Evolution...with a laugh!

I've already voiced my thoughts on evolution a while back...but this image cracked me up!

Lady & Son’s Chicken in Wine Sauce!

As an unemployed boomer…I have some free time on my hands…especially if I’m not playing Grand-dad!   So one day I’m surfing the cable channels and came across this beauty.   I’m no cook…but 10 minutes prep (ok...maybe 20 to 30 at least for me)…and 45 minutes in the oven…and rated easy on the Food Network…I had to give it a try.   Made it that day, and it was totally devoured within 2 hours from emerging from the oven!   That was a few years ago and I've made it for the umpteenth time!   Made it again today!   It's become a family favorite.

You can find Paula Dean’s original recipe (and video) here...but here’s what I did in simple layman’s terms.   Like I said…I’m no cook…but I’ve got a few dishes up my sleeve!

The Ingredients:

• 1 package of Perdue’s "Perfect Portions" chicken breasts (there are 5 pieces in the package)…I'm told that they're a little expensive...but then again...little to no fat, thus little to no getting rid of the fat! 
• 1 ½ cans of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup. This time I used the “herbed” variety. 
• 7 slices of Swiss Cheese (if using the Perdue’s prepared chicken) 
• ½ cup of wine wine (I used a moderately price Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc…$.799…ok…a cheap bottle of Sauvignon Blanc) 
• 1+ cup of “herbed bread crumbs” (I used Pepperidge Farm's…both of my wife’s uncles worked there for decades!) 
• Kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder (you figure out how much…see the preparation below) 
• 6 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

The Process:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees 
• Cut the 5 Perdue pieces in half (don’t ask why…it just worked out better and I think stretches the serving size options) 
• Sprinkle the chicken with the salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides 
• Spray a casserole pan (3 quart pan???) with “butter spray”…I used Pam
• Place the chicken in the pan 

• Add the 7 swiss cheese slices so that they cover the chicken 

• Mix the wine and soup together 
• Pour the wine/soup mixture over the cheese and cover all the cheese/chicken combo 
• Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top 
• Sprinkle melted butter over the top of the breadcrumbs 
• Place in oven for 45 minutes

Viola!
Throw in some roasted small red potatoes, some steamed asparagus and the mandatory "jellied" cranberry sauce...and damn!   The leftovers (when there are any)…are over the top!

Postscript:
OK...so probably not the healthiest, especially if you're on a diet!   I'm not...but I definitely should be!   Butter, bread crumbs, condensed cream of chicken soup...and did I mention the Swiss cheese?   But still damn good!

PS: Next time I think I'll add a few more bread crumbs!

The Congressional Reform Act???

Perhaps you've received some e-mails on the suggested "Congressional Reform Act" (of 2011 and 2012) supposedly authored and initiated by Mr. Warren Buffet.   When I first received it...I was furious about these supposed congressional injustices.   Read on...

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

"A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office."

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

"All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately.   All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.   It may not be used for any other purpose."

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.

Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12.

"The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women."

"Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work."

Postscript:
Doesn't this sound great?   Let's get them!   Then I calmed down and decided to google "The Congressional Reform Act" and learned that all these accusations were not true.

But what is true still pisses me off especially given the f**ked up state of Congress.   They're at an impass on almost everything.   It's not about what's good for America...it about what's good for their party...especially the right wing and their teabagger supporters!

Bigger things are Poppin’ at Pipsnacks!

A new flavor has been added to their roster…Big G!

Now you can order PIPCORN online! To go!

People…things are pippin’ and poppin’ at PIPSNACKS!   This is really good stuff.   If you happen to be in Brooklyn on any Saturday through November, check them out at Smorgasburg!   Their Rosemary PIPCORN is still my favorite…but I still need to taste me some of their new “Big G”!

God & the Millennials

Not so sure that it has "plummeted"...but it's definitely falling.   Interesting.   Details here!

Father’s Day postscript…

All I wanted was potato salad…but I got a beautiful, awesome card!   Probably the best ever!

And a great DVD too!

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday, my wife and I were sitting at the kitchen table.   I think she was perusing through the newspaper’s various supermarket circulars…ie…what’s on sale this weekend.   I was looking out the window thinking about a lot of stuff and daydreaming.

I’m not that big of a fan on all the hoopla around Father’s Day (or even my birthday for that matter).   I like to fly under the radar.   So I was thinking…think ahead…if the Mrs. or my local daughter…as opposed to my foreign daughter (she’s in Germany)…asked me what I wanted for Father’s Day…my answer was going to be…potato salad.   Plain and simple!   No gifts…no dinner out…no nothin’…just potato salad…my all time favorite!   I knew sooner or later that question was going to be asked!   Again…at that very moment, I was just thinking and daydreaming.

Within the next 30 seconds…my wife looked at me and said “I’m thinking about making some potato salad for you for Father’s Day”!   I damn near fell of the chair!   I then told her what I was thinking about…at the time of her potato salad announcement.   Amazing!   That’s what 38 years will do!

OK…fast forward 24 hours and Happy Father’s Day!   She’s off to the supermarket, sales circulars in hand…and I’m thinking about the fatherless…and blogging.   It’s a very beautiful…cool calm day.   I got a call from both daughters and spoke to both son-in-laws.   What more could I ask for.   Just the way I wanted it…with no big hoopla!

So who could think that taking some of these basic ingredients; potatoes, eggs, celery and red peppers…

And throwing in some mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar, relish…and of course some salt and pepper and a dash of paprika and a few other of her secret ingredients…massaging it all…(yeah…I said massaging not mixing) and it turns into this!

Add some slow cooked ribs (in the oven…no less…not BBQ’d) and some jerked chicken wings along with some baked beans and grilled sweet corn and viola!   So what’s wrong with this picture?   The Mrs. says it needed some fresh tomatoes…for color!

I didn’t need any color!   And the good news…there are leftovers!

Happy Father’s Day!

The Fatherless...

Hey…I’ve got two awesome daughters and one hell of a grandson.   So I’m a happy “Dad”, “Daddy”, “Dude”, “Pop Dukes”!

I have a lot to be thankful for!   I wish all (if not most) of the children in America…(or for that matter...the world) could wish their Dads’ a Happy Fathers Day…but it just ain’t so.   You can do your own research and google “fatherless”.   Here are some things I found.   Children from fatherless (single parent) homes account for:

• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders 
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children 
• 71% of all high school dropouts 
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers 
•  63% of youth suicides And the list goes on!   

Like I said, do your own research but these are depressing statistics.   So to you families with a Dad…or even two Dads…a really Happy Fathers Day.   Big props to JCPenny (and One Million Moms…go f**k yourselves)!

I know there are exceptions to this rule (of fatherless homes) …but I guess overall, more often than not…two is better than one.   I think I’m one of those exceptions of the two versus one rule.   Overall…I think I turned out okay….but a lot of unanswered questions still remain unanswered…and I’m certain I’ll go to my grave not knowing some of the specifics.

My parents divorced in the mid 50s.   That was unheard of back then…at least in my neighborhood.   As a young boy…I didn’t know anyone else whose parents were divorced…and I never knew (and still don’t know) why my parent’s marriage ended in divorce.   At the time (I was nine years old), my Mom told me that my Dad had moved out a few years earlier so that we could have more room in our small apartment.   At that time, she didn’t use the word separation and I believed her hook…line…and sinker!   No questions asked…but it affected me.   In a way, it still does.

When I was 16…I finally asked her what the deal was with her and my father…that’s when she told me they had divorced years ago…when I was nine.   Like I said…I don’t know why.   My Mom claims that the war (WWII) had changed my Dad.   He was drafted and was sent overseas while my Mom was pregnant with my older brother.   My Dad’s mother died while he was overseas and he couldn’t return for her funeral.   So it was a lot of stuff.   I’m sure there was more to it than just that…fell out of love maybe…PTSD???   The fact that my grandfather, Dad’s father-in-law, had moved in with us in that small apartment?   Who knows?

I think I was born exactly nine months after his return from his overseas’ WWII duty…1946.   Nine years later…they were divorced.   Like I said…I still don’t know exactly why…and at this point, in all likelihood I never will.   They both died over 20+ years ago.

Europe, Brazil & Japan - Obamanations?

Aside from Greece, it appears as though most of Europe would like to see a second term for the President.   The Brazilians and Japanese seem to love him as well….not so much in the Middle East though.   Details at the Pew Research.

Loving vs. Virginia - Happy 45th!

Today's the 45th anniversary of the ruling on Loving vs. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage.

Mildred Loving died on May 2, 2008.   I just found out that we share the same birthday!   So from now on…I will think of you Mildred and have a toast to you and your husband on our birthday.   Here are some words from Mrs. Loving prior to her death.   Perhaps her words and their case laid the groundwork for marriage equality?

“Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the 'wrong kind of person' for me to marry.   I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry.   Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others.   Especially if it denies people's civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life.   I support the freedom to marry for all.   That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about."

Rest in Peace Mildred Loving!

She Votes!

From illustrator Favianna Rodriguez.   You can download a free copy of the poster here...and learn more about Favianna here!   I'm lovin' this!

Broken & Obsolete...Immigation in America

I’ve been a big fan of Fareed Zakaria.   I just read his article, regarding his opinion on immigration, in last weeks’ Time Magazine.   You may…or may not agree with Mr. Zakaria…but reading the article is time well spent…IMHO!

“As the American economy sags, the race for the presidency gets tighter--except in one dimension.   Hispanic Americans continue to support Barack Obama by an astonishing 61%-to-27% margin.   Were Obama to win, it might well be because of his attitudes on one issue: immigration.   But it is an issue on which he will be unable to enact any of his preferences, let alone those policies that many Latinos support.   The Republican Party has taken a tough stand on the topic.   Democrats have their own bright lines.   That means America's immigration system is likely to stay as it is right now--utterly broken.”

Read the full article here…and there’s a one hour special, hosted by Zakaria, on CNN tonight!

"I'm sorry!"...an apology...

OK…quite honestly…in my case...I don’t think you or anyone else might be impressed!   But that's another story!   See entry below!

Brilliant…absolutely brilliant.   Oldest daughter tweeted this one!

David Fullarton…you are a genius...and I love your work/illustrations!

The Transition...

I don’t know when it actually happened.   It wasn’t any particular day…month or year…but for the majority of us male baby boomers…I think it eventually happens!   On February 8, 1988, I quit smoking…cold turkey!   I think that was the beginning of end or the start of the transition.

Perhaps all those years of smoking had cut back on my appetite.   During that next week or so…my head was buried in the refrigerator and I ate damn near everything in sight.   Up until that time, I had smoked for over twenty five years and I was exceeding over 2 packs a day!!!   They cost a dollar a pack back in those days!

I was a consistent 183 pounds for the previous 20 years!   No exercise…no nothin’!   I think the newly evolved (1987) love affair with rum (Bacardi LIGHT please)…and tonic...Schwepps diet…(yeah I said diet) didn’t help matters either!   (Try this combo and you’ll never go back…throw in a slice of lime…and you’re one step away from heaven!)   But I digress!

What transition you may ask?   Smoking cessation?   Giving up the gin & tonic for the rum & tonic?   I only wish that were the case!   There is a certain point in time, for many of us male baby boomers, that you and your loved ones no longer refer to your mid-section as your stomach!

Why?   For those of you that may have been lucky enough to have had a stomach (or worse yet…abs) at one point in your life…it’s no longer there!   It just went away!   So what happened?   Where did that stomach or those abs go?   Well my friend…they evolved.   They transitioned.

Hello world…where the f**k has my stomach gone?   For that matter…where have my genitals gone?   I can barely see them anymore!   Oh…let me look in the mirror.   Yes!   I see them!   Thank god!

They’re still there…but the stomach ain't!

Hello…BELLY!

Damn!

Post script:
Perhaps there is still a stomach in my future…despite my age!   Stomach…perhaps!   Abs?   Who am I kidding!

Oh…as an aside…as the saying goes…”Live and Learn (and google)”…there is a small segment of the male population that loves them some (hairy bellies)!   Who knew?

A straight shooter from Arizona!

Another reason I could never retire there!

Greenwich Concurs d’Elegance

A longtime friend and fraternity brother (that's him in the black cap and sunglasses) participated in the Greenwich Concurs d’Elegance today…a prestigious and awesome event.   He tells me that he’s put about $100K into this 1972 BMW.

Several folks asked him to give them a call if he ever decides to sell it!

Things are Poppin’ at Pipsnacks!

Check them out at:

• Smorgasburg   (Saturdays thru November)
• The Brooklyn Brewery (Sundays)
• And now at the Williamsburg’s Gourmet Guild  (daily)

Want more info?

Click here or here!   This stuff is good!

46% Hold Creationist View of Human Origins!

Forty-six percent of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years.   The prevalence of this creationist view of the origin of humans is essentially unchanged from 30 years ago, when Gallup first asked the question.

About a third of Americans believe that humans evolved, but with God's guidance; 15% say humans evolved, but that God had no part in the process.

God help us!

G. W.’s official portrait unveiled!

If you were a former president of the United States and the time came to have yourself recorded for posterity in an official oil portrait, would you choose to be portrayed next to a smooth-talking horse thief fleeing a lynch mob?   How about pillaging bandits?

Probably not.   Unless, that is, you are George W. Bush.

The official portrait of the 43rd president of the United States by Austin, Texas, painter John Howard Sanden was unveiled at a White House ceremony on Thursday.   In it, Bush's face is shown right next to one of his favorite paintings, which hangs over his right shoulder on an Oval Office wall.   Below the painting his hand rests on a chair-back sporting a golden imperial laurel wreath, ancient symbol of triumph (not included in this shot).

Official portraiture is usually meant to flatter.   Rarely is it so frank as Bush's White House painting.   As reported in The LA Times, the former president said at the unveiling ceremony that the Koerner painting reminded him of all the people he served with during his two terms in office -- a presidency marked by a questionable 2000 election, an unprovoked war, crushing debt, charges of torture and, finally, economic collapse.

Now, thanks to his official portrait, "43" will stare into space for eternity next to a picture of an apparent criminal who is heading for the hills.

Mission accomplished (but that's a whole 'nother story)!

Cardinal Dolan & $20,000 a Pop per Pedophile!

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee.

Questioned at the time about the news that one particularly notorious pedophile cleric had been given a “payoff” to leave the priesthood, Cardinal Dolan, then the archbishop, responded that such an inference was “false, preposterous and unjust.”

But a document unearthed during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and made public by victims’ advocates reveals that the archdiocese did make such payments to multiple accused priests to encourage them to seek dismissal, thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll.

A spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed on Wednesday that payments of as much as $20,000 were made to “a handful” of accused priests “as a motivation” not to contest being defrocked. The process, known as “laicization,” is a formal church juridical procedure that requires Vatican approval, and can take far longer if the priest objects.