Sandwich Deliciousness

Had a random burst of culinary inspiration this afternoon and created a sandwichery masterpiece:

1. Start Foreman Grill
2. Place 2 pieces of 12-Grain wheat bread to start toasting
3. Chop onions and start them sauteing on the grill
4. Flip the bread so the other side toasts and add munster cheese to melt
5. Once the onions are soft and browned, put them in the sandwich
6. At the last minute so it doesn't dry out, put in black forest ham
7. Dash of pepper
8. Close the sandwich and the grill, and sear for 3-4 minutes
9. Deliciousness

TF On the Ball

I find myself agreeing with Thomas Friedman again and again. I think he once more has his finger on the pulse of what "should happen" in terms of alternative energy investment in the US. As he highlights in today's column, the Chinese are starting to throw the kitchen sink at green energy production and at our (the US') current relative speeds, we will soon be left far behind.

With all of the debate over the impending energy capping bill vote, which some say is too weak, and others say is too restrictive and will choke off job creation (doubtful because nearly every change in the way things are done has spurred massive innovation which leads to the creation of new industrial sectors), I am reminded of the boldness that America was once known as having to do "the impossible" as is highlighted in JFK's go to the moon speech. Where is this resolve right now?

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. "
- JFK, 1962

The Fake World

Last night, I made it out to my friend Brett's birthday. Interestingly enough, an year ago at the same time, I had gone to his birthday trying hard to not smile or laugh because I might pop stitches from getting my wisdom teeth out (I actually did end up popping some stitches and it was not a pretty scene in the bathroom).

Brett had his birthday at a new establishment that had gone up in my ~10 months away from the city - the Public House - which was actually a really good find. The place is big, spacious and clean. It's trying to be upscale without being snooty which is a rarity in the DC scene.

About an hour into being at the bar, I start to see a procession of burly guys with AV gear making their way through. Then it clicked, I recalled hearing from some kickball friends that the Real World was filming in DC, and had approached the kickball league to set up some fake games to have the cast play and make it seem like they were actually in the league. The cast's outing in the bar went right along the lines of the fakeness. When you see three or four people people being followed around with an entire film crew - camera guy, mic guy, light guy, switchboard guy, and director - shouting orders and physically displacing people to get their shots, it's not hard to take a wild guess as to who is on the cast.

Of course, as soon as the camera's showed up, a circus ensued. The cast members got up on a table and started dancing, and guys and girls at the bar started trying their hardest to get up there with them. I even overheard some girls next to me negotiating with the film crew director if they could get up there. Jeez - people don't really act like this usually, and come on, with filming happening probably 18 hours a day, most of the footage is going to end up on the cutting room floor.

I may end up in the background of some shots as the camera seemed to be all over the place in the part of the bar we were at, but I found myself making it to the outskirts of the main area, along with a few other guys who were done with the madness. I went upstairs to the roof bar for a bit, and when I came back down, things had calmed down - the novelty of having the Real World there had worn off. It actually begged an interesting question - does the Real World film crew go in expecting the first hour to be craziness, and then getting in their shots afterwards? Who knows.

In other interesting randomness:

• My first friend ever, from pre-school, had made it to the party through a friend of a friend. I hadn't seen her in an year and a half.
  
• Some guy in an orange shirt in the bar was convinced that I was his long lost drinking buddy "Phil Perkins".
  
• Brett was starting some side ventures, and said that a conversation we'd had six months ago had been a factor in his taking the plunge to entrepreneuship. Sweet.

The Minority Report

Here is Thomas Friedman calling for giving more work visas to foreign nationals that graduate from American schools as well as increased educational standards across the board in efforts to stimulate more invention and innovation.

Why is he the only person shouting it from the roofs?

R.I.P. MJ

I'm still in disbelief over Michael Jackson's death.

My thoughts towards him are so dichotomous: on one side, innovative musician whose songs still sound fresh and electrifying dancer whose moves remain unmatched (Ursher and JT, sorry guys, you can't compete); and on the other, the bizarreness of Michael and the pedophilia charges. I would always say that I was a fan of Michael the musician, but not of Michael the person.

Yet, after having watched the special that aired a few years ago where MJ was interviewed by a British journalist, I did feel pangs of sympathy - it seemed like MJ was someone who needed major psychological help, and never got it. Come on - for someone to voluntarily deform themselves, and change appearance so drastically, putting up with the pain of repeated surgeries just to try to reflect how they saw themselves in their mind's eye points to a major corner case. I think a big part of me always thought that he'd get it back together and become the mid-80's Michael again - only odder looking. Rest in peace, King of Pop.

Let's See What Else This Band's Got

Two weeks ago, I was driving through my old UVA hood in Charlottesville in preparation for my five year reunion, and I heard this great song on the 'ville's indie radio station. I was nearly prepared to stop the car and listen to the whole set in hopes that they'd mention who it was, but I was going to be late to dinner, and was very hungry. I resolved that I'd never hear it again, but here it is. Let's see what else this band's got. Could be good:

Rise of the multinational as an inter-state actor

A perhaps, little-known fact, is that I (technically) got a degree in Foreign Affairs. UVA forced me to choose between a B.S. (my biz degree) and the B.A., and wouldn't give me both. I'm still pissed (and my foreign affairs work is classified as a minor).

Anyways, one of the theories I studied stated that in the future, states would begin to decrease in their power as the multinational company would begin to exert its force over the laws, cultures, and politics of the many countries it operated in... With Twitter and Google working to better enable communication within Iran, and from Iran to the outside world, perhaps this paradigm is beginning to take hold.