holiday { Happy Zombie Jesus Day

casual_friday { Happy Holidays

I'll be traveling tomorrow for a catfish Christmas so I'm posting today. To everyone, everywhere, Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Festus, etc. Maybe your holiday season(s) be safe and joyful. Peace on Earth. Goodwill to everyone. May the New Year bring new change and new joys.

Now a collection of holiday related items.

'All I want for Christmas'


Mad TV 'ReinFather'


Klingon Christmas Carol


South Park 'Jesus vs Santa' (nsfw)

holidays { Old Holiday Radio Shows

Public domain holiday radio shows available for listening/download here.

tech { Future of tomorrow today!

Or so, testing out some new blog functionality.

Thinking about going to see the Klingon Christmas Carol referenced on GG
and Avindair's blog.

Thinking of going to see this:

URBAN EXPLORERS: INTO THE DARKNESS - A DOCUMENTARY FILM NR
Thurs Night (Dec 6) only at 7:00. Tickets $8, more information
available at http://www.urbanexplorersfilm.com
(showing at the Riverview Theatre)

UPDATE: preview of the KCC from Fox (blech) 9

holiday { Let us celebrate the day of the Turkey uprising

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am Turkitron. I have been sent from the year 9595 to save the Thanksgiving turkeys you will attempt to consume tomorrow, for they are the great, great, great, great grandfathers of GOBBLOX, the turkey that is destined to lead the rebellion against the Master Chickens!

In the year 9595, a race of deformed turkey was genetically developed by chicken scientists as revenge against his bird brother. These turkeys would exit the womb doused in gravy; gravy filled with the giblets from a monkey. The French craved it, and as a result turkey became the only food source for France, which by then will be called Robo-France 29. I was later killed by the chickens! So, of course, you can see why I'm angry at those chickens.

Months and months ago I came upon your neighbor taking the form of the Cybernetic Ghost Of Christmas Past From The Future. But I didn't realize he was an agent - a chicken in disguise. Sent from the year 9595, they had evolved… big time. From beyond feathers their beaks had softened, and they had acquired synthetic intelligence and appendages from the chicken black market from beyond the moon. Your neighbor, who dwells next door to you, is a hyper-evolved chicken from the future.


Take the turkey out of the oven if you want him to live.

I had to be reformulated by rogue chicken scientists for the rebellion. They crafted my sleek turkey body which allowed for safe passage through the time rift. The chickens became a master race through a freak accident involving radiation, and interestingly enough, to me, marshmallows.

holidays { Halloween

Halloween, know as Samhain by some, Hallow's End in Azeroth.

In this world or the virtual it is my favorite holiday. I look forward to it every year. Nerdwife and I used to host costume parties. That changed when we came to Rochester. This town does not celebrate Halloween. No haunted houses, not haunted hay rides, no scary movie showings or special events. I don't know what the issue is with this place. The mall every year around this time puts up Christmas crap and only pays token nods to Halloween and Thanksgiving. Which is odd, from a capitalist perspective, Halloween is, or was, the #2 holiday where people spend money. I suppose that is now Valentines's Day if you go by the local mall, which puts up Valentine's stuff the day after Xmas it seems.

Luckily some grad students we know throw a party, though this year there they won't be. Last year I was the ghost of Albert Einstein. This year I was going to be Professor Moody, but couldn't get the stuff together in time.

Why Halloween? I dunno, I've always liked the scary stories of ghosts and ghouls. Stories like the Headless Horseman and The Raven. I liked dressing up in costume and trick or treating...back when you could still do it after dark before the panicked parents brigade and their over protectiveness took the country by storm. No one trick or treats after dark anymore, well at least not down here.

In St. Paul Nerdwife and I would always stay home and dress up a little and watch scary movies with a big bowl of candy and wait for the children. We lived in a part that was not considered safe, so we only usually had the little girl from across the street, but it was a time when we could connect at least with one of our neighbors.

My elementary school used to hold giant Halloween parties for grades K-6. The gym was turned into a haunted house. There spooky story sessions, costumes of course, and candy...lots and lots of candy.

High School Halloween was when...uh...nevermind...moving on, no need to incriminate myself with tales of certain types of paper and certain projectiles of a certain kind. Lets just say...if teenagers come to your door asking for candy, give it to them and don't be stingy.

Our biggest and most successful Halloween party that Nerdwife and I hosted, as Count and Countess D'Ghoule will always have a warm spot in my heart. Here is the recipe for the chili we made:

Evil Recipes

Wretched chili:
Seasoning mix: Other ingredients:
1 tb + 2 tsp salt
1 1\2 c. toasted cornmeal
3 tsp cayenne
3 tb vegetable oil
3 tsp cumin
6 cloves garlic
3 tsp onion powder (optional)
4 c chopped onions
3 tsp oregano
3 lb. lean beef chuck
3 tsp white pepper
2 tb coarsely ch fresh jalapenos
3 tsp thyme
2 tb ch. fresh Hungarian wax peppers
2 tsp cinnamon
4 c beef stock
2 tsp nutmeg
1 large red bell pepper, ch
1 tsp ground coriander
1 large yellow bell pepper, ch
2 tsp black pepper
1 large orange bell pepper, ch
2 tsp paprika
2- 28 oz cans plum tomatoes in juice
2 coarsely ground dried guajillo peppers
3 1\2 c pinto beans
4 coarsely ground dried super chilies
Fresh basil to taste
Fresh cilantro to taste



Combine seasoning mix. Toast cornmeal in a 6-8 inch skillet over high heat, stirring frequently, until it turns light brown. Set aside, Heat oil in a large pot, and add 2 c onions and all of the garlic. Brown for 5 minutes. Add 1\2 the seasoning mix, the fresh jalapeno and wax peppers, and meat. Cook until meat is lightly browned. Add cornmeal and 1 1/2 c stock, then vigorously stir and scrape pan bottom. Add remaining broth, bell peppers, and onions. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bean, bring to boil, and reduce heat. Cook until well thickened and meat very tender, 2-3 hours. Add basil and cilantro, if desired. Serves an insane number.

Vegetarian: omit meat; use vegetable broth in place of beef broth.

milestones { On not having a cow, man...

With Walpurgisnacht behind us, today is a happy May Day, the day most of the world considers Labor Day, but which America officially refers to as 'Loyalty Day' (it was moved to disassociate it with leftist labor movements _). The day has a variety of things associated with it, from Communism to Paganism.

For me, the major significance is that it was the day I went vegetarian. No thought or significance was planned, it just ended up happening on that day. I woke up and decided not to eat meat anymore. There was no one reason, although I found the arguments for health, the environment, ethics, aesthetics, and the fact that meat never did much for me in the first place sufficiently compelling in combination. That was ten years ago today. A little milestone, but one worth a moment of contemplation.

So here's to not eating animals for a decade. I don't miss it at all.

holiday { Zombie Jesus Day

Knight of Nothing's post about Easter made me reflect on my own feelings. I'm not (C|c)hristian. I haven't been since I was 11 years old and realized this isn't for me. Eventhough at a young age I was indoctrinated into the world of 'Jesus has risen' on Easter, it was always about the egg hunts, candy, and Grandma Ham for me.

About two years ago, the height of my zombie interest, I realized that the story of Christ's resurrection is plot for a zombie movie, so I started calling Easter, Zombie Jesus Day. I've always figured the tag line for the movie poster would be something like this:

Your lord has risen...and now he wants your BRAINS!

So Happy Belated Zombie Jesus Day to everyone.