As a "proof of concept" I decided to see if it would be possible to create a parody of Apple's "Mac vs. PC" commercials using the Gizmoz.com talking heads. I think it pretty much works. I used the "get this video on your PC" option to download the video for each individual line in the "commercial" and then spliced it all together in Ulead VideoStudio 10 (Macs, after all, aren't the only computers that can edit video.).
Some clever YouTube person has created a video that mixes the original Star Trek series footage with music from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's quite well done:
This evening I dined at Bombay Palace, an Indian restaurant located at 2020 K Street NW in Washington, DC. It's right next to Legal Sea Foods, where I ate lunch, interestingly enough.
The interior of Bombay Palace is very upscale looking. Everything is in excellent condition, clean, and in good repair. The atmosphere is quiet except for the air pumps driving the huge aquarium at the back of the restaurant, a sound which fades into the background after a time.
I ordered Mulligatawny Soup as my first course. It was, without question, the best Mulligatawny Soup I've ever had. The flavor, spice level, texture, etc., were all excellent. If I lived in the DC area I would come back here often just to have this soup.
My main course was Chicken Vindaloo with Keema Nan. The vindaloo was good, but not the best I've ever had. The keema nan was different from some I've had, better than some, and worse than others. On balance I'd have to say it was above average.
One thing I found very odd about Bombay Palace was the fact that they charge extra for rice. Every other Indian restaurant I've ever visited has provided the rice for free. Bombay Palace charges $3.95 for it... and no, there's nothing special about it. It's the same rice you'd get anywhere else.
On the whole, though, this was one of the better Indian meals I've ever had. I can certainly understand how it got in Zagat's guide, and why its cooking inspired a professionally published cookbook of its recipes.
On a 1-20 scale, I'd rate it a solid 8.
Today for lunch I had the opportunity to eat at one of those restaurants I've heard good things about but never seen... Legal Sea Foods in downtown Washington, DC. (2020 K Street NW)
I ordered the crab cake combo, which included a crab cake made with lump crab meat, a couple of grilled shrimp, and a couple of grilled scallops. In the middle of the plate was a large quantity of mesclun greens with dressing on them. My side dish was mashed potatoes.
The crab cake was certainly one of the better ones I've ever had. It was probably 90% or more crab meat with a light amount of seasoning and other components. It had a good flavor and went down very, very easily. I can definitely recommend it, though I've had one better (from the Roosevelt Tavern in York, PA).
The grilled shrimp were clearly fresh and tasted good, though there were bits of shell grilled onto the meat that negatively affected the flavor (giving it a burnt "fishy" taste).
The scallops were plump, cooked to perfection, and certainly the next best part of the meal.
The greens were, to my taste, rather bitter and the dressing didn't help much with that. I ate a few bites but simply couldn't handle more.
The mashed potatoes were decent but nothing to write home about.
The bartender/server was excellent and attentive. I don't know how much he makes but he certainly earns every penny. Given all the customers around the bar at lunch hour and the fact that he seemed to give us each personal attention speaks well of his skill and of Legal Sea Foods' management for hiring him.
I would definitely recommend the place and based on this one experience I'm giving them a 7.5 out of 10.
I've been in Washington, DC, this week attending a technology class. The location of the class is very near a small shop called "Julia's Empanadas" at 1000 Vermont Avenue NW. I've had empanadas in the past and enjoyed them, so this sounded like a good opportunity to try them again. Yesterday for lunch I went in and ordered a couple "Chorizo" (sausage, black beans, and rice) ones.
From the first bite, I have to say that I was disappointed. The breading along the outer edges was extremely dry, like a saltine cracker. The filling inside did not have any chorizo flavor that I could detect, though there was a reasonable quantity of rice and black beans inside. I ordered two, but ended up eating most of one and throwing away the rest. There wasn't much flavor and they were just disappointing all the way around.
Given the number of people going in and out of the place, some of whom seemed to be regulars, my assumption is that I may have simply made a bad choice. I was there near the start of lunch hour and perhaps mine had spent the most time under the heat lamps. I don't know.
Regardless, I'm in no hurry to go back. It wasn't a very enjoyable experience and I've no interest in repeating it.
There is a certain class of Brazilian restaurant known as a "Churrascaria". This translates roughly to "barbecue". These restaurants vary somewhat, but there is a certain theme that runs through all of them. First, you enter the restaurant and are treated to a salad bar. This salad bar contains a variety of items, usually including asparagus, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and a variety of other salad items like you'd expect to find on an American salad bar.
After you've had all the salad you want, you've got a little card in front of you that you flip over. When the red side of the card is showing, you pretty much eat in peace. When the green side is showing, you're telling the "gauchos" who do the serving there to bring you whatever meat they are carrying. This can include anything from liver to chicken to filet mignon depending on the restaurant.
If you aren't a vegetarian, these are great places to eat. Every kind of meat you can imagine will come your way and you can sample all of it if you like. It's all barbecued and seasoned, usually with sea salt and garlic. It comes around on skewers from which a portion is sliced off for you.
Tonight I ate in one of the more famous churrascarias in the United States, Fogo De Chao, on Pennsylvania Avenue. It was everything I had come to expect after living in Brazil and having "the real thing" several times.
The roast leg of lamb was possibly the single best piece of lamb I have ever eaten. It was, in a word, fantastic.
The filet mignon was delicious, though slightly overcooked.
The bacon-wrapped chicken had a wonderful flavor (must remember to try this at home!) though it was a touch dry.
The sirloin cuts were excellent and masterfully seasoned. Very tender as well.
When Fogo De Chao brings out the meat, they also bring you mashed potatoes (average), fried polenta (nice), and fried bananas/plantains (excellent!).
They also bring out "pao de queijo" (cheese bread) which has the consistency of a French pastry with a wonderful warm cheese filling.
It didn't take too long for me to become completely stuffed.
It was, without question, one of the best meals I've had in a very long time. It was also one of the more expensive, with my bill coming in at approximately $53.
Still, I have to tell you it was worth every penny. The food was great. The service was absolutely THE best I've ever had anywhere. And the atmosphere was comfortable, classy, and relaxing.
I'm really hoping I can go back there tomorrow night. If I'm good for breakfast and lunch, the daily meal allowance might just permit it. And Wednesday night, too...
I currently find myself in downtown Washington, DC, only a few blocks from the White House. I've never been a fan of cities larger than Columbus, OH, so it's only natural I'd not feel entirely at home here in our nation's capitol. On the other hand, I have to say that certain things have taken me by surprise.
During the daytime, the sidewalks are busy with office workers, tourists, and others. For the most part, it's like being downtown in any large city.
At night, however, it's much like J. Michael Straczynski discusses in his Midnight Nation graphic novels. There is a whole other group of people walking the streets after dark. Panhandlers, ladies of the evening (or at least ladies who dress similarly), and other sunsavory types. The streets you wouldn't think twice about walking down at noon take on a very sinister quality after dark.
But, to a certain extent, I expect that. It's one reason I tend to stay in the hotel after dark. Something I didn't expect to encounter (in our nation's capitol or anywhere) is a rather strange paranoia about people using restrooms. Back in Columbus, I could walk into any restaurant or other business and (if necessary) go directly to the restroom. No one would so much as bat an eye. In DC, though, restrooms are locked up and restricted.
I think perhaps our nation's leaders are clandestinely working out some kind of a plan to tax us for bowel movements or bladder activity, and that they're carrying out the research here in DC first. For example, I was just visiting a Border's Book Store downtown. I needed to heed the call of nature, so I located a restroom. I found out that I couldn't go inside unless I stopped at an information desk and got a token. Excuse me? I need to ask your permission to empty my bladder? Please. I was offended enough by the behavior that I stopped shopping there and headed for my hotel.
But Borders isn't the only place with this strange paranoia. I'm here in DC to take a class. The building the classroom is in has its restrooms locked. Much like visiting a gas station, you have to get a key at the receptionist's desk before you can relieve yourself. What the heck? Is there some sort of toilet paper syndicate operating in our nation's capitol that's grabbing up the TP from public restrooms? Are there roving gangs running around attacking defenseless restroom stalls? Are hobos trying to set up homes in there?
Beats me, but it's damned peculiar.
As you've seen from other articles on this site, I've been attending the Origins International Game Expo for several years now. My interest in (non-computer and computer) gaming dates back to before high school (over 20 years if you need to know specifics). I recently began collaborating with a friend and co-worker on a new site for (mostly non-computer) gaming called "The Gamer Hotsheet".
The Gamer Hotsheet provides information about new board games, miniatures games, miniature figures, role-playing games, and computer games that are similar in complexity to these games. Each day, we scour a long list of game manufacturer sites to bring you information about the latest releases, sales, etc.
If you're interested at all in traditional gaming, check out The Gamer Hotsheet.
While flipping through the channel guide on my cable box the other day, I came across a show listed as "Pants Off Dance Off". Given the title, I figured this would be some sort of "adult" show that would be on a channel I certainly don't subscribe to. I was surprised to learn that the "Fuse" TV network isn't an adult network at all. I set the TiVo up to catch the show, just to see what it was all about. Here's one of the title graphics, just to show I'm not making this up:
Star Trek, the original 1960's version, is perhaps the best sci-fi series ever aired. It featured scripts written by "real" sci-fi writers like Harlan Ellison, actors like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy who played their parts so well they became typecast for decades, dramatic music, and special effects that were the best of their time. More than that, Star Trek featured Gene Roddenberry's vision of mankind's future, a future in which we had virtually overcome war, corruption, prejudice, sexism, racism, and practically every other human failing. It was a future that we'd like to be a part of.
When I learned that G4 television had come up with something it was calling "Star Trek 2.0" based on the original series, I was intrigued. How could you improve on a classic? After watching just part of one episode, I came to realize that you couldn't... at least not the way G4 tried to do it.
What G4 has done is cram the video into about two thirds of the screen. On top, they placed "Trek Facts" which provide little bits of trivia about the show and the episode. This, at least, is mildly interesting. On the left side of the screen they display a scrolling list of "Trek Stats" such as "Uhura touches earpiece" and "Red shirt deaths". These might be interesting if they started at zero during the first episode and increased as the events they portray happened during the episode(s). But they don't. On the right is some weird random thing they call the "Spock Market" which seems to have nothing to do with the show, either. Then, across the bottom of the screen is the ultimate eye candy for ADD sufferers watching the show... they display a question and let the people who visit the G4 web site submit answers and chat with each other. This chat is mostly inane in the bits I've seen on Trek 2.0. Worst of all, they shove a huge G4 TV logo in the bottom right. A lot of screen real estate is wasted for this crap, which doesn't improve the episode at all. Here's what it looks like:
I hope the ratings for Star Trek 2.0 are so low that they cancel the idea and stick with airing the show unmodified, as originally intended.
My brother and I were fortunate enough to get into one of the "Car Wars - Rogue Arena" games at Origins 2006. Rogue Judges events seem to be very well-attended, probably because the group does a great job of running the games it does. The GMs (game masters) know the games well, keep a positive attitude working with less-experienced players, have an organized system for going through players' turns, etc. It's because they do such a great job that they can effectively handle 20 players at a Car Wars table.
Rogue Judges has a great-looking arena set up to play the game, with buildings you can crash through, pedestrians you shouldn't hit, trees, overpasses, etc. They have condensed rule cards they use to help move things along, as well as pre-designed cars that have comparable strengths and weaknesses. They maintain a good sense of humor and try to keep the game fun and realistic as they go. It's for these reasons I try to sign up for one or more of their events at Origins each year.
Rogue Judges also does a great job of making it easy to find the games you're trying to play with them. Their banner can be seen all the way across the exhibit hall. Once you get there, individual sheets listing the games they're offering and the dates/times are displayed. Each gaming table also has a placard telling you at a glance what game is being played there. Compare this to Inner City Games, whose game I had a ticket for and couldn't find in the Exhibit Hall, even with the help of the HMGS folks on the stage at the front of the room (who had a map of the place).
