How many roads must a man walk down?

This week I finally got around to reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a book I've been interested in for years and avoided seeing the movie for reason of avoiding it ruining the book for me (both because of spoilers and the quality).

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is already on hold. Douglas Adams is probably one of the best character builders I have experienced. Whether it's Arthur Dent, your average Joe, Ford Prefect, the automobile-named alien who intended to be on Earth for a week only to be forgotten about for 15 years to finally have to escape to leave, or Marvin, the manic-depressive robot. They all have a sense of depth, personality, and even a unique voice of sorts (and sense of humor).

Writing a book based around a veritable encyclopedia of the universe can't be an easy task. Small pieces of the guide are mentioned throughout the novel, helping to build the reader's understanding of the history of the universe and provide more lighthearted comic relief.

Which is the reason I'm planning on reading the whole series now. Sure, the characters are wonderful and the ability any sci-fi writer worth his salt has to create a whole universe (and it's unique machines) astounds me, but Adams does all of it with a sort of lightheartedness that I really can't get enough of. I'm not a huge reader by any means. So when I actively want to read a book rather than turn on the PS3, it's a huge compliment to the abilities of the writer. This writer has me hooked.

I'll Bite

100 Foods - bold i've eaten, crossed out I would never try. ill take it a step further and link the ones i needed to investigate

1. Venison - like any other meat, as good as its cooked
2. Nettle tea - wtf?
3. Huevos rancheros - i make a mean one...
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - alligator, close enough
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush - god thats a sweet phrase. not a big fan of eggplant, but usually like middle eastern food.
11. Calamari - at Disney World one time i had calimari at every resturant. different every place we ate. and yea, i have been to Disney World way too much
12. Pho - sounds good though
13. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
14. Aloo gobi - apparently i just didnt know the love. i heart curry
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle - amazing.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - does mead count?
19. Steamed pork buns - im intrigued though...
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras - minus the health problems, liver doesnt bother me (aka taste-wise)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda - of the things i havent known to this point, this sounds the tastiest
31. Wasabi peas - Dad loves them
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi - sounds yummy, may have to try it out
34. Sauerkraut - like the smell (its the german in me...), hate the taste (its the intelligence in me...)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - its gonna happen...
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat - love me some curry. im down.
42. Whole insects - cant think of any...
43. Phaal - ok this is a curry-heavy list
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - i remember this on food network once. if i were at a high-class japanese place, i just may
47. Chicken tikka masala - again with the curry!!
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - hurl.
50. Sea urchin - eh.
51. Prickly pear - Jungle Book (the disney one i grew up on) makes me want one every time
52. Umeboshi - there are so many foods out there i have never even HEARD of that i want to try now... this list is depressing...
53. Abalone - sea food in genereal doesnt scare me...
54. Paneer - i would try it because ill try any cheese, the chances of me liking it are slim to none. non-melting cheese just doesnt do it for me outside of parmesean
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - going out on a limb on this one. my family loves beer tasting but doesnt really pay attention to ABV... im guessing yes, but not often prob
59. Poutine - that doesnt sound bad at all....
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - wtf?
64. Currywurst - BRILLIANT!!!!!
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs - i have always said i would, but when the time comes i wimp out. damn you kermit the frog!
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - all.
68. Haggis - subject to change...
69. Fried plantain - very good actually
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini - once in a blue moon maybe
73. Louche absinthe - Mom really wants to try some...
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill - wtf?
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - too much processed sugar
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong - love tea.
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum - if i get over the look, i bet its good
82. Eggs Benedict - if i had a stomach able to handle this that early in the morning, i would have it everyday
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe Beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor - sounds yummy
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - dont get me started....
100. Snake

It Tickles the Throat

Ginger Beer is not Root Beer.

Mom grabbed some A.J. Stephan's "Jamacian Style" Ginger Beer from Jungle Jims a few weeks ago for me because I'm a big weirdo and like drinking different things. Like chugging straight club soda... then having it come back up all over my biology teacher's floor.... or flavoring said club soda.... but I digress...

Think Ginger Ale cubed, and you have a solid idea of what this "Ginger Beer" is like. Probably a more accurate description would be to think of the taste of straight ginger that is a side in most sushi and carbonate it. I know if you aren't a sushi freak such as I that doesn't help much, but it works. So suck it.

The after taste is straight ginger with a heaping load of burning. Yes, burning. Something with the method of carbonation or something really makes this rough on even a healthy throat. It's a mild burn that lasts a solid 15-20 seconds. Usually the only time a man has to utter that sentence is to a proctologist after a night of B-dubs blazin' wings. Mmmmm buffalo sauceeeeee.

Ginger Beer however, has no wonderous buffalo sauce, yet still the burn (though admittedly, not in the anus.... which is courteous...)

2/5 on the J-Ged ruff ryder taste test scale

The part where I review popular media.

Hmm, where to begin...

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I can't remember if its Sara or Sarah, but honestly I really don't care. That is a great summary of the entire movie. Forgetable. The musical parts were actually very well done (the main character is a songwriter for a crappy TV show, who his ex, Sara(h) Marshall, is the star of), and there was a girl that looked a lot like what Michelle Rodriguez would look like if she wasn't such a tomboy (see: better than the Jessicas.). Other than that, your everyday young adult comedy.

As sort of a side note... it seemed like the director was on some kind of a weird mission to make Americans not feel as creepy about seeing penises on camera. It was odd, like the first time he showed it there was just a quick glance, then as the movie went on that glance evolved into nearly a complete scene of just naked dude. Sweet, but no thanks. I think I may need to go on a Hawaiaan retreat just to forget that now....

2/5 awkward moments

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Death At A Funeral

Why are British comedies so damn funny sometimes? People sometimes refer to America as being a little brother of sorts to England/UKoGBaNI. It shows best in our sense of humor. UKoGBaNI brought us The Office, America brings us Flavor of Love. UKoGBaNI brings us Death At A Funeral, America brings us Weekend at Bernies. But I digress...

Seriously, this is a funny movie. Full of black humor (my favorite) since, well, it does take place at a funeral. There are the normal characters like the cranky old uncle that nobody wants to take care of anymore, the wildly successful brother that nobody ever talks to anymore, and even the more contemporary "funeral crasher". However, this takes it a step further and throws in the guy-who-accidentally-took-major-hallucinagens and the gay-lover-of-the-dead-father-nobody-knew-about.

Good times. Many lol moments, which are rare for me when I'm not watching The Office. Recommended

5/5 Bangers and mash

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Rome: Total War

I can't really think of anyone who would really care about this one for two reasons. One, about 95% of you aren't nearly as big of a nerd as me (yes, that is meant to sound condescending, so THERE) and two, this game has been out for almost five years now, so that train has come and gone.

But anywho, this game really, really rocks my socks. It is like Civilization meets Dynasty Warriors meets Starcraft, minus all the excessive stuff nobody likes about those games. Plus Spartain warriors, which at that point is just icing on the cake.

Basically, you are the supreme dictator for life (a position I am always attracted to) of one of history's great empires. It is your goal to rule the world, mainly through conquest by using your armies of men and animals (like horses and elephants and stuff) that can number into the thousands. It all makes for very good visuals, like Lord of the Rings type battles. The tension is all heightened by a pretty impressive soundtrack (for a video game...) and sound effects. Destruction has never been so fun.

It is also what has held me back from buying my ps360, which my bank account appreciates.

5/5 Onager smashes to the walls of Sparta

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That is all for now. Since I obviously suck at keeping updated, I am thinking of stockpiling massive short quips, and putting a timed release on them so there is at least something new to look at. No, this doesn't take the place of my glory, I'll still post actual blogs just as much (relative term) as I do now. In the end, it'll work out well for both of us.

It's not you, it's me. I dunno why I said that, it just seemed like a good thing to do.