Tautology of the Skeptical Sinner

Ahh 80’s geekiness revisited with relish, Karate Kid 1 and 2 available now on hulu.com - wax on… wax off.

Classic.

I don’t do Bleeding edge Technology. I always like to wait until things have been out for a while before forking over my hard earned dosh (Thats “bucks” in English slang, gentle American readers)

But after playing around with GH3 I decided I was ready to add it to the many wastes of time I currently have.

Love it. Feel like a nerd for playing it, but it’s allll good.

The timing has absolutely nothing to do with the GH3 contest we’re having at work to benefit the Susan Komer Breast Cancer fund… nope… none at all…

Anyway, no more time to post, I have two more days to practice my shredding!

Rock on Baby!

“Spies don’t get fired… they get burned”

I recently read a review of Burn Notice. A USA original series which is part action, part tongue in cheek that was getting some excellent ratings. Its second series season has just started, but guess where you can find season 1 in its entirety??!! You got it.

Check out the first 5 minutes and see if you likey

Go Hulu, it’s your birthday…

And what a finale it was. **spoilers** see it first!

The final two were Christina, a 23 year old Culinary Student from MO, and Petrozza a 47 year Catering Director from NC.  If you haven’t seen it yet, you can see it over at Hulu.com, because **spoilers** will follow.

Both were strong players, and throughout the show, both of them played fair with a minimal amount of strategizing… they just focused on cranking out good food, and aside from both of them feeling the stress early on, both had great attitudes.

I really felt it was too close to call going in, but I was leaning towards Petrozza  although Christina is very cute, and talented.

Ultimately, it was a cliff hanger to the end with neither Chef really pulling away. Both had handicaps, the AWFUL Jen was on Petrozza’s team… and had the nerve to ask Chef Ramsay for a letter of reference! Then proceded to sulk her way to the end of the show.

Christina had the unpredictable and frankly, somewhat unstable Matt. Matt can cook, and when he’s not getting yelled at can really deliver good results, but does not do well under pressure.

Petrozza ran out of 2 of his prepped appetizers, and Christina had two dishes sent back for being cold. Otherwise they both had a great dinner service.

Ultimately, the way Christina handled her staff and her willingness to adapt and learn was what won her the 4th Hells Kitchen.

Way to go Christina! Enjoy your new role at LAs London Restaurant

Theres a great interview with her here.

CAN’T WAIT TIL NEXT SEASON DAMMIT!!!

Greetings to all you fine friendly folks. Hope you had a good 4th of July, it was a Friday, so hopefully any non-Americans enjoyed it too.

Been busy playing Space Empires V - busy is the wrong word, wasting time in an enjoyable fashion is much more appropriate. If you’ll recall, I already shared my disdain for Masters of Orion 3 - SE V is definitely the spiritual successor.

Its a 4 X game which means you Xplore, Xterminate and X-ray peoples baggage at the airport - not sure what the fourth X is for, but its a turn based strategy with Galactic conquest as the setting, and a mighty fine way of spending time it is too!

They have a demo of the game, it’s free, so if that sounds like your idea of a good time, check it out. I love the game. And 15 bucks will give you the full version downloaded and ready to play.

I’ve found some interesting stuff over the last few days, and if I’m not too busy conquering the galaxy I’ll share it soon

Pokerstars.

Ahhh, love that site… always something going on. And more bad playing than the eye can see.

US Players can still sign up there and make easy deposits in the form of an E-check from your bank. Minimum deposit is only $25.00 and there are tons of tournaments and table games where the buy in is only a dollar. So if you’re sick of playing “free chip” poker, stop on by. Or at least, check out THEIR Free Chip poker games, where you can… oh I don’t know… WIN A SEAT IN THE WSOP for nothing!!! Ahem… seriously.

In my last post on Hell’s Kitchen, I struggled to find out what it was about this show that was so damn appealing.

In last night’s competition (free over at hulu.com), I think I found out what it was.

The three finalists were: Christina, Corey and Petrozza. It’s obvious, from watching them, that they’re all competent chefs who know how to cook, but can they lead the kitchen? In this episode you’ll find out. If you ask someone to describe Chef Ramsay - they’ll probably mention “shouting”, “rude”, “mean” or “English” in their description of the charismatic owner of Hell’s Kitchen - and if you have only seen previews of the show, then you’d probably be inclined to agree.

But in this episode, as each of the aspiring chef’s take a turn at running Hell’s Kitchen, showcasing their leadership skills for a shot at the prize of being Gordon Ramsay’s next executive chef, you’ll see the teacher and mentor in Gordon Ramsay. I believe that is what makes this show so worthwhile for me. You’ll see that all of the lessons, the demands for perfection and communication, the frustration he demonstrates when a chef gives him less than he knows they are capable of, all come together when each of the final three take a shot at running the hotplate. Also known as The Pass, the hotplate is where the executive chef takes the orders from the dining room, relays them to the kitchen and provides quality control on those dishes that get sent out.

The best part is when Gordon gives each of the three some “assertiveness” training. Priceless.

I’d recommend watching this one, even if you’ve never seen a single episode before. If you like it, then go back and watch how Hell’s Kitchen got whittled down to the final 3. Then tune in next Tuesday (July 1st 2008) for the Final on Fox, or next Wednesday on Hulu.

This was an awesome final three, and you are left hanging right until the end. I won’t spoil it. But I think the best two are left.

Next week’s finale looks like an amazing 2 hours of TV, with the 2 finalists each creating their own restaurant, menu, look and feel… oh, and staffing their kitchen from the contestants previously eliminated from this season.

Keep an eye out for a preview of the finale, coming soon!

I just found out I can watch every south park episode online, legally, and for free!

You know I digg Hulu, so I have no problems with short hardly intrusive ads.

But why didn’t I hear about this earlier???

They Killed Kenny!!!

Bastards.

for joy.

Seriously.  Something is very wrong with me. I read somewhere else on the blogosphere about the next Star Trek movie.

But I watched Superman Returns last night for about the 3rd time, and they so NAILED the nostalgia of the originals while being its own movie. I should IMDB the producers and see what else they’ve come up with because they were SO on target with this movie.

Seen it? Hate it? Love it? Wanna buy it? (I need the bucks)

I love poker. However, what I appear to be good at is losing at poker.

Fortunately, Pokerstars is still accepting deposits from US players, despite Washington being bungholes about it.

While that continues to be the case, I’ll continue playing there.

Welp, here comes another beating.