies, salmon and chicken, in various flavors.  Mike brought a great grilled pear salad for a side dish, and we started the whole thing off with some cheese, bread, and two mayonnaise-based spreads, one with horseradish and the other made with cocktail sauce.  {UPDATED: Now with a recipe for the Berbere sauce for the grilled chicken!}

Drinking Week #4: Vanilla Rum, Part 1

This post is by necessity going to be brief and incomplete.  For our very first Drinks Week a few months ago I posted my method for making limoncello.  The other liqueur that I make on a regular basis is a Vanilla Rum.  It’s a nice sipping rum, with lots of vanilla flavor.  This post will detail the start of the procedure, and next month I’ll finish up the batch I’m starting here.

Reading Week #4: ‘Edge of Dark Water’ by Joe R. Lansdale

Joe R. Lansdale is one of my top five authors – a favorite from way back. I’ve been reading his books since the late 80s, when I came across a couple of his books in a used book store, and was hooked. So, when it was time to pick the next book for our reading week, I knew that I wanted to review one of his books. Luckily, he had a new release, “Edge of Dark Water“.

Heading South

During the month of May I gave up television and I quickly found my usual screen hours filled up by reading. I went to my usual comfort zone and re-read some great fantasy (Tad Williams, Brent Weeks, etc). I immersed myself in make-believe worlds and while I am not sure this is any less escapism than television would have been it was still quite enjoyable. For our next book review David suggested we leave the science fiction genre and read a novel by Joe Lansdale called Edge of Dark Water. He told me it was “sort of a mystery” and that sounded fine to me.