The Rolling Stones Exile on Main St. Deluxe Edition Review
We put up an advance review of this Tuesday’s remaster of The Rolling Stones “Exile on Main St” here http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3410
NASCAR Hall of Fame Opens in Charlotte
The NASCAR Hall of Fame opened in Charlotte, North Carolina this morning. We have the full story here http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3269
Homemade baked macaroni and cheese with broccoli recipe
We put up a new and easy recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese here http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3265
Movie Review: Iron Man 2
Check out our new review of Iron Man 2 here http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3248 to see if it lives up to the hype from the first.
Recalled “grab and go” romaine
The FDA has a recall on romaine lettuce. Check out our story here: http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3242
CD Review: Zac Brown Band – Pass The Jar
We have a review of the new live Zac Brown Band release “Pass The Jar.” Check out the review of this tremendous new release here http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3227
iPhone App Review: Angry Birds
We have a review of Rovio’s highly addictive dollar app here http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3195
Movie Review: Phish 3D
Phish have released their first concert movie in full 3D. Check out our review here http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/?p=3168 to see how it rates.
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St. Paddy’s Day Blessing to our Readers
I have heard it said that we all have a drop o’ Irish in us!
Whether your lineage is Irish or not, we would like to send all our readers a special blessing for St. Patrick’s Day. We hope you will share it with others who are dear to you.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
May every valley lead to a mountain top;
May every dark night lead to a sunny morn;
May every trial lead to celebration;
And may you always feel God’s presence,
Even as you walk in the rain . . .
–Ani
March Madness: Staying Connected
There is simply no reason to be out of touch with all the excitement of the NCAA tournament, no matter where you are when the action is taking place.
To help you find the best of connections out there, we have listed a few of our favorite ways to stay abreast of what’s happening on the court.
Neat App from Pocket Bracket for iPhone, iTouch or Google Android: 
http://www.pocketbracket.com/about
NCAA Men’s Basketball Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/ani821?ref=profile#!/NCAAmbb?ref=ts
Live stream audio from Opening Game:
Printable NCAA 2010 Bracket Chart here:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/bracket
CBS Sports has a neat set-up with a bracket manager that can be customized:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/brackets?ttag=BM10_SEM_all_goog_bspoe_adg_0008
Asheville’s Sustainable Local Food Market
Crooked Creek Farms in Old Fort. Credit: Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
Asheville, NC prides itself on a thriving farm-to-table scene and flourishing network of family farms. While the city owes that reputation to many active organizations and individuals, one local non-profit laid the groundwork for city’s food future.
The Rise of ASAP
In 1995, Charlie Jackson started what would become the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP). At the time, tobacco was falling out of favor as the tobacco and cigarette industry came under fire. Tobacco was the foundation for many family farms in Western North Carolina, and Charlie feared the worst if tobacco disappeared from community agriculture.
Charlie and his wife, Emily, worked with several community members to form ASAP. The organization’s goal was to assist family farms as they transitioned from tobacco to food crops. Through education and marketing, ASAP developed and advocated strategies that helped family farms prosper, preserved farmland and provided access to healthy, locally grown food.
Making Local Food More than a Catch-Phrase
Fast forward 15 years later, and ASAP is still on the scene changing the way the Asheville-area views and approaches local food.
“ASAP has spent a lot of time collecting and communicating information about local food. We get to know locals farmers and share that information, so the community can make accurate and well-informed decisions when they decide to buy local,” says Rose McLarney, who handles Communications & Marketing for ASAP.
One of the ways they raise awareness is through the annual local food guide. The guide serves as the definitive resource to family farms within a 100-miles radius of Asheville. What started out as a Xeroxed piece of paper has grown into a magazine with over 100 pages that’s distributed at local businesses, visitor centers, hotels, restaurants, newsstands, schools and community centers.
The creation of ASAP’s Appalachian Grown Certification has also helped educate local buyers. “The certification is a process that certifies farms as local and family-owned. It helps consumers identify ‘real’ local food in stores and restaurants,” says Rose.
Sharing the Bounty of Local Food with the Entire Community
But the attention on local food doesn’t stop at the market. ASAP works with local schools on the Growing Minds Program. The program helps educate youngsters on the benefits of fresh food by facilitating school gardens, cooking demonstrations and visits to local farms. The final touch is getting fresh food from local farms on the school cafeteria menu.
ASAP has also spent time ensuring that nutritious and healthy food is available to everyone in the community. Last year, they rolled out an EBT Food Stamp program at several local markets that allowed locals to purchase fresh food using their EBT cards.
Learning from ASAP’s Victories
While ASAP has been influential in changing the food scene in and around Asheville, their success is not an isolated event. The group is adamant that any city can become a partner in the movement for local food.
“Success starts with a few basics,” says Rose. “Ensure you have good and accurate information from farmers when promoting local food, and don’t underestimate the benefits of good marketing and publicity.”
She also recommends working with a diversity of markets and farmers. “Reach out to larger conventional farmers and also to the smaller, more niche farmers. And when it comes to identifying distribution outlets, don’t discount any venue. School cafeterias and farmers markets all have a place in the local food scene.”
Her final piece of advice is to recognize the positive message behind local food. “You can appeal to a diversity of people with messages connected to health, heritage, the environment or the economy. And anyone can be a part of the local food movement, whether they’re shopping for a few affordable basics or enjoying fine dining,” says Rose.
Original article here:
Weekly iPhone App Recommendation: 5-0 Radio Pro Scanner
For this and other tech toy related articles, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
Ever like to listen in on a police pullover right near your house? The cops are parked in your neighbor’s driveway and your curiosity really starts setting in. Or you see an ambulance in the distance and you say to yourself, “I wonder what’s going on over there?” Admit it, you’ve done it as much as I have. If you’re like me, you don’t have one of those fancy, expensive scanners that picks up the world, but you’d sure like to have one. There are numerous fire/police/EMS scanner apps available through the iTunes stores, but 5-0 Radio Pro Scanner really fits the bill.
5-0 Radio Pro startup screen
The opening screen nicely lays your options out for you. You can browse the scanner feeds, scroll through the top 100 feeds, along with several other options for regular radio feeds. The feeds you have access to are global, from the US to Canada, Australia to the UK, some 35,000 in all. Select your country, then select a state or region/province. Let’s say you’re living in Kentucky (just go with it) and you hear of something huge happening in New York. Or you hear about a car chase in California (Home of the High Speed Persuit). It’s a couple of easy screen taps to get to the police or fire department where all the action’s at. The screen itself for each feed mimics a scanner, with the name of the feed, amount of time you’ve been listening, the size of the stream, and the amount of listeners. There’s also a code guide that fills you in on what the various codes mean, that way you’ll know more beyond the standard “10-4.” You can even chat about what’s going on during a particular stream via twitter. The gold in the app is the ability to play the scanner stream in the background while you’re using other apps.
Pick a country, any country
One thing to keep in mind is that many areas simply aren’t that active as others, leaving a ton of dead air. It won’t make too much sense to sneak a listen on a scanner where the most activity is the fire department getting a cat from a tree. On the flip side, there are some scanners that are extremely active. Depending on the day and time, some seem to go non stop, and that’s where the thing pays for itself. Listen in on the Essex County, New Jersey (Newark) police scanner on a Saturday evening, and it’s a constant stream of activity (one Saturday evening wound up being less than thirty seconds from one call to the next, with police dispatched to various residences). If you’re wondering where some of the better feeds are, tap the main screen for the top 100 feeds. They’re all active and at times, kind of like watching a good episode of COPS, highly entertaining. As eye rolling as it can be, it’s also enough to make you want to stay indoors for the rest of your life.
The scanner feed screen
You also have a set of radio station and internet music streams. It’s the slight oddball part that deviates from the entire purpose of the app, however it’s still a welcome feature. That section is broken down by genre and there’s a lot here from decades to gdradio.net. There are genres of music I’ve never even heard before (Romantica and Romantico?). There are various ethnic-based radio stations, AM radio stations, a Beatles radio section (which is really cool). Even Howard Stern’s “Howard 101” Sirius station streams here too, how–I have no idea. If you’re a Stern fan without Sirius XM, so long as that part of the app exists, it is pure gold to you. Like the scanner feeds, the audio here is very reliable with hardly any breaks where it needs to reconnect. It won’t substitute for your satellite radio, or real radio for that matter, but if you’re out and about, it does the job perfectly.
Between the police, fire, EMS, air traffic control, railroad feeds, as well as the streaming radio apps, there’s plenty to listen to. New feeds are always being added, although I’d love to see NASCAR driver feeds incorporated into the app (no…I’m not holding my breath). I can’t come up with a single con to this app and the $1.99 asking price makes it out to be a pretty decent steal.
A quick note that the good folks at smartestapple.com would like to remind us of is the ability to record scanner feeds and email them to friends. You can look at the “Browse Web for More Feeds” section for instructions on how to do so. Another notch in an already very cool app.
NASCAR’s Carolina Hot Spots: Roush-Fenway Racing Museum
For this and other NASCAR related articles, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
Tucked away less than a mile from Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing is the team David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and the now notorious Carl Edwards call home. Located about a mile (as the crow flies) from Hendrick and a hop, skip, and jump from Stewart-Haas, Roush-Fenway in Concord, North Carolina is one of the sleekest, slickest museums in town.
Roush-Fenway
What’s striking about this museum is it’s overall presentation. Almost mimicking a race track, all of the cars and displays are placed along a circular concourse, a reflective floor, and tall, surrounding windows. Engines, springs, various car parts, and trophies are all on display. Camping World Trucks, Nationwide and Sprint Cup cars are laid out amongst interactive displays. Jamie McMurray’s July 7, 2007 Daytona winning vehicle is here, kept in the same condition as it was coming off of the track. It’s a nifty display, however the most eye catching car in the entire museum rests…sort of…right next to it. Todd Kleuver’s Daytona barrel rolling Ford Taurus, a beast of a wreck, sits slanted from the floor to the window, looking as though it’s still in flight. This car will catch your eye and magnetically pull you the moment it comes into your peripheral view. It appears to be disguised as an advertisement for the Roush constructed chassis, to show that their drivers can survive a wreck as brutal as that one. Still, you’ll pay more attention to the eight film frames that show the wreck in action, wondering how anyone could just walk away. And if the words “holy ****” come flying out of your mouth, don’t worry. They flew out of mine, too. More than once, in various combinations.
Holy ****
Carl Edwards' Display
There is a 100 seat theater located inside the circle, yet it was roped off for a private function both times I visited. They do say that it shows various moments in Roush-Fenway history. Look for this page to be updated once I get to see what it is that they show.
Given it’s proximity to Hendrick, Earnhardt-Ganassi, and Stewart Haas, it’s a short trip, very easy to get to. It’s fast, sharp looking museum. Like many of these museums this one won’t take up too much of your time. Unless you hang around the wreck. I could look at that thing forever.
Weekly Lost Chronicles: Dr. Linus
For this and other Lost articles, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
The bad man has arrived at the island.
What a great character study on Ben Linus last night! A European history teacher in his flash sideways, Ben’s dealings with the zombie-ish Principle Reynolds left him with an inner conflict. John Locke, a substitute teacher in the flash sideways, innocently planted the idea that Ben should become school principal. Ben cared about his students, Reynolds cared about his bottom line. Ben was given golden information about Reynolds having a little go ’round with the school nurse, on school grounds, by one of his students (Alex Rousseau, of all kids!!!). When Ben went to blackmail Reynolds using emails hacked with the assistance from a lab teacher, Reynolds showed he could stoop one lower. He was more than willing to block Alex Rousseau’s admission to Yale to save his own job. Faced with the choice of a promotion or his student’s education, Ben chose Alex over his own gain. It was an amazing juxtaposition to the Ben Linus who sacrificed Alex, his daughter on the island, to Martin Keamy’s bullet. Ben has been put in the position to “kill” Alex twice during the course of the series. He allowed it to happen once, he didn’t allow it here.
Ben on the island was a slightly different story. He’s very much in a weakened state, no authority, no longer able to fast talk his way out of issues or bend things his way. On the island Ben was forced to make a choice. Fake Locke freed Ben from digging his own grave (literally and metaphorically), and gave him a chance to get off the island. Ilana, who was planning to put Ben in that very grave for killing Jacob, gave him a second chance. Ben chose Ilana, essentially choosing Team Jacob. At least for now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a character or two switching sides before long.
So far everyone on Team Jacob was a better person in their flash sideways. Everyone on Team Fake Locke, not so much.
Jack’s switch from a man of science to a man of faith continued last night as well. The “ageless” Richard Alpert took both Jack and Hurley to Black Rock, looking to die. Jacob had touched Richard, as he had with the Oceanic survivors, giving him a gift. Richard could not die on his own, he needed Jack to light the long dynamite fuse. Jack knew…definitely more than just believed…that Jacob would not let either of them die, lit the fuse, and sat talking to Richard. It was almost as if Jacob himself stopped the fuse from burning up to the stick. That was also the same unstable dynamite that killed the science teacher during the first season. He couldn’t even shake the sticks and they still blew up in his hand. Richard slammed one down on the barrel, yet nothing happened. Jacob isn’t letting Richard die, either.
Richard said a couple of interesting things last night. He told Jack that he devoted his life, “longer than you can possibly imagine,” in service of Jacob. I don’t think we’re talking tens of years, or even hundreds at this rate. I think it becomes more of “how far back in time does Richard Alpert really go?” He called the gift of Jacob touching someone a curse. Jacob had touched each of the Oceanic survivors, essentially giving them a gift as well.
We could theorize that each has been given a different gift. Was Jack’s gift was one of faith, Ben’s was one of decency (debatable, but given that character’s direction…)? Hurley is still up in the air, we haven’t seen his flash sideways yet to determine his path. Jacob’s role in the lives of these characters has been enormous, his death has truly put the island in state of total flux. Watching Richard break down over the fact that he’ll never know his true purpose on the island was intense to see. I’m looking forward to his flash sideways, or possibly back story.
The bad man being Charles Widmore isn’t that much of a surprise, although the final quick view from the submarine’s periscope was on Ben. I don’t think that’s a coincidence, as Widmore has Ben as a marked man. We could also theorize that Jacob’s death has allowed Widmore onto the island. And Widmore didn’t look like he was on some underwater day cruise, either.
Coming next week: Recon
Carl Edwards/Brad Keselowski: Some Perspective
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So it finally came to a head.
It shouldn’t have come to anyone’s surprise when Carl Edwards decided enough was enough this past Sunday in Atlanta. It’s not like Brad Keselowski has a squeaky clean reputation amongst NASCAR’s other 42 drivers. To a man, several drivers, upon finding out that Keselowski was okay, didn’t seem upset over the bit of frontier, vigilante justice that Edwards dished out. In fact, many of us would say he had it coming. He had it coming from last year’s Talledega flip, and he had it coming from earlier in Sunday’s race. You didn’t have to look too hard at the replays to see the 99’s tires make that short jog to the right, sending Keselowski flying into the wall. Edwards never came out and said, “I meant to do it,” but he may as well have. Take a peek at the quote on Carl Edwards’ facebook page:
My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyones safety or hard work, should I: A-Keep letting him wreck me? B-Confront him after the race? C-Wait til bristol and collect other cars? or D-Take care of it now? I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away. Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.
I’m sure Denny Hamlin isn’t shedding any tears.
I heard a lot of back and forth yesterday, both in print and on the radio, a lot of politically correct talk. I heard more tap dancing about when something like this might be appropriate, did NASCAR back itself into a corner by throwing their rule book out of the window. Honestly, I don’t get much of it.
I listened to Sirius Speedway’s Dave Moody on Monday afternoon, saying that there’s a time for this, but he wasn’t sure if that was the time. I’d love to ask Dave Moody this: Can you think of a better time? If your Carl Edwards, does it really matter if you’re down 156 laps or one? Because you’re not going to want to put out a Wrath of Khan style “revenge is a dish best served cold” move if you’re 7th in back of the #12. That would be ridiculous. When you’re that far back, you’re racing because it’s what you do, not to mention you have an obligation to the sponsor on the hood of your car. But you’re no longer racing for points or money. In that situation, with nothing to lose, I can’t think of a better time to give ‘er the ol’ right turn herky jerk.
I saw a lot of sports guys, knowledgeable ones, wondering if NASCAR has a bigger issue on it’s hands by allowing the drivers to police themselves. “You’re going to see more of this in the coming weeks” they wrote. Good! This is the shot NASCAR needs. It’s been everywhere, right up to a report on Monday evening’s ABC Nightly News. Is a “have at it boys” mentality, along with a good old fashioned intentional wreck that bad for a sport with sagging television ratings and attendance? I can damn near guarantee one thing: Brian France and Mike Helton are in an office somewhere grinning ear to ear, silently adding “Lord, please allow this incident to boost our ratings” to the Bristol invocation.
Anyone remember Philadelphia Flyers/Ottawa Senators tickets going for a thousand on ebay after both teams established a new record for most penalties in a single game? The buildup for the Detroit Red Wings/Colorado Avalanche game following the brawl filled game where both goalies started pummeling each other? The Yankees/Red Sox games after the bench clearing brawl that even saw, of all people, Don Zimmer get into the action, charging Pedro Martinez? I’d love to know the dollar value in that kind of publicity, because street value it’s enormous. I’d bet it’s more than what AFLAC is paying Roush Fenway Racing to put the duck on the hood of the car. Bristol could be a lot more interesting than usual, maybe it brings some older fans back, and NASCAR isn’t paying a dime.
To everyone who says that someone could’ve gotten killed in the cars or in the stands, that’s the assumed risk in buying a ticket that close, or being in a sport that requires you to drive at speeds hovering 200 mph. It’s the same as buying a ticket to a ball game where line drives are prone to landing, or hockey games where pucks can hit fans. Take it from me, I’ve come within inches of being hit with a puck myself. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m only saying it’s there. I also doubt there’s a fan out there who became so fed up with NASCAR after the wreck that they’ll never watch another race, ever again, for as long as they live. That flip wasn’t the last straw for anyone.
NASCAR needed an injection like this one, and I believe they saw it. By putting Carl Edwards on probation, they sent two huge messages. They’re not backing off on having their drivers police themselves this season, along with an “I told you so” to Brad Keselowski (he has friends in no places these days). And if there was an ever-so-subtle thank you to Carl Edwards by not suspending him, that’s okay by me as well. NASCAR wanted 43 drivers to police themselves. We saw the first instance of it, even if it was Dirty Harry style.
Weekly iPhone Recommendation: Music Archive
Load screen
For this and other tech toy related articles, visit us at our new site! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
Most jamband fans have long been aware of http://www.archive.org/ , that one stop on the web for thousands upon thousands of live shows. For years it’s been the stop to stream or download concerts by bands such as moe., Phil Lesh and Friends, Rusted Root, Assembly of Dust, etc.. It’s all perfectly legal, with each band having given written permission to allow soundboards or audience recordings on the site. At over 70,000 shows by close to 3,000 bands, there’s never a shortage of something to listen to. Ahhh, but if you could only take all of that with you? What if you could have access to everything streaming that site has to offer, and just slip it into your pocket? Sounds impossible, right? A dream come true if only someone was able to sync that site to an iPhone application. Thanks to Josh Bergen and Hippyotamus Software (I see what you did there!), for $1.99 you can bring that entire site with you wherever you go.
Want to stream a recent Furthur show? Go right ahead! The Big Wu? They’re there! God Street Wine, Al and the Transamericans, String Cheese Incident? Stream ’em all!
Grateful Dead selection screen
Your startup screen is one wildly long list of bands that, like the Energizer bunny, keeps going, and going, and going, and going. The only saving grace from an endless finger slide down is the alphabet on the right. This allows you to skip to the first letter of the band you’re looking for with a single tap (when you’re talking almost 3,000 bands, this is a HUGE time saver). Once you find your band, you get your list of shows, sorted with the most recent being on top. Find your show, click the play icon on the bottom, and let it go. If you wanted to skip a few songs, down, a simple tap will play that particular song. It also saves a history of what you played, and allows you to keep a favorites list. VERY handy. The sound quality appears to be 64kpbs mp3 which, given the device, does the trick. You’ll get no complaints from me given the vast amount of music here.
Streaming screen
To be fair, there are a few very small complaints. The list of letters on the right are very tiny, and more often than not I’ve found myself not quite at the letter I need to be at. Generally I’ve found myself off by one, so it’s not that big of a deal. The other issue is to not have the ability to fast forward to a specific part of a song. It’s not a huge issue if you’re listening to something by Tishamingo, it is if you’re listening to a 30 minute Dark Star.
The only real complaint I could possibly have is the listing of certain shows. Some bands, the Grateful Dead being a prime example, have multiple sources for many concerts, also including at least one soundboard for most. The source is never listed in the app, making it trial and error to find which one you’d like to listen to. Again, in the grand scheme of things, it’s as minor as could be.
The pros of this app heavily outweigh the cons. There’s another app that’s associated itself with archive.org called audiobop. It’s free, but with a horrific interface and selection, audiobop nothing compared to what’s on music archive. If you’re a music fan, especially a fan of improvisational music, the music archive app is the best one out there.
Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland – IMAX 3D
For future reviews of this and other movies, visit us here at http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter.
So would subjecting yourself to a second viewing of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Even a first for that matter. I’m not quite sure where to begin with everything that went wrong here.
You know the story, no sense in completely rehashing it other than to say the basic premise is here. Girl falls down rabbit hole, finds another world completely separate from reality. The mouse, the white rabbit, the Cheshire cat (with snazzy cheshire grin), are all here as well. That’s where the similarities mostly end as well. In Tim Burton’s mess, Alice in Wonderland is turned into a teen coming of age movie, and a terrible one at that. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is being forced into accepting a marriage proposal with upper crust, elitist snob Lord Hamish (Leo Bill) in front of the rest of <ahem> society. Alice is told what to think and what do do, not exactly her own gal at that stage in her life. Just as she’s set to give her “yes” or “no” answer, Alice spots the rabbit checking his watch, chases him, and follows him down the infamous rabbit hole. The “eat me” cake and “drink me” potion are there, and eventually Alice steps into Wonderland. Actually “Underland” as it’s known here, where she meets the rest of this alternate reality’s inhabitants such as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the March Hare, and a hookah smoking blue caterpillar. There’s a Knave (Crispin Glover), a Jabberwocky, and the poster boy for this disaster, The Mad Hatter. It’s as she makes her Dorothy-like entrance into Underland where the movie really begins.
It’s also where the rest of the movie completely falls to pieces, and it doesn’t take long to realize that Alice in Wonderland is about to become a monumental waste of your movie going dollars, as well as the hour and forty nine minutes that you’ll never get back.
What should have been the most thrilling part of the movie, the second act, was as mind numbingly dull as the beginning. We’re never given a reason to care for any of these characters, with the possible exception of the Mad Hatter. The stretches of boring last for such lengths of time, you don’t even care when something remotely interesting happens. You’re pissed that your sense of boredom was interrupted at all. My sense of “dull” was more thrilling than this movie. The third act, a three way duel sequence between Alice in Armor against a Jabberwocky, the Mad Hatter against the Knave of Hearts, and the Red Queen vs. the White Queen, threw this train wreck right off the rails. Like the rest of the movie, I just have to ask, “What was the point to all of that?” I have no problem with re-imagining a classic. If you want to take something like Alice in Wonderland and make it your own, great! At least do something with it other than creating a movie where the closing credits becomes my favorite part.
If the Academy had an award for Flattest Performance, Mia Wasikowska would win hands down this year, next, and probably last year for good measure. If she had played the role badly, at least it would’ve been interesting. No such luck. Alice has no spirit, no soul, nothing for us to care about, zero emotion, off with HER head for that matter. A cardboard cutout would’ve done the same job (maybe better) and cost Walt Disney less. Helena Bonham Carter played a great over-the-top Red Queen, but Anne Hathaway’s Wicked Witch of the North portrayal of the White Queen was just plain annoying. Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts was the second most interesting performance next to Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter, a role suited for his brand of maniacal delivery. But even Depp’s inspired lunacy couldn’t save any of the scenes he was in.
Alice in Wonderland’s “Underland” world looks good. It has that much going for it. But the backdrop reality looked entirely disjointed from each performer, giving a distractingly fake appearance. There was little cohesiveness between actor and the world around them. Even when it looked good, it actually didn’t. That has to be an achievement. It looks more like an acid tragedy than an acid trip. And the 3D? Don’t bother. Not that I was spoiled by the 3D in Avatar, the 3D in this movie is a mostly unnoticeable afterthought, almost as if it was put there as an addition to a marketing campaign. There’s nothing immersive, nothing that shoots through the screen. The 2D showing would be just fine for this.
Alice in Wonderland is the definition of missed opportunity. What could have been wonderful fantasy on a grand, epic scale turned into woeful fantasy on a grand, epic fail. I can only imagine the moods of theater owners who had to give up Avatar on their IMAX screens to make room for this. I want my money back. Off with your….whatever…
One out of five stars
Easy Cheese Danish
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It’s true – nothing is better than something freshly baked in the morning. But who has time for that?
I really enjoy a good, gooey Cheese Danish with a cup of steamin’ hot coffee, and so I thought you might enjoy it, too! This is a recipe I have adapted from several different recipes over the years. It is easy for a Saturday morning– makes a nice addition to a brunch when guests are in the house.
Some folks may like a little glazed icing on top. I prefer mine with a bit of sugar on top. But if you want to make a simple confectioner’s sugar icing to drizzle on top, then leave off the egg white glaze and sugar, and add your icing concoction once the Danish cools.
If you are inclined, this is also a great recipe for kids to help make!
Easy Cream Cheese Danish
Ingredients
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sour cream
1 egg, separated
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 jelly roll pan.
Press one (1) can of crescent rolls into a 9×13 pan. Pinch seams together to seal them. Beat cream cheese until fluffy; add 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla, sour cream, lemon juice and egg yolk; beat until creamy. Spread over crescent rolls. Place the second can of crescent rolls on top of the cream cheese spread, pinching together seams.
Brush with frothed egg white. Evenly sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees, for 20-25 minutes. Time may vary depending on oven.
Serves 8
Carolina Shortcut Chef©2010
Check here for photo credits and another simple Danish recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/easy-cheese-danish-recipe/index.html
Weekly Lost Chronicles: Sundown
Man in Black/Fake Locke has a new recruit.
For such a violent episode (being a Sayid one, no shock there), it had some heartbreaking moments. In the flash sideways, Sayid was a translating contracts for an oil company, not the hit man that Ben Linus turned him into. Nadia had married Sayid’s brother, Omar. Apparently never hit by the car during Sayid’s encounter with Jacob, she lived a normal life with two children in a suburban house. Well…maybe not quite normal. Omar was a store owner, opening up a second shop using money borrowed from loan sharks. Omar’s problem wasn’t in repaying the loan, but the lifetime interest on what was borrowed (call it what it is, protection money). Omar came to Sayid, knowing he was an Iraqi torturer, looking to have him get these guys off his back. Knowing Sayid wouldn’t just get up and go, Omar pulled his ace: the lifetime payments would drain their life savings, that it would affect Nadia. Sneak! Knife twister! However, it worked, only after Omar found himself in the hospital at the hands of the hitmen. Sayid paid his visit and one of them wound up being <drum roll please> Martin Keamy! Everyone’s favorite snake, the same guy who shot Ben Linus’ daughter in the head. A mean looking set of poached eggs and an award winning smile couldn’t save his life this time, Sayid taking care of Keamy, along with everyone else in the room. How interesting was it to see a non-English speaking Jin tied and mouth taped in a room just off to that kitchen?
Particularly heartbreaking was the reason Sayid didn’t answer Nadia’s letters, nor sought her hand in marriage. Spending 12 years trying to clean his hands of the sins he committed, one of them being Nadia’s torturer, he felt he wasn’t deserving of her. He had pushed her to his brother, possibly to keep her close to him. A woman he’ll forever want, but never have.
Sayid’s character is complex. On one hand he insists that he’s a good man, but when he had the chance to let Keamy go, especially after Keamy forgave the rest of the debt, Sayid still shot him. When Keamy said, “You can let me go,” Sayid insisted, “I can’t.” A huge statement, coming from a place far deeper than someone who couldn’t allow one man to live. Sayid has the good in him, proven by the love he still has for Nadia, as well as the love he has for Nadia’s children. Still, his nature is dark, something Dogen was very much correct on.
The island turned into Sayid’s violent playground. Sayid got his answers as to why Dogen tortured him. Dogen confused me here. He told Sayid that the torture tactics were a dark and light measuring scale, and that Sayid’s was off the chart dark. Why he still gave Sayid the chance to prove there’s good in him, sending Sayid to kill Fake Locke, will remain a mystery. Dogen called Fake Locke “evil incarnate,” he had to have known Fake Locke’s tactics, yet still sent Sayid on a mission to kill him. Sayid’s failed attempt at killing Fake Locke changed everything. Fake Locke showed another clear side of Sayid, a man who can be easily tempted, even by a someone who clearly isn’t what he appears to be.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Sayid’s transition from light to dark was extremely smooth, and how thrilling an ending was it? Sayid coming back to warn everyone to leave at sundown or they all die. Sayid killing both Dogen and Lennon (I liked Lennon, too!), Lennon telling Sayid, “You let it in.” Smoke Monster wrecking havoc throughout the temple. Fake Locke’s army slowly being assembled, some by Trojan Horse mentality. Even Ben Linus made an appearance, although he now knows trouble is either on the way, or already there.
And the island dynamic came into play as well. This arbitrary set of rules that everyone had in place are breaking down with each death. The ash that kept the Smoke Monster away no longer applies after Dogen was killed. That Fake Locke/Man in Black could kill Jacob only after he inhabited John Locke’s body. When Jacob died, Jacob’s rules went out the window. It’s almost as if the island has this “if you cross this line, game over” ideaology. Which I’m sure is supporting anyone’s theory that we’re watching the human version of a board game play out, even though that still seems too obvious. If that is the case, then someone’s cheating.
Coming Next Week: Dr. Linus
Weekly iPhone App Recommendations: EarthCam
I’m guessing, like millions of us, you like to peek in. No, not like that (although…), I’m talking about peeking into parts of the country, even the world. Maybe you want to see what’s going on in your old hometown. Maybe you’d like to see what’s happening around a place you vacationed. For that matter, you might want to have a little something extra to look into a vacation spot! EarthCam, the folks behind earthcam.com, have a fantastic app for those particular needs.
Asheville
This app starts you off in the EarthCam Network, listing a lengthy series of countries to choose your cameras from. United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Bulgaria…I’m sure something’s going on somewhere in Bulgaria….north to south, east to west, around the globe. It’s a pretty stunning list, even though numerous countries do have one or two cams to them. (the Ukraine had two cams, Turks and Caicos Islands had one cam aimed at the 18th hole of the Provo Golf Club). The major countries have the most cams available, or at least the ones EarthCam makes available at that moment.Once you select a country, the list turns to the cams you can view. The United States list is broken down into states, from there you select the cam to view. A peek at the New York City cam showed a long list of cams from Times Square to Lower Manhattan. There are a few cams aimed directly at Ground Zero, many aimed along Broadway, as well as various other parts of Manhattan. North Carolina had several, although most of them were, at least as of this writing, inoperable cams alone Interstate 77. Some were working, including a nifty view of the Charlotte skyline.
There are numerous DOT cams available, although I know there are better ones (there are much better traffic apps if you intend to use a cam app to gauge your morning and evening commutes). Better in terms of reliability, as well as the fluid motion of the image itself.
"It's up to you..."
The streaming image on these cams range from poor to outstanding. Some cams have a lengthy refresh rate, a few have about a frame per second. Some cams have a time lapse option. I have no idea what the period of time is that’s used, but it’s a cool little feature. There’s a list of featured cams and a list of live video. The featured cams are a great place to start, the live feeds are where it’s at. I was able to watch a great stream from Niagra Falls, as well as outside of the TGIFridays in Manhattan. There’s a cam here for Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam (just figured I’d throw that out there in case it was a make or break cam for anyone). My favorite is aimed directly at the huge Coca Cola/Samsung sign in Times Square. There’s ambient audio as well, so if you want the sounds of the country or the city to go along with your peeping tom-ish ways, those cams are all set.
Like many apps, you have the ability to save a particular camera to your favorites, as well as rate them on a five star basis. You can search for a particular cam, or allow your iPhone’s GPS to find the nearest cam for you.
A wet Charlotte Motor Speedway
The app isn’t perfect. You are held to the ability of the cam itself to at least function, and many of them don’t. The refresh rates on some cameras are poor, a problem possibly stemming from the feed and not EarthCam’s doing. And in my instance, using the iPhone’s GPS, it couldn’t find a camera closest to me, even though the nearest is five minutes as the crow flies.
Limitations aside, it’s still an app worth the .99 cents that’s being charged in the iTunes store. The pay app has gotten slammed a bit, and the free version is a good trial to see if you’d like to ante up. I think the negatives are a bit unfair, as you get quite a bit crammed into a 99 cent mobile application. II think it’s well worth the dollar, a fantastic little window to the world, kept inside something that fits in your pocket.
Concert Review: Trey Anastasio Band – Charlotte, NC, February 26, 2010
For this and future concert reviews, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
The name “Anastasio” means “resurrection” in Greek. Sounds fitting enough for a man who’s playing had deteriorated as the 2000’s, as well as his addictions, wore on, finally hitting rock bottom in December of 2006 with a drug arrest. These days Trey Anastasio has been living up to the meaning of his last name, living a sober lifestyle. He’s brought his old band Phish back, as well as his phenomenal Trey Anastasio Band side project. His stop at The Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina was the definition of resurrection.
Trey Anastasio at The Fillmore
If he wasn’t looking as though he was in a trance, he was dancing, grinning from ear to ear the entire night. His horn section (Jennifer Hartswick, Russel Remmington, and 18 year old Natalie “Chainsaw” Pressman) added a bright, at times fierce, mix to the music. Ray “The Funky Cow” Paczkowski on keys and clavinet provided funk with enough of a rock and roll sensibility. Drummer Russ Lawton and bassist Tony Markellis defined themselves as the thickest, steadiest sounding rhythm section in music today. This band is Trey Anastasio’s bungee cord, allowing him to consistently jump over the cliff at will, yet keeping him from hitting the ground. At it’s lowest, this show was bright with energy. On average it bubbled slightly beneath the surface with a ferocious, yet steady groove. Oftentimes it became volcanic, exploding with an intensity you don’t often see, especially for such extended lengths of time.
From the opening horn notes of “Shine” to the final notes of “First Tube,” the three hour show was relentless. His show never stuck to one style of music, exploring various genres while making them sound uniquely his. Songs like “Shine,” and “Peggy,” straight forward pop numbers, were brimming with a happy energy. The island-esque “Sweet and Dandy,” the calypso sounding “Mozambique,” the ballad-y “Sweet Dreams Melinda (“Went from Charlotte all the way to Savannah”), all sounding bright and joyous. Straight ahead rockers like “All That Almost Was,” and “Tuesday,” were Anastasio’s musical explosions, hitting loud peaks time and again. “Mr. Completely” was the more unique number of the evening, allowing Trey to conduct the band like an orchestra. Calling for key changes with a raise or lower of his finger (at four beats when I pull my fist down, thank you very much), he would call upon various members of his band to showcase their own talents.
Resurrection - Trey Anastasio at The Fillmore
Credit the horn section, particularly trumpet/vocalist Jennifer Hartswick, for adding to the evening’s insanity. She’s taken a center stage role in the band these days, whipping the crowd up into her own frenzy at times. This was never more evident during Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” Taking Robert Plant’s vocals, as well as shifting the sexual identity of the song from male to female, the Fillmore would go ballistic after every line she sang. For 18 years old, and sounding as though she’s been doing this twice as long as she’s been alive, Natalie Pressman impressed time and again. Russel Remmington might be the only man who could take a flute to a Trey Anastasio song and make it work.
If anything might truly define the band, it would be the moments when the horn section would leave the stage, stripping the sound down to four basic rock and roll instruments. “Gotta Jibboo,” and “Sand,” were prime examples of this band allowing Trey to create his own sonic chaos. Each of these numbers started with a thick, bubbling, heavy groove. There would be quiet, patient interplay between Anastasio and Paczkowski, eventually allowing Trey to create his own aural insanity. The jams would hit peaks, staying there until it seemed the Fillmore itself would implode.
If the night’s “First Tube” closer sounded slightly ragged, it still sounded good. Watching Trey bouncing up and down and dancing side to side during the closing jam was as much fun as the instrumental itself. He ended the night at the Fillmore waving his guitar around like a jedi lightsaber, flashing it side to side, jutting it forward, until finally raising it high over his head; taking the sound, the band, and the audience with it. If anyone had a time more awesome than the audience, it was him. Good for him, and awesome for the rest of us.
Trey Anastasio at The Fillmore
Shine
Burlap Sack and Pumps
Push On Til the Day
Cayman Review
All That Almost Was
Sweet Dreams Melinda
A Case of Ice and Snow
Mozambique
Sweet and Dandy
Night Speaks To A Woman
Tuesday
Plasma
Gotta Jibboo
Valentine
Alaska
Peggy
Sand
Goodbye Head >
Mr. Completely
Black Dog
Dragonfly
Show Of Life
First Tube
Concert Review: Furthur – New York, NY February 24, 2010
For this and future concert reviews, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
What a difference one night makes.
Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s latest post-Grateful Dead lineup hit New York’s Radio City Music Hall for the second of it’s two night stand at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. The first night was a bit uneven, a disjointed first set, yet a spectacular second set. What an amazing night that was had for those who attended this show. It was a window into the past, without ever coming off as nostalgic. 
The evening’s jam that started the first set had a spacious, dream-like quality to it with no single band member taking the reins. Immediately they were floating as a single organism, weaving through a sonic landscape, jamming straight into the evening’s first New York favorite, “Truckin’.” Between the two New York references and the shout back mantra about it all being “a long, strange trip,” it was only fitting this gets played tonight. The end jam seemed to lack a bit of direction, as it were looking for a rabbit hole that wasn’t quite there. This was still a high energy start to what would be a high energy evening. “Dire Wolf” brought the spirit that was, and always will be, the “good ol’ Grateful Dead,” John Kadlecik playing wonderfully and sounding like the youthful Jerry Garcia many of us remember. Cowboy Bob Weir took the mic for a solid version of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” followed by a hot, sinewy “Althea.” “Brown Eyed Women” was particularly heartwarming each time Lesh took to the microphone for any reference to “the old man.” A feisty, bouncy “Til The Morning Comes” gave way to a spacey “The Music Never Stopped.” “Touch of Grey” would end the evening’s first set in great fashion. A few standout jams and terrific playing, this was easily one of the better first sets of the tour. You’d be tempted to write home about it, but you knew something else was in store when all was said and done.
Then the jamfest truly began.
Salami recalled, due to Salmonella contamination
For this and future consumer alerts, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
Daniele International Inc., an establishment with operations in Pascoag and Mapleville, R.I., is expanding its January 23 recall to include approximately 115,000 pounds of salami/salame products that may be contaminated with Salmonella, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The recall is being expanded as a result of a confirmed finding of Salmonella in an unopened salami product tested by FSIS, and by ingredient testing performed by the company. The product was sampled during the course of an ongoing investigation of a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella serotype Montevideo illnesses. These products were not subject to recall previously because they are not sausage products that contain black pepper on the external surface, or packaged with such products. Based on preliminary testing results, the company believes that crushed red pepper may be a possible source of Salmonella contamination.
This recall is extensive, as products have been distributed throughout the US and cases of salmonella have been associated with the products.
We have heard very little about this recall. Such products as Dietz & Watson Artisan Collection, Baby Genoa Pepper Salame, are included in this recall.
To see the list of items included in this recall, please find more information here:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/Recall_006_2010_Release/index.asp
Concert Review: Furthur – New York, NY, February 23, 2010
For this and future concert reviews, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
Anyone who followed the Grateful Dead post “In The Dark” remembers the mania surrounding the band whenever they played Madison Square Garden. The tie dye King Kong standing next to the marquee, and 20,000 ticketless Deadheads with a single finger in the air, looking for a their miracle. Expectations were always raised when the boys played New York. These days the stakes aren’t anywhere near as high. There’s no Jerry Garcia, no Madison Square Garden, only two original members of the band left. Regardless, it’s still Grateful Dead music in New York, this time being the Furthur lineup at Radio City Music Hall for the first night of a two night stand.
The first set started off strong with an “Other One” jam that immediately had direction, almost as if we were the ones who walked in after the band started. The traditional 16-17 note Phil Lesh bass roll signaled the real beginning to “The Other One,” yet started to tread ever-so-lightly into “Dark Star” territory before weaving into a beautiful “Playin’ in the Band.” The jam here was clearly bassist Phil Lesh’s showcase, as he carefully guided the rest of the band through intricate, outer space melodies. John Kadlecik’s guitar tone was eerily reminiscent of the ’72-’74 Garcia years, at times, stylistically, seeming to summon the big guy himself. This combo would also represent the only real highlights of the first set. JJ Cale’s “After Midnight” followed, Kadlecik and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti trading licks before falling into a short groove reminiscent of something Phish would do (sans the stop-start stuff). “They Love Each Other” had the band sounding a bit more like the Jerry Garcia Band as opposed to the Grateful Dead. Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” was next. Weir wasn’t in the finest form vocally at the start, but finished strong. “The Race Is On” and “Dear Mr. Fantasy” were up, the former a rollicking version, the latter seeming a bit out of place, possibly because of the feeling that “Fantasy” was yet another cover song and not an original within the confines of the first set. Ratdog’s lyrics-heavy “Two Djinn” killed whatever momentum might have been left. Barely resuscitating the set was an unexpected “Samson and Delilah.” Normally reserved for a Sunday night, it sounded feisty, Weir snarling out several lyrics, Jeff Chimenti with a soulful, fantastic keyboard solo.
All in all, it wasn’t quite the set list and energy level befitting a New York audience. Nothing was played badly, it’s just nothing beyond the first jam and song really stood out. Regardless of the original Grateful Dead making songs like “The Race Is On,” and “Masterpiece” their own, the first set relied too heavily on covers. “Memorable” isn’t the first word that comes to mind after that set. Surely the mojo had to be there for the second set.
Weekly Lost Chronicles: Lighthouse
For this and future Lost/TV related articles, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
The Jack time line in the flash sideways, like John Locke’s, shows a significant (intentional) continuity error. When the series started, Jack wasn’t a father and eventually divorced his wife, Sarah. In this new time line, Jack has visitation of his son, David, who bears a great resemblance to Jack but a slight resemblance to Kate as well…even though the only son they knew was Aaron, Claire’s child that Kate took off of the island. The separation stayed, but boy here appears to be a new character as of this new time frame. More curious is Jack’s scar from having his appendix removed, something his mother remembered, but Jack guesses he did as well. Jack guided Juliet through the surgery when he had his appendix removed on the island. In the flash sideways, how could he have gone through his life, up to that point, without even noticing the scar? Unless he was “branded” in some alternate time line as well. Read a little further… 
A common theme with Jack’s character is his inability to maintain a relationship. He couldn’t maintain one with his first wife, he couldn’t maintain one with Kate. He couldn’t maintain one with John Locke, as much as Locke tried, nor Sawyer (not that Sawyer was any great help in that department, either). In this episode it was his son who he had the rough relationship with. David didn’t want Jack at the recital because he didn’t want his father see him fail. Yet, Jack was the one determined to not make the same mistakes his own father made with him. Jack’s father had told him that he “didn’t have what it takes,” something he carried around with him his entire life, and never wanted his own son to feel that way. It’s another common theme that runs through this series, how the words spoken to them, or even spoken themselves, as well as their actions, has brought them to where they are now physically and emotionally, regardless of the time line.
Weekly iPhone App Recommendation: Plants vs. Zombies
For this and other tech toy stories, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
Plants and zombies. Botany versus the living dead, what’s a zombie lover with a green thumb to do? It’s an unlikely pairing for a tower defense game, but in PopCap Games’ highly rated “Plants vs. Zombies” computer to iPhone port, it’s the perfect match.
Martha Stewart's and George Romero's cage match
The goal is to ward off a zombie invasion by strategically placing plant life around your grid-like yard as a means of defense. Once they reach the house, it’s game over for you. The initial stages of the game are fairly easy, with one strip of lawn to defend against a simple zombie attack. Eventually you’re job is to protect the entire lawn, using an arsenal of plants ranging from sunflowers, tiny pea shooters to purple venus fly traps, potato bombs and more. Each plant serves a specific purpose, along with carrying a weakness. Sunflowers will add sunlight, allowing plants to grow faster, giving you more weaponry at your disposal. The more sunflowers planted, the more beneficial for arming yourself. Some pea shooters will shoot one pea, others will shoot multiple peas or peas that will stun the zombies. The purple venus fly traps will take out a zombie with one bite, but wind up incapacitated while it chews, leaving the rest of that strip of lawn open for an attack provided there isn’t any backup.
This brings us to the zombies themselves. Of course these brain craving zombies (think “Return of the Living Dead”) aren’t just your normal, slow walking, plant hungry creatures. This batch of undead will come at you using various methods. One will come at you with a pole vault, springing himself over what you’ve already set up. Another will wear a bucket over his head, rendering him impervious to numerous pea shooters. There’s even a Thriller Michael Jackson zombie who crawls from under the ground to disco-type music. I like the ornery old zombie who gets his rotted flesh in a bundle after you knock the newspaper out of his hands. The levels themselves will also begin to work against you, having to defend around a pool, fog, daytime and nighttime.
Send...more...paramedics...
There’s enough strategy in this game, too. Do you plant a pea shooter or another sunflower to speed up the growth of other plants that do more damage, yet still take longer to grow? Do you want to lay out a cherry bomb, or save your arsenal for a heavier wave? Sometimes, in an act of desperation, throwing a walnut in the way will buy you just enough time to grow another plant or take out another zombie. It could all backfire, the zombies reach your house, and you become one of them. Plant wisely, young gardener.
Graphically, the game is a marvel on the iphone. There’s been more than enough attention paid to detail with numerous zombies having visual idiosyncrasies (wearing clothes they were buried in, carrying a window screen as a method of defense, etc.). Even on a screen as small as the iPhone, the layout works perfectly. Soundwise, the game is a real hoot, with eerie music and zombies groaning out “brains” every so often. Control wise it’s a breeze. No hand-eye coordination is necessary, only a quick tapping finger and quicker thinking. If there’s one complaint, it would be the slight slowdown once the screen is filled with shooting plants and dying dead people. It’s a minor quibble, spotted only if you’re really looking for it.
At 2.99 it’s one of the pricier game apps in the iTunes store, which adds a little weight as to whether or not an app is truly worth the purchase. Even at that price, with 50 levels, it still feels as though PopCaps could charge more and easily get away with it. If you’ve played the Mac and PC versions, you know what to expect. If you haven’t, it’s the same thing as the free demo minus the mini games which, hopefully, will be added in future updates. It’s one of the highest rated apps for purchase and three of the best dollars you’ll ever spend.
Maybe the next update will have a setting inside of a shopping mall….
Pesto & Dried Tomato Chicken Sandwiches
Love those scrumptious Deli sandwiches, but find all the prep time daunting? We have come up with a simple method for creating these delicious sandwiches–making this a wonderful option for hectic evenings after work–and especially enjoyable while watching DVDs on the weekend!
The key to cutting prep time for this recipe is to buy a rotisserie chicken and prepared pesto. However, if you have leftover chicken or don’t mind cooking four chicken breast filets, you can certainly substitute those for the pulled rotisserie chicken. You can also substitute any type of cheese for the Provolone, if you prefer.
I also think this would be a terrific sandwich to grill. Haven’t tried that yet, but if you do, please let us know what you think!
Easy Pesto & Dried Tomato Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1-rotisserie chicken, purchased from Deli, pulled apart
3-ounces dried tomatoes, not packed in oil (approx. 3/4 cup)
1-loaf French bread
1/2 cup pesto (prepared)
1/4-cup chopped ripe olives
4-slices provolone cheese
1-cup (approx) spinach, washed and patted dry
Method:
Boil water; put dried tomatoes into crockery bowl; pour boiling water over tomatoes, to cover. Leave for about 20 minutes, or til soft. Drain tomatoes; pat dry.
Set oven to Broil.
Chop the olives into chunky pieces. Add to pesto.
Cut french bread loaf diagonally into 4 pieces; then, cut each piece in half, horizontally (to use for each sandwich). Spread pesto on inside of bread; placed pulled apart chicken and provolone cheese on one side of sandwich; place spinach, and tomatoes on other side. Put the four sides of bread with chicken on separate cooking sheet and broil, to melt cheese. Then, assemble sandwiches.
Serve and enjoy!
©2010 Carolina Shortcut Chef
Photo and another pesto chicken recipe here:
http://blog.ordinaryrecipesmadegourmet.com/2009/04/chicken-pesto-open-face-sandwich-to.html
Movie Review: The Road
For this and future movie reviews, visit us at our new home! http://www.carolinalifestyles.com/
“How would you know that…that you were the last man alive?”
It’s a theme that’s been explored over the past few years, with Francis Lawrence’s “I Am Legend” and Roland Emmerich’s “2012.” The former relied more on the science fiction aspect, the latter being a fun, yet cartoony look at the end of the world. You can go back even further to Mel Gibson’s “The Road Warrior,” a cult favorite. John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” provides the best speculative fiction on the subject: what would happen to those few who survived the end of the world?
The landscape in “The Road” is nothing but a vast wasteland. Buildings are deteriorating or have crumbled. A gray sky blocks any hint of sunlight. Trees fall and fires erupt without warning. Even though we’re given hints in the form of earthquakes, we’re never really told what caused the global catastrophe. It doesn’t matter. The world as we knew it is gone, leaving stragglers left not to live, but merely survive by any means necessary. Whether by theft or cannibalism, the entire point of one’s existence in this movie is to simply make it to tomorrow. The planet finally became the hand basket everyone said we were all riding in.
We see the two main characters post apocalypse. A father and his five or six year old son, whose names we’re never told, are seen lugging a shopping cart with everything they own. The only hope they have is to make it to the coast, where the father believes they can survive. Regardless of any worldly possessions, the son is the only thing the father truly values, and will do whatever he needs to in order to protect him. Moreso, the father is intent on making sure that his son can continue beyond his death, carrying a sense of morality and the ideal that they are, in fact, “the good guys who carry the fire.”
The two meet people along their journey, essentially the last ones standing. There are very few, the most profound being an older man named Eli (Robert Duvall). When asked if he ever wished he would die, Eli’s response summed it up, “No, it’s foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these.”
Make no mistake; this movie is as bleak as it gets. Hope is nearly non-existent in just about every frame, unless that hope comes in the form of a quick and painless death. In one of the movie’s more disturbing scenes (one of many), the father and son find themselves in a house where the basement is inhabited by cannibals. Spotting others on their way back, the two run to the second floor, hiding next to a sink filled with blood. The only good the father believes he can provide his son is a quick and dignified death, as opposed to being killed and eaten. The scenario of dying with some form of dignity plays out more than once, each time you’re left wondering if it’s the better way out. It’s Darwinism with a whole heap of despair.
No, this will not win any “Feel Good Movie of the Year” awards, nor is it your a-typical date movie. It’s a road trip movie of the most depressing and devastating kind. Even so, “The Road” is enough to make one contemplate your own existence, what you would do being among the last left alive, and how you would manage to keep your own morality while everything else around you has died. It’s not the least bit entertaining, probably the best compliment I could pay.
Four out of five stars
Scenes From A Midnight Hockey Game: Charlotte Checkers vs. Toledo Walleye
Last night the Charlotte Checkers hosted the first ever midnight hockey game in team history.
Okay, technically not midnight, but over 4,500 hockey fans were on hand to watch the first puck drop at 11:59 Thursday evening. Toledo opened the scoring a little over two minutes into the first period. That was all Toledo would need as they went on to beat the Checkers 7-0 in a game that ended sometime after 2:15 Friday morning. Evan Rankin led Toledo with five goals for the evening, while Maxime Tanguay led with four assists. Toledo goalie Jordan Pearce shut the door, making all 33 saves on the way to his second shutout of the season. Charlotte was never in this game, almost as if they were still in bed.
The game was a blowout, yet it couldn’t dampen the uniqueness of a game starting a minute before midnight. A few took advantage of the five dollar ticket by showing up in their pajamas. Alcohol sales were cut at 1 in the morning and the crowd, while boisterous for that hour of the morning, was never out of hand. The midnight hockey game should be considered a success, hopefully Charlotte hosts more at that hour.
Box Score:
Toledo Walleye 7 At Charlotte Checkers 0
Feb 18, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena
1st Period-1, Toledo, Rankin 22 (Tanguay, Smith), 2:35. 2, Toledo, Rankin 23 (Sawyer, Tanguay), 8:37. 3, Toledo, Nesbitt 11 (Piche, Keefe), 15:05. Penalties-Piche Tol (hooking), 15:27; Keefe Tol (roughing), 19:19; Piche Tol (high-sticking), 19:19; Stefanishion Chr (roughing), 19:19.
2nd Period-4, Toledo, Rankin 24 (Tanguay, Sawyer), 3:00. 5, Toledo, Charlebois 4 (Nesbitt, Piche), 6:00 (pp). 6, Toledo, Rankin 25 (Tremblay, MacMillan), 15:53. Penalties-Ward Chr (holding), 5:24; Keefe Tol (fighting – major), 9:15; Reynolds Chr (fighting – major), 9:15; Leveille Chr (hooking), 10:50; Brouillette Chr (tripping), 13:42; Leveille Chr (tripping), 19:53.
3rd Period-7, Toledo, Rankin 26 (Tanguay, Piche), 16:27. Penalties-Slattengren Chr (high-sticking), 3:05; Piche Tol (delay of game), 8:27; Zarb Tol (tripping), 9:36; Berube Chr (slashing ), 14:58; Nebus Tol (tripping), 15:41; Rankin Tol (high-sticking), 19:14; Reynolds Chr (slashing ), 19:14; Keefe Tol (spearing major, game misconduct – spearing), 20:00.
Shots on Goal-Toledo 9-15-14-38. Charlotte 13-6-14-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Toledo 1 of 6; Charlotte 0 of 5.
Goalies-Toledo, Pearce 10-12-1-0 (33 shots-33 saves). Charlotte, Munce 13-10-1-1 (38 shots-31 saves).
A-4,533
Referees-Steve Patafie (29).
Linesmen-Mathieu Chenier (71), Paul Reid (97).
T.J.Reynolds and Adam Keefe in the evening's lone scuffle
Toledo Goal
T.J. Reynolds rushes the puck
Toledo Walleye defenseman Joe Charlebois
Trader Joe’s: Don’t eat those chocolate chip bars!
Trader Joe’s Company of Monrovia, California is voluntarily recalling Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars, UPC 82818, Use by Dates/Lot Codes 16JUL10H2 and 17JUL10H1, manufactured by Bloomfield Bakery, a subsidiary of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
The product involved in this recall was distributed at Trader Joe’s stores nationally and comes in a 7.4 oz box marked with Use by/Lot Codes 16JUL10H2 and 17JUL10H1 on the top of the box and stamped individually on the side of each granola bar. Production of the product has been suspended while FDA and Bloomfield Bakery continue their investigation.
FDA recalls Nature’s Variety pet food
Nature’s Variety has initiated a voluntary recall of their Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet for dogs and cats with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The only products affected are limited to chicken medallions, patties, and chubs with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10. No other Nature’s Variety products are affected.
The affected products are limited to the Nature’s Variety Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet packaged in the following forms:
- 3 lb chicken medallions (UPC# 7 69949 60130 2) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10
- 6 lb chicken patties (UPC# 7 69949 60120 3) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10
- 2 lb chicken chubs (UPC# 7 69949 60121 0) with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10
The “Best If Used By” date is located on the back of the package above the safe handling instructions. The affected product was distributed through retail stores and internet sales in the United States, and in limited distribution in Canada.
If you are a consumer and have purchased one of the affected products, please return the unopened product to your retailer for a full refund or replacement. If your package has been opened, please dispose of the raw food in a safe manner by securing it in a covered trash receptacle. Then, bring your receipt (or the empty package in a sealed bag) to your local retailer for a full refund or replacement.
Weekly Lost Chronicles: The Substitute
In typical Lost fashion, this episode got us a little somewhere–and mostly nowhere–at the same time.
The John Locke character has always been the most intriguing of the bunch, but watching him in the flash sideways moments has been a bit of a trip. When Oceanic 815 crashed, the island had cured him of his paralysis. He had gone from a man without much hope to a man of pure faith. In the flash sideways, he was the man who insisted to not be told what he couldn’t do–until Locke became victim of the recession and lost his job. After being turned down for the site manager’s position at a construction agency, he was told by a woman battling terminal cancer to concentrate on what he could do. His inability to call Jack for the free consult shows he’s clearly afraid of being told what he couldn’t do.
The kick still comes from watching these characters intersect had the plane not crashed. Hurley became owner of the company that Locke gets fired from. Ben Linus was a European history teacher (how appropriate!) at the same school where Locke eventually teaches. Rose works for the temp agency that Hurley also owns. As a side note, Randy Nations, the guy who fired Locke, worked as a boss for Mr. Clucks during the time Hurley had worked there . . .well . . . in the flashback.
Weekly iPhone App Recommendation: Pocket God
Like many, I’m one of those who looks for apps that provide a stress outlet. Pocket God, the wickedly sadistic app from Bolt Creative, provides more than enough of an outlet to set your inner tormentor free.
Choosing between four island locales and one underwater area, you can drop up to six pygmies on screen at the same time. These little guys have their own characteristics. One might let his hair down over his eyes, then roll it up with a bone. One will let his grass skirt drop, and, in a fit of embarrassment, smile, giggle, then raise it back up to his waist. Numerous occasions I’ve spotted (and heard) one passing gas, generally while standing in front of another. One seems to be designated the fisher, and will tend to catch fish for everyone but himself. Essentially they lead their own happy, quiet, peaceful existences. Such is life for these adorable island pygmies.
Yes, that's a shark.
Until you come in. You’re their god. And the god you’re to be is not a peaceful one, either.
You’re goal is to create as much chaos for the pygmies as humanely possible. A shake of the screen will create an earthquake, a tip of the screen in either direction will result in sliding the pygmies off the island. A touch of the screen and you’ll be able to pick up a pygmie, twirl him around endlessly, and drop him back on the island. A flick up on the screen will send one sailing into the water. A touch and flick down will dunk them. Some of what you can do will depend heavily on which area you’re in. You can flick one into a volcano. Flick three and you’ll set it off, spraying lava balls onto the remaining pygmies, which sends them diving into the ocean, ultimately to their deaths. If you’re in the graveyard setting, you can stick a pygmie on a web and send a spider to spin a web around it. If you bury a pygmie alive, it’ll return from the grave to feast on the brains of the remaining pygmies (yeah, it’s as cool as it sounds). I’ve been able to possess a pygmie with the ghost of a dead one, have it’s head turn 360 a la Linda Blair, and spit up pea soup. The most cruel deaths at your fingertips seem to be underwater. Placing chum in the hands of a pygmie in order to lure a shark isn’t the nicest thing one can do, but it’s a lot of fun to watch. Every island has at least one huge idiosyncrasy that sets it apart from the other islands.
"The power of pygmies compels you!!!!"
Each island also has certain aspects where you can keep score. For instance, on the tropical island you’ll be table to take a coconut, drop it on a pygmie’s head, and the game will keep tabs on how many times it’s bounced off of one or more heads. It will remember how many pygmies you’ve simultaneously speared underwater. If you’re dangling a pygmie over a shark, it will keep track of how many snaps the shark has taken before you’ve either dropped it back on the island, or allowed the little guy to become shark food. If you’ve set a dinosaur or ice monster free, you can toss spears to the pygmies in order to fend the beasts off. There’s more depth to this app than initially meets the eye.
The free updates to Pocket God come often, each a substantial upgrade to an already addictive app. With more islands and torture devices coming, this is one app that, for the demented and twisted, will never get old.
Concert Review: Furthur – Charlotte, North Carolina, Feb 10, 2010
Hand it to Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. After years of trying, the band formerly known as the Grateful Dead finally got it right.
No small feat, as that collaboration has yielded too many band combinations in search of the Jerry Garcia x-factor. Having drummer Joe Russo (Benevento/Russo Duo), percussionist Jay Lane (Primus), and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti (RatDog) was genius enough. When they tapped Dark Star Orchestra’s John Kadlecik to take over Jerry’s guitar and vocals, they came as close to nailing that x-factor as they ever will. Over the years, Kadlecik has developed the uncanny ability to mimic Garcia in both voice, guitar style, and tone. So much so that one could close his or her eyes, focus on his playing, and almost trick yourself into believing that Jerry was actually on stage. This happened on occasions too numerous to mention during Furthur’s stop at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte last night.
Proving that some things never change, the fact that a Lesh and/or Weir collaboration will never start on time, the band started with a short, but melodic jam that wove its way into “Here Comes Sunshine.” It was apparent that the Jerry factor was in full swing, but even moreso the second Kadlecik opened his mouth. Sounding like a more youthful Garcia, the opening line “Wake of the flood, laughing water, forty nine” had the crowd of older hippies (and, let’s be honest, freaks . . . but spoken with affection) up and dancing. It also became clear that Kadlecik has enough confidence in his situation to be more assertive than in earlier shows. “Crazy Fingers,” normally a second song, second set selection in the Grateful Dead world, found its way second song first set tonight. Again, it was another example of how this band can trick you into believing you’re seeing the Grateful Dead as opposed to a glorified cover band.
The “Cowboy Bob Weir” selection of “Me and My Uncle” was standard enough, but the show took its turn during the Bob Dylan cover of “Maggies Farm.” Gone was the breakneck speed of Dylan’s version, as well as the version the Grateful Dead would do. This one was slowed down, bluesy, with more than a dash of funk. Kept at somewhere above simmering but not far below a rolling boil, “Maggies Farm” was one of the standouts of an already terrific first set. “Candyman” brought us back to 70’s Dead, Kadlecik’s flange toned guitar solo sounding almost too much like Jerry’s. “New Minglewood Blues” continued Weir’s hot streak. “Foolish Heart” would’ve been a great enough set closer, played well above average, but it was the “Cosmic Charlie” that really did the trick. Taking us right back to the 60’s, a beaming and animated Phil Lesh had a wonderful time with this song. By the end of the first set you knew that not only was this band hitting on all cylinders, but they were clearly having a good time doing it. It was something that seemed to be lacking in former lineups. 
“Lost Sailor” would kick off the second set in slightly ragged fashion. After finally getting its feet off the ground, it kicked off a set where the music would not stop until the short break before the encore. “Saint of Circumstance” kept it’s Grateful Dead spot after “Lost Sailor,” and a fine version it was. “Doin’ That Rag” was John Kadlecik’s challenge. A workout of a song, filled with odd time signatures, different tempos both instrumental and vocally, Kadlecik never took his eyes off of his lyric sheet. At times it looked as though he were going through a fraternity initiation, given the nature of that beast (I really wonder if someone backstage said, “let’s throw this at him and see how he does”). However he was more than up to the task and nailed everything. “Come Together” was given a sleazier, slinkier, back alley type of sound than what appeared on the Beatles’ Abbey Road. “Caution” and “New Potato Caboose” again took us back to he 60’s before bringing us an epic version of Ryan Adams’ “Nobody Girl.” This was a wall of intense, glorious sound and one of the band highlights of the entire evening. The personal highlight came during “China Doll.”
If the Jerry x-factor was in play all evening, Jerry’s spirit took it’s turn near the end. Listening to Kadlecik sing the final line, “Take up your China Doll, it’s only fractured. Just a little nervous from the fall” and it wasn’t just Jerry Garcia. For that moment, it was the Grateful Dead. After the set closing “Cold Rain and Snow,” it was the best compliment one could pay: “It felt like the Grateful Dead.”
Phil Lesh’s hopeful “Box of Rain,” also being the final song the Grateful Dead ever played as a band, seemed an appropriate encore to me. It was as if Charlotte got flash backed twenty five years when Jerry Garcia occupied stage right. John Kadlecik does more than an admirable job taking one of the hardest spots in music. His younger age, as well as his “he sounds so much like Jerry, it’s creepy” style was a huge kick to the two veterans.
The other less spoken factor seems to be that Jerry isn’t there. The setlists are no longer static, set to certain songs appearing in certain slots in each set. Without the big guy calling many of the shots, the setlists are more prone to surprise, and numerous songs have been given either a slight reworking or more of a re-imagining. It’s no less of an adventure than when Jerry was alive, just a side step down that same alternate reality. And missing this trip shouldn’t even be an option.
Carolina Lifestyles 