If one positive thing came from being unemployed for a year, it was that it gave me time to teach myself how to cook. I've come up with a number of recipes over the past year, including my famous Tex Mex Casserole Bake. That was a big hit! Hopefully this will be, too...
Kenn's Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole!
Ingredients:
1 lb. Baked Chicken, Shredded
1 26 Oz. Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 7 Oz. Can Mushrooms Pieces & Stems (Drained)
1 12 Oz. Bag Broccoli, Frozen, Chopped
1 14.5 Oz. Box of Farfale Pasta (Or Rotini or Penne)
1 8 Oz. Bag Shredded Cheese (Cheddar or Colby Jack)
1 2.75 Oz. Packet Pioneer Brand Peppered Gravy Mix
DIRECTIONS:
Remove the baked chicken from the bones, shred, put in a bowl and set aside.
In a large pot, start the water boiling for the pasta.
In a separate medium sized pot, make the Pepper Gravy as directed with two cups of hot water. Add in the shredded chicken, cream of mushroom soup and the drained mushrooms and cook over medium heat.
Start cooking the pasta noodles in the boiling water (takes about ten minutes).
While the pasta is cooking, put the frozen broccoli in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water in the sink for a few minutes to defrost, then drain.
Add the broccoli to the gravy/soup/chicken/mushroom mixture and stir in over medium heat.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Drain the pasta noodles and return them to the large pot. Add the contents of the medium pot to the noodles in the large pot and mix together thoroughly.
Spread the combined gravy and noodle mixture evenly in a large, glass baking dish. Top evenly with shredded cheese.
Cover baking dish with tinfoil and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.
Serve hot with Pillsbury biscuits (Optional) and enjoy!
It's after Midnight, I realize, but "today," February 4th, 2012 was George A. Romero's 72nd birthday! George and his films have been a big influence on me (as most of you know) over the years, so to celebrate the milestone, I watched the European cut of DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) and followed it up with DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007) tonight!
I think my first exposure to George's movies was probably CREEPSHOW (1982). This was followed by DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), which I also saw in the early 1980's on VHS. I absolutely loved it. I loved the idea of survivors barricading themselves in a shopping mall and trying to make what passes as a normal life for themselves while the world outside was anything but. A memorable, powerful film...
DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) followed. I admit I wasn't super impressed with it when I first saw it, but over the years I've come to realize it's one of the better films in the series. It helped cement my status as a Zombie fan for life. I watched the Romero produced TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE in high school and I was ecstatic in 1990 when the modern NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD came along.
I so enjoyed the Tom Savini directed NIGHT remake that it led me to watch the original 1968 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD for the first time in 1991. It was George's original Zombie masterpiece that showed me that older, black & white films could be a great source of entertainment, story, imagination and inspiration. I saw horror (and film in general) in a whole new light.
I admit I wasn't impressed with LAND OF THE DEAD (2005), but I did enjoy DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007) and SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2009) tremendously. THE CRAZIES (1973) and KNIGHTRIDERS (1981) also have a special place in my heart's shrine to Romero.
Nowadays, Zombies are everywhere. Quite frankly, Max Brooks can kiss my ass with his bullshit survival guide and WORLD WAR Z nonsense and so can the people who make THE WALKING DEAD comics and TV show. More to the point, they can kiss George's ass. I guess that makes me a bit of a hipster when it comes to Zombies. I can honestly say I liked Zombies before they were cool...
Happy birthday, George! Cheers and best wishes for many, many more...
Now someone pass me a flannel shirt, a stupid looking beret and a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, I've got an ironic poetry reading to attend at Starbucks!
I outlined several goals for myself in 2012 in my first blog post of the year. How are they coming along, you ask? Not too shabby, I guess, but there's still room for improvement.
So far I've:
Read The Scarlet Letter and started reading The Picture of Dorian Gray
Watched The African Queen
Lost another 4 or 5 lbs. (I'm still working out every day.)
Been playing Chess regularly.
Updated my journal every day (not yet today).
Blogged more often (Twice already this month!)
Been working on my writing portfolio slowly, but surely.
De-cluttered, some. I've been throwing stuff away and getting other stuff ready to sell.
The article was inspired by the 37-20 beatdown the Packers suffered at the hands of the New York Giants this past Sunday. The loss came in at Number 5 on my list. Of the ten games, I've actually personally witnessed 8 of them. Lots of heartbreak in Packer land over the years... Head on over to Pocket Doppler and give it a read!
One other goal I've decided to add to my resolutions is to take better care of my teeth. I had a dental exam and I need to have a bunch of fillings. I brush twice a day, but I need to use an electric brush and I need to force myself to floss. I've been flossing at least every other day since my appointment. That's better than I was, but still not good enough.
Zynga's WORDS WITH FRIENDS has become a cultural phenomenon in the past few years. It's got millions of users and fans and it even got Alec Baldwin kicked off of an airplane. It's basically electronic Scrabble. You can play up to 20 games simultaneously with your friends on Facebook or on your smart phone. Sounds awesome, right?
Well, I hate it.
Why, you ask? I have an English degree with an emphasis in writing and I've been a writer my entire life. I have a vocabulary that's larger than most. I love to read every day and my spelling abilities are far above average. So why can't I win when I play this stupid game? I've been trying to figure it out.
When I play WORDS WITH FRIENDS, I try to make the biggest words I can with the letters I have. I generally start out the games pretty well, but inevitably my opponent kills my six, seven and eight word masterpieces with a bullshit word like "Qi" played on a triple word or triple letter score.
Do you know what Qi means? Of course you don't. No one does. It's a variant of the word "Chi," as in Chinese energy. I'm telling you, no one knows that. But the game does. And so does every WORDS WITH FRIENDS player who's had it dropped on them. It also allows other B.S. two letter words like "El," and "En," and "Lo," and "Et."
Why does that matter?
Because it allows people to basically play random letter combinations in order to nail a Triple Word Score in another row. That's what's happening. People sit there and play random letter combinations until they find something the game will allow, legitimate word or not. It's crap.
I've learned that to keep games competitive with these "I'll just try the letters until something works" players, you have to strategically try to keep the game in the center of the board as long as possible and away from the Triple Word Scores. But what fun is that?
It isn't.
It's only a matter of time before the punk you're playing gets a break with a two or three letter word no one's ever heard of that allows him to make a big Triple Word. I've won about 30% of the games I've played, lost 30% and rage quit about 40%. I've decided it's just not worth it anymore.
The final straw? I was playing a friend of mine from college. He had a 30 point lead on me in the middle of the game, but left me an opening. I played "JIVE" on a Triple Word and Triple Letter score for 97 points and felt so guilty about what a bitch move it was, I wanted to kick my own ass.
I haven't seen him online since. I get the feeling if I ever see him in person, he's going to punch me in the face.
I think that's enough WORDS WITH FRIENDS for me, thanks.
It's hard to believe it's 2012 already. With the exception of my wedding in August (which was amazing!) and the Packers winning the Super Bowl (hooray!), 2011 was a complete and utter waste of time for me. Let's not kid ourselves...it was a Goddamned horror show.
Pi Studios imploded back in February and I've been out of work and looking (with very little success) ever since. Money has been a problem. The housing market in Houston tanked big time. I had unemployment issues. I failed to start a business. The Badgers lost the Rose Bowl. Yes, 2011 was truly an awful year in every sense of the word. Good riddance.
I guess there was one other bright spot: I still have my health (*knock on wood*). I managed to lose 20 lbs over the course of the year. Back in January, I was sitting at an all time high of 252 lbs, but as of this morning I was down to 232. It's still a long way to go to get to my goal weight of 210, but I'm hoping to do that this year.
That brings me to the point of this blog, actually. Goals. Resolutions, if you will. I have big plans for 2012 and even though you probably don't care much, I thought I would share them with you anyway. So here goes...
My 2012 New Year's resolutions!
First and foremost, get a job that doesn't make me want to jump off a cliff and get back to being a productive member of society.
Finish the long overdue repairs to the house (I may have to sell it soon!)
Cross off a bunch of movies from the AFI Greatest Movies Of All Time list that I haven't seen, including Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia, Singin' In The Rain, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, All About Eve, The African Queen, Dr. Strangelove, Bonnie & Clyde, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Annie Hall and To Kill A Mockingbird.
Read more of the classic literature I failed to read in school growing up, including, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, Lord of the Flies, The Prince, The Catcher in the Rye, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Brave New World, East of Eden and The Red Badge of Courage.
Get my weight down from 232 lbs to 210 lbs.
Play a game of Chess at least 3 times a week
Write something in my journal every day (the first time I've ever kept a journal in my life)
Blog more regularly (minimum of twice a month)
Assemble a polish a diverse writing portfolio I can be proud to show people
Re-design and re-launch Thundarr.com (or pay someone else to do it)
Become more proficient in Microsoft Project and Microsoft Visio (building my job skills)
Write and publish at least one sports article per month for PocketDoppler.com.
Finish writing at least one feature length screenplay
De-clutter my life by throwing away, giving away, selling or donating all of the extraneous crap I've assembled and have been carting around with me over the last 38+ years.
There are probably other things I should be doing, but I think this is a good start. I really do have high hopes for 2012 and I hope you do, too! Cheers to bigger and better things for all of us in the New Year!
Oh, and let's hope those pesky Mayans didn't really know something about 2012 that we don't... ;)
[ PSA: For the love of God, don't watch that if you are in danger of epileptic seizures! ]
That's right, boys and ghouls, Halloween is upon us! Are you looking for a horror movie to enjoy this Halloween? Do you have Netflix streaming? If you answered yes to both questions, then you're in luck!
Here are 30 great horror movies you can check out on Netflix streaming to give your 2011 Halloween some thrills and chills...
Modern Horror Classics:
The Exorcist - In my opinion, it's the scariest movie of all time... Night of the Living Dead - George Romero's classic started it all! The Evil Dead - Sam Raimi's original, low budget horror classic. The Last House on the Left - Wes Craven's disturbing 1972 original. Scream - The classic that re-invented the modern slasher genre!
John Carpenter (The Master of Horror) Films:
The Fog - Jamie Lee Curtis helps Carpenter again in a non HALLOWEEN role. The Thing - One of the five greatest movies of all time, in my opinion. Prince of Darkness - An underrated gem. In the Mouth of Madness - Ditto. Village of the Damned - Christopher Reeve, Mark Hamill and Kirstie Alley!
Bonus: Non-Horror Classics THEY LIVE and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK!
Non-Glittery Vampire Movies:
Nosferatu (1929) - The original Max Shreck silent classic. Dracula (1931) - Bela Lugosi's finest (darkest?) hour... From Dusk 'Til Dawn - Quentin Tarrantino's new classic! Dracula 2000 - Wes Craven has a lot of movies on this list... The Lost Boys (Special Edition) - If you haven't seen this one, you need to fix that.
Anthology Horror:
Trick R Treat - Fantastic modern anthology masterpiece! Creepshow - The 80s classic still holds up today... Waxwork - Lesser known gem. This one's a lot of fun! Masters of Horror - There are tons of MASTERS OF HORROR episodes on streaming right now. I recommend: Cigarette Burns, Incidents on and Off a Mountain Road and Valerie on the Stairs Black Sabbath (1963) - Three tales of terror from Horror's classic era.
Bonus: Every season of THE TWILIGHT ZONE is on Netflix streaming!
Slashers:
The Burning - One of many (and among the best) Friday the 13th inspired imitators. Maniac - One of the greatest head explosion scenes in cinematic history! Child's Play - The original is still the best... Hatchet - Probably the best slasher film of the last 10 years! Jason X - A campy, sci-fi horror classic. You'll love it!
Lesser Known Gems/Miscellaneous:
Highway To Hell - Long out of print on home video, this one's a lot of fun. The Keep - Another long out of print gem. The Hazing - A modern horror gem with Evil Dead type roots. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon - A serial killer biopic? It's awesome! Miner's Massacre - Straight to video slasher from make up and F/X whiz John Carl Buechler...
Honorable Mention/Bonus Tracks:
Paranormal Activity 2 and 3 - The international, modern ghost story phenomenon! The Crazies (2009) - One of the better horror remakes in recent years! Leprechaun: In The Hood - Oh yeah...
Return of the Living Dead - If you're not zombie'd out, this one's a ton of fun!
and finally:
Pretty much every HELLRAISER movie from part 3 through 10!
There you have it! Honestly, Netflix Streaming is a horror fan's dream. You won't believe the selection they have; this is just the tip of the iceberg!
Brett Favre has never been one to keep his mouth shut (or his pants zipped), but maybe...just maybe, it's time he learned. ESPN Milwaukee recently posted an open letter from Favre's teammate William Henderson to Brett himself asking the future Hall of Famer to get over himself. I happen to agree with Hendo 100%.
For the past few years, I've been wanting to write my own letter to Brett Favre. I know it won't mean as much coming from me since we've never been in the trenches together, but I've decided to write it anyway. This is my open letter to a man who has been a personal hero of mine and who's been a big part of my sports watching life.
So that said...
Dear Brett,
I've been a devoted Green Bay Packers fan for 34 of my 38 years. I grew up watching the Packers with my father and my brother and we all suffered as the franchise suffered through some pretty lean years. We watched guys like Bart Starr and Forrest Gregg coaching Quarterbacks like Lynn Dickey, Rich Whitehurst, Anthony Dilweg, Randy Wright and Don Majkowski to mediocre records and once a decade playoff appearances. But through thick and thin, we stuck by them.
Then you came into the picture.
I was a 19 year old College student when you started your first game for the Packers, Brett. I remember thinking at the time how terrible you were and I was frustrated by all of the poor decisions and interceptions in the early going, but I, like Mike Holmgren, stuck by you. For the next 15 years, Packer Nation and I got to enjoy watching the winningest team of the salary cap era and we have you to thank for being such a big part of that success.
You gave my dad a chance to see one last Packers Super Bowl win before he died, Brett. You helped put the title back in Titletown. For that, the Packers organization and fans will always owe you a debt of gratitude. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Brett, for giving us 15 great years of Packers football.
When you started your string of false retirements, I stood by you. When you asked to be traded, I stood by you. I stood by you as a New York Jet. When you went to the Minnesota Vikings and most Packers fans cried foul, I stood by you and respected the fact that you still wanted to play and go out a winner. I even stood by you through Jen Sterger-gate.
Now you're taking cheap shots at Aaron Rodgers? I can't stand by you through that.
What did Aaron Rodgers do you to? Aaron Rodgers didn't ask to come to Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers wasn't lobbying for your job. Aaron Rodgers wasn't pushing the coaches for playing time. All Aaron Rodgers did was practice hard, be respectful to you and he tried to learn from you, but you blew him off. When you left, Rodgers did what he had to do: his job. And through all of this, to this day, Aaron Rodgers has yet to say one bad thing about you. Not one. He has taken the high road.
Maybe it's time you do the same?
Would it kill you to let bygones be bygones? The NFL is a business. Ted Thompson did what he had to do to build a team for the long term. It wasn't personal. You put the team in a tough spot and they had to move on. Had you not decided to play chicken with the management, you probably would have had another 2 years under center in Green Bay. I hate to say it, but you, my friend, did this to yourself.
Would it kill you to say, "Yeah, Aaron Rodgers is doing a great job" or "I wish him the best" or "I hope the Packers win it all again this year?" That's really all you'd have to say to win back the hearts of the Packers faithful like me. Is that REALLY so hard?
I was raised to believe that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. So if you CAN'T say any of those things I suggested, how about just biting your tongue and saying nothing? That should be easy, right?
You're a lucky man, Brett. You got to play in a state that worships its sport heroes. Did you watch the Packers on opening day? Bart Starr ran out on the field waving a Green Bay Packers flag to the cheers and adoration of a stadium full of 75,000+ fans and a national Television audience. He's a hero in Wisconsin. You were a hero in Wisconsin, once. If you play your cards right, you could be a hero in Wisconsin again.
Silence is (Green and) Golden, Brett. So how about it? Please? For your teammates? For your fans? For me? Be a hero again. You did it once. I know you can do it again.
IT Professional. Packers, Brewers, Bucks and Badgers Fan! Aspiring Screenwriter who loves Movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Humor, Playing Chess - University of Wisconsin - Whitewater graduate.
Opinions are my own.
