I don't watch many food-related shows on television (I don't watch much television, period, but that's the subject of another posting). I think Top Chef is pretty silly (there is so little difference between this and Project Runway that I keep waiting for the crossover show): it appears that the contestants are chosen for egos rather than the reality of the kitchen. And what is so dang hard about pastry courses, anyway?

Most of my culinary viewing is Alton Brown, either through his show Good Eats or the occasional seasonal mini-series, Feasting on Asphalt. Most cooking shows have the host mumbling at you and going through the motions of food preparation. Brown tells you the science behind the cooking, and does it with a lot of humor as well. Good stuff! Asphalt's two seasons were road trips, featuring road food. In the first, he traveled across the US via Route 66. In the second, he traveled along the Mississippi, from south to north. Lots of great looking food in both seasons!

One show that has caught my attention is Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, seen (by me) on BBC America. Each episode, Gordon Ramsay tries to turn a failing restaurant around. I am utterly amazed at the trainwrecks that have managed to stay in business long enough to these saving throws.

I'll have to be careful. I may end up getting a digital video recorder just to make sure I don't miss any episodes!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:09 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 247 words, total size 2 kb.

An article implies that Robert A. Heinlein's influence is declining. The evidence? That the literati don't take him seriously anymore. Is being compared to Heinlein a help or hindrance to a new science fiction writer? One such writer speaks up (and to be honest, the main reason I picked up John Scalzi's books was because of the comparison to Heinlein!)

Looks like it is time to trot out this 1980 essay by Spider Robinson again! more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 04:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 109 words, total size 1 kb.

I really hope my daughter does not see a commercial for this. It sounds, on the one hand, utterly amazing. A robotic dinosaur that can interact, cries when you mistreat it and more. (The price is a tad out of reach for me. $350.00. Ouch!)

On the other hand...she has some "virtual pets" already. I'd rather she interact with her real pets more. She seems to have finally gotten over the loss of our one dog, and is bonding with the other (the one dog was her favorite). But her fish are more my fish. I do most of the feeding and all of the maintenance. If "virtual pets" are supposed to act as teaching tools and help develop responsibility...the jury is still out!

Via BoingBoing, which has a link to a creepy video where one of these is "killed". Some interesting notes there, and a mention of a book co-edited by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett that I need to pick up!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:30 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 170 words, total size 1 kb.

Virgil Finlay's Strange Science; Virgil Finlay (Underwood-Miller, 1992, ISBN 0-88733-154-8, cover by Virgil Finlay).

The review can now be found here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 25 words, total size 1 kb.

Combined review can now be found here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 06:01 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 11 words, total size 1 kb.