Today through Sunday are going to be busy, so there’s probably going to be a strong dose of random.
I haven’t done anything with food in a while, so how about a seasonally appropriate recipe?
“Erich Shows us How to Make Hasenpfeffer”.
Another version from AlmazanKitchen:
Now I know why I don’t post more food videos: I’m hungry. So let’s switch gears.
Here’s another historical video from the AT&T Tech Channel: “The Thinking Machines”.
As I generally do, I’ve set this up to skip the intro.
Let’s take a coffee break.
“The £299 Aldi Espresso Machine – How Bad Could It Be?”
Oddly enough, I don’t shop at Aldi either, and for the same reason: the nearest one to us is about 30 miles away.
Bonus #1: Since we’ve talked about an espresso machine, how about we talk about a can opener? A very specialized can opener, that is: this one opens powder cans for the 16″ guns on the Battleship New Jersey.
Bonus #2, and a little shout-out to the Saturday Night Movie Group. From the “Old Car Memories” channel, Jim Rockford’s Firebird.
Kent Taylor. He founded and ran the Texas Roadhouse chain of restaurants.
According to the reports I’ve seen, he was suffering from serious post-COVID-19 symptoms, and committed suicide.
The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you live outside of the United States or are looking for other help, TVTropes has a good page of additional resources.
Food! Tools!
This AvE channel has been popping up in my feed, and even though I’m not very good with tools, I find something compelling about watching him work. I have to admit, he had me when he referred to “the land of 10mm sockets”.
“Oxy-Acetylene Cutting | Shake Hands With Danger!” Warning: there’s a lot of f–ks in this.
“Stupid Design Mistake | Stanley Tools”.
Bonus: Sizzler still exists! (As best as I can tell, the nearest one to me is in Gallup, NM.)
And they have a channel on the ‘Tube.
“How Sizzler’s Cheese Toast is Made – Secrets Revealed”
Plus:
“Homemade Sizzler’s cheese toast” from the SimpleCooking channel.
I want to try this sometime. With butter, not margarine, because I’m not a Philistine.
Travel Thursday!
After last week’s exciting trip to New Jersey (“Gateway to New York City”), how about something a little more exotic? Maybe…Spain?
“Castles and Castanets”, one of those 1960s Pan Am travel films.
Bonus: as long as we are in Spain, let’s get something to eat. “Spanish Street Food in Seville”, part 1:
And part 2:
Truthfully, I could just turn off the sound and watch the food.
This could possibly fall equally well under “travel”, but I decided to go the “food” route today.
This should not have surprised me, but yet it did: there is a Charles Dickens Museum. And yes, they do have a YouTube channel.
It is a little late for this year (although the Christmas season actually ends tonight), but maybe for next year: “The Original Victorian Christmas Pudding Recipe”.
Are you hungry yet? How about some Victorian gingerbread?
We can wash it down with “Charles Dickens’s Favourite Brandy Punch Recipe”.
And finally, “Toasted Cheese with the Dickenses”. Complete with Victorian cheese toaster. This is a real thing that exists, and I kind of want one now.
Another thing I’m trying to avoid using too much is the “Timeline – World History Documentaries” channel. But this popped up in the feed, and is relevant to my interests:
“How The Germanic Barbarians Annihilated Rome’s Legions”, a semi-short (49 minutes) documentary about the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest.
Episode 55 of “The History of Rome” podcast (which I can’t pull up right now, but you should be able to get it through the podcast app of your choice) covers the Teutoberg Forest. There’s also a book that I’ve read, and liked: The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest by Peter S. Wells (affiliate link).
Bonus: To give folks a little variety, here’s a documentary about “The Black Ghost”, a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE with a 426 Hemi that was a street racing legend in Detroit.
I’m not a huge gearhead, and definitely not a big Mopar guy, but I have to say: that is one nice car, with a great story behind it.
“Why don’t we roast chestnuts anymore?”
I remember trying to roast chestnuts on an open fire in our fireplace when I was really young. Frankly, I didn’t care for the taste: I remember finding them really bitter and unpleasant. But: I have also found that my tastes have changed a great deal as I have aged.
(On a side note, I strongly suspect that is one thing many parents do not understand about children. I firmly believe that things parents like the taste of now, actually taste acutely unpleasant to their children. I suspect there is scientific research that will back me up on this. Main point being, back off on micro-managing your children’s eating. As long as they aren’t developing scurvy, I don’t think you need to worry. Nor do I think you need to cook second meals just for your children, to be clear.)
Bonus: I have a doctor’s appointment today, so you’re getting a sampler platter. Hope that’s okay.
“Neuschwanstein: Secrets of a Castle”, a documentary from Deutsche Welle. (Don’t worry, this is in English.)
Just going to add here: this is one of my desktop backgrounds when I’m using multiple monitors.
An air-to-air formation of four fighters participating in REFORGER ’82 fly over the cloud shrouded Neuschwanstein Castle on the German/Austrian border. The flight of three F-15 Eagles from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida is lead by a German Air Force F-104 Starfighter.
Exact Date Shot Unknown
Bonus #2: Ordinarily I would not link to Babish, but since I mentioned this at dinner Saturday night: Babish makes Eggs Woodhouse from How to Archer: The Ultimate Guide to Espionage and Style and Women and Also Cocktails Ever Written (affiliate link: as I’ve mentioned before, this book is a lot better than it has any right to be).
Bonus #3: a short one. Insufferably cute baby possum.
Travel Thursday!
How about a Christmas walk around London?
Bonus #1: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” But okay, then. “Christmas In Florence, Italy”. Complete with chocolate truffles and “gluten free, sugar free, dairy free chocolate balls”.
Bonus #2: “This is Christmas in Tokyo Japan” from the “I Will Always Travel For Food” channel.
I’m going to ride this Christmas donkey until it drops.
(No, that’s just a Rifftrax promo clip, that’s not the full movie. Though I believe you can find the full movie on YouTube.)
And now for something completely different: “Never Mind The Baubles – Christmas ’77 with The Sex Pistols”.
Bonus: I’m kind of marginal about “Retail Archaeology”, but “A Very Dead Mall Christmas” provided me with about 15 minutes worth of amusement.
Bonus #2: “Cooking for the Queen At Christmas”.
I’m hoping I won’t be doing this next Christmas. I’m hoping that we will be back to “normal” (whatever the new “normal” is) and that we won’t be scrounging for paper goods or wearing masks everywhere and that I’ll even be able to get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.
But in the meantime, I intend to have some fun with the Christmas theme.
“Rankin/Bass CBS Christmas Special W/Vintage Commercials”. Four hours of Christmas specials.
Bonus video: I had a video I was thinking about putting here, but she turned out to be dull. (And she had good material to work with, too.) So today’s bonus video is really a question for the huddled, wretched masses yearning to breathe free:
Is it just me, or does Alton Brown:
kind of look scarily like Walter White these days?
(I picked a season 2 clip because Lawrence and I have only gotten through season 2. The resemblance may be more pronounced in later seasons, but since we haven’t watched those…)
Travel Thursday!
I thought it might be fun to do something a little seasonal, so…
“A German Christmas market in Dresden” from the DW Documentary channel.
Bonus #1: “Tastiest treats at German Christmas markets”.
Bonus #2: Slightly less seasonal: “Street Food In Germany”.
Bonus #3: Just one more. “2018 Vienna Advent | Europe Christmas Market Tour”. This is a bit longer than the others (about 30 minutes).
A handful of short and selfish videos today.
From the “Food Wishes” channel, a couple of things I’m bookmarking because I’d like to try them:
“Homemade Eggnog Recipe – How to Make Classic Christmas Eggnog”.
I just bought a bottle of 18 year old rum. But I’m lazy, so I may just purchase a good commercial eggnog (like the Promised Land Dairy one) and add rum to that.
Speaking of rum, “Hot Buttered Rum”.
Not food, just for grins: Mireille Mathieu sings “La Marseillaise” in 1989 at the foot of the Eiffel Tower for its centennial. And it has English subtitles. I am currently immersed in the French Revolution block of the “Revolutions” podcast, so this is relevant to my interests.
Last one: “No Regrets: The life and music of Edith Piaf”, a short (about 15 minutes) documentary from France 24 English.
…
He was 36 years old. According to the NYT obit, he died in a training accident.
Ben Watkins. My feelings about reality TV are well known, but nobody should have that hard a life, and nobody should die at 14.