This Really Isn’t Fair

Food and Drink, Rants and Raves - 4 Comments » - Posted on August, 18 at 1:22 pm

Why is that every town that boasts a fair selection of assorted restaurants and eateries that offer takeout services has half a dozen Chinese restaurants before they have even one Japanese or Korean eatery? This is a question I have begun to seriously wonder over. I mean, folks love sushi, so there are sushi bars at the dine-in Chinese restaurants, and often there might be a sushi bar on its own as well. But for that single sushi place, there will easily be six to ten other Chinese eateries available in town. It’s just so not fair!

The main reason I bring this up is because I have been craving ramen something fierce these past couple of days. And I don’t mean instant ramen either, I mean authentic ramen. I tried racking my brain earlier to think of a Japanese restaurant in town but aside from one, which I know is primarily a sushi place and is located close to campus, I couldn’t think of anything. I decided to crack open the phonebook and here’s what I found:

• 10 Chinese
• 2 Indian
• 2 “Asian Mix” (really just Chinese)

I mean really, what the hell? And before you ask, there is no need for me to count the Spanish/Mexican restaurants because, given the area, everyone and their grandmother own one.

So where does one go to get a good bowl or Miso Ramen or Beef Ramen? Hell! Where can I go to get some dango?! Really, my only option is to just make my own here at home. Which bites, because the best stores to buy the ingrediants are in El Paso, on the East side (read farthest distance-wise). So in the meantime I’m kind of stuck with the instant stuff. Too bad really.

Does anybody know any websites with authentic Japanese cuisine recipes?

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Posted in Food and Drink, Rants and Raves | 4 Comments »

Do You Like My Cartier?

ORLY? - No Comments » - Posted on August, 18 at 12:32 pm

That’s a question I rather dread answering whenever I visit a certain relative of mine. She most definately has champagne taste and champagne money, and let me tell you, she is not afraid to flaunt it. Her collection of Cartier watches (among other name brand jewelry) and a top of the line wardrobe that is perfectly suited for any occasion is well known to us all.

Still though, her faults aside, one thing can definately be said about her - she has good taste. Cartier is reliable and fashionable brand that you can always expect to not only look good, but last as well. TheWatchery.com (one of the best websites online to buy watches from) even has a wide selection of men and women’s Cartier watches at reasonable prices. I’ve never bought a Cartier watch from them sadly, as the only two relatives I’ve used the site to buy gifts for are rather set int heir ways and have specific brands they will [and will not] use. Grumpy old men. But I am certain that the quality and convenience would be the same.

As for myself, well, I guess I’ll always be a tomboy at heart. Even though I can admire and appreciate fine watches, I still tend to stick with durable sport watches. I’m a little too hard on my watches to wear anything else. Although I do own several nicer ones, I save those for special occasions or business attire.

Posted in ORLY? | No Comments »

Good Morning New Mexico

Shutterbugging - 3 Comments » - Posted on August, 17 at 9:04 am

As promised, I’m back with the rainbow images I took this morning, along with a few other early morning shots I took. These are definately better quality than the cloud and mountain ones I posted earlier. You can barely see the beginning of the rainbow down near the ground as it gets completely smothered in the colors of the rising sun and the clouds don’t help much either. Still though, I thought it was lovely to look at:

Here’s a zoomed in shot of the beginning of the rainbow so that you can see more of it.

With the rain came some bad, of course. We found out that the wooden floorboards under the back door had warped a bit with the rain, which left a slightly larger gap between the floor and door than what was there previously. A gap that a young water moccasin exploited. My mother quite happily smashed its head in with a nearby boot, picked it up by the tail, and flushed it down the toilet. All the while shrieking her head off. I now have visions of a snake popping up and biting me when I do my business. Quite the embarrassing phobia, I assure you.

Aside from the warping of floorboards, there has been the build up of algae on the sidewalk in spots where the water puddles never seem to get a chance to evaporate. There has also been some noticeable spots where the ground has broken away, as you can see to your left. Thankfully the canal bank hasn’t suffered much damage. No thanks to EBID of course. I will never understand the logic they utilize when it comes to maintaining the canals. They seem to think scraping the sides will get rid of the dirt that builds up and gets pushed into the canals. Yes, scrape the sides, but leave the bottom alone. Real smart move guys.

The waters certainly look calm and beautiful in the early morning, do they not? Alas, I am afraid there are no cruises available. Not even short ones. After all, the canals are interspersed with irrigation bridges that contain gates and go under the roads themselves.

I just realized that this was a pretty graphic intense post. My apologies guys! I hope you enjoyed them though.

Posted in Shutterbugging | 3 Comments »

Clouds Over Mountains

Shutterbugging - 3 Comments » - Posted on August, 17 at 7:53 am

It would seem that New Mexico’s “monsoon” and “rainy” seasons are now only a scant weeks apart. Our monsoon season, apparently, is the months of June and July. August, for as long as I can remember, has always gotten rain within the first couple of weeks. I honestly can’t recall a year where I went “back to school” and there was no rain. But considering how much rain we got, a week or so passes of dry, and then the rain is back in force. It’s just plain weird.

As you might have guessed, we got some rain again yesterday, and some heavy showers last night. It did make for a beautiful morning however. The clouds were hovering low over the mountains, and a rainbow could be seen in the South. I’ll be back with the rainbow pictures later.

I’m actually rather loathe to put this post with these photos under the “Shutterbugging” category, as the majority of the photos I took this morning came out horrid. But there were a few half-way decent images that came out, nothing I would consider bragging about though. Just images I want to share with you so that you can just how beautiful the mountains looked this morning. Enjoy!

Posted in Shutterbugging | 3 Comments »

In Theaters August 21st: I.O.U.S.A

Entertainment, ORLY? - No Comments » - Posted on August, 17 at 6:08 am

It’s always interesting to hear people’s perspectives on current events, namely the politicians making the waves and the state of our economy. The answers one receives generally range from well-thought out intakes and reasonable deductions, speeches extolling the benefits of one political party over another, to the ramblings of those who try to tie everything that is wrong in the world to one person. Even religion will make its way into the argument, although how it does this, one may never know. It all boils down to who you talk to.

It doesn’t take a college education to know that our economy is seriously suffering and that it’s time for a “wake up” call to shift things into gear if history is to avoid repeating itself. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the mess we’re in now, many of which have been accumulating and gaining momentum for many years now. Don’t you think it’s about time there was a film that challenged the conventions we hold and provided a sound kick in the pants to get people in motion again?

There is a very special film coming to theaters soon, and it’s a one night only event too. Of course I’m talking about I.O.U.S.A.: Live with Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson & Dave Walker.

I.O.U.S.A is a live discussion on the state of our economy with Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway; William Niskanen, chairman of the Cato Institute; Pete Peterson, senior chairman of The Blackstone Group and chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation; and Dave Walker, president & CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former U.S. Comptroller General. This panel of financial leaders and policy experts will be moderated by Becky Quick from CNBC’s Squawk Box.

This special event will be shown live, on August 21, 2008, at 8:00pm ET (7:00pm CT, 6:00pm MT) in select theaters across the nation for one night only. Ticket prices range from $11.50 to $20, so be sure to visit FathomEvents.com to check for a theater near you that will be broadcasting this show as well as ticket prices.

There was supposed to be a Myspace profile for Fathom Events, and thus a trailer, but I couldn’t find it. Luckily I found their YouTube profile! Here is the official trailer for I.O.U.S.A from NCM Fathom Events:

According to Reuters, I.O.U.S.A may be to the U.S. Economy what An Inconvenient Truth was to the environment. One can only hope.

Are you looking forward to this film?

Posted in Entertainment, ORLY? | No Comments »