Late...

Well class, I don't know if there is a law against blogging and driving. There should be. I am on my way but do to kids I am running about an hour late. See you all soon!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Product getting near end

Attached are some pictures of my product label, logo and packaging and I would like some feedback please as it is crunch time...

Thanks

Brian

Linking with iPhone

Well class there are two more classes to go, it's lunch time and crunch time,I will be posting product here in next couple of days and your feedback is requested. Well I thought I would test out the blogger application via the iPhone and I like it. I think it will allow me to blog on the fly because I am a busy man.


Kids and iwent racing last sunday and I bought new racebike, funny part is I bought the bike on earth day and it's a two stroke.... I am so not politically correct ha








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Puppies

My New House

Narrowing down the web page project

I am posting the latest on Project 4 as we are knee deep in Project 5 and begining Project 6 the final project...
I don't know about everyone else but I am ready for a long long summer break :)

SO here is the latest with the changes suggested in class

Enjoy

Worst Looking Campaign and Worst use of A Font HP

I often draw attention to this ad campaign because I think it is the most unusual use of a font I have ever seen.

HP computers used a campaign called "The Computer is Personal Again." With the idea of each computer being about the individual. But I can't help but get this Twilight zone creepy feel from the advertisement capaign. Like some 60's version of techno horror for today.

Knowing how the campaign was received and the fact HP's sales went up 13% I often wonder if people even care what they look at and how much it influences modern consumers.

Enjoy

Oil cans/bottles (Show and Tell 7)

Oil cans for automobiles used to come in cans that had to be pierced with a metal funnel/spout like the one pictured. The outside of the containers were cardboard and the top and bottom were metal. Needless to say there were alot of broken containers and the cardboard would decompose quickly in the soil and elements allowing the oil to seep into the ground.

They have gone to plastic bottles where as not perfect are better than the previous packaging. The longer neck allows the oil to be poured without the metal funnel/spout. Once the oil is poured the lid can be returned to the bottle and the plastic bottle disposed of properly. If it does get out in the elements plastic will last a much longer time keeping the remaining oil from seeping into the ground.


The latest is a company called Green Earth Technologies is actually making a biodegradable motor oil.

http://www.getg.com/articles/article_detail.php?ArticleID=67

Interesting Promotional Postcard (Show and Tell 4)

Ok I had to post this postcard created by designer Dan Redding at Magnetic State.
I imagine that the supplies didn't last long LOL

Harpers Weekly July 25th 1863 Description of the battle of Gettysburg (Show and Tell 5)

This is an amazing description of the accounts of the battle of Gettysburg. It is interesting to me to read how things were discribed back then. We must remember there was no TV so the articles were more livid and colorful like a story.

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
ON pages 472 and 473 we publish two fine illustrations of the BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG from drawings by our special artist, Mr. A. R. Waud. The best description of the battle which we have seen is the following from the Philadelphia Age, and we do not think our readers will be sorry to have it in full, long as it is:
On Wednesday morning, July 1, General Reynolds, with twenty-five thousand men, the advance of the Federal Army, approached Gettysburg from the southeast and began the great battle. The field upon which it was fought was a peculiar one. The South Mountain, a long ridge several miles west of Gettysburg, is the great landmark, and the most prominent spot near the town is the hill upon which stood the unfortunate but famous cemetery. Gettysburg is situated in a valley. Two ridges, a mile apart, parallel to each other, are on each side of the valley. It and the ridges are all curves, the concavity being toward the east. It was upon these ridges that the battle was fought, the combatants advancing and retreating through the town, and across the valley above and below it. There is but one stream of water on the field—a narrow, swampy one, a mile south of Gettysburg, which runs zigzag down the valley toward the Monocacy. The lines of battle formed by the two armies were upon these ridges, and resembled two horseshoes, one inside of the other.
The best view of the field is had from the top of the Cemetery Hill. It is a short distance south of the town. In front there is a rather steep declivity to the valley, then a gentle ascent covered with low, scrubby timber and pieces of rock, to the Seminary Hill, a mile distant. Here was the Confederate line. As the gazer stood amidst the broken tombstones he could see the entire field. The valley, the debatable ground, stretched around from right to left, almost a semicircle. He could look over the tree-tops and little patches of wood, and passing his eye up the hill on the other side, could see the seminary toward the northwest. Further to the right is the Gettysburg College, also on the Seminary Hill.
Beginning at the left hand, the Confederate line rested on the little stream, then ascended the hill and ran along at stone fence, which had been made into a rifle-pit. As it approached Gettysburg it curved around, crossing the Chambersburg and Emmettsburg road and the road to Carlisle, and passed the seminary and college, between which it crossed a serpentine railway leading to the town, called the "Tape-worm." The ridge continued the entire length, its front, except in a few cleared spots, being covered with timber. The line must have extended at least eight miles.
The ridge occupied by the Federal troops was half inclosed by the other. It was an inner circle, and was made up of much higher and bolder hills than the outer one. The Federal left rested also on the little stream, and ran along a rocky ravine, then ascended the Cemetery hill, and so on in a semicircle over one round-topped wooded hill after another until it was lost on the right in the mazes of a thick forest. Meade's line was about five miles in length, and in the battle, besides the higher ground, he had all the advantages of interior lines, and also was in it friendly country. His head-quarters were on a wooded knoll a mile east of the cemetery.
Away off behind the Confederate line, and curving around in a larger circle still, was the South Mountain.
In all the contests, excepting the opening one, the enemy attacked. On Wednesday morning General Reynolds, with the Federal advance, approached the town from the southeast, the enemy evacuating it on his arrival. He passed through and out on the west side toward Chambersburg. He marched several miles, was met by the enemy in stronger force, and after a slight contest was compelled to retire. The enemy pushed him very hard, and he came into the town on a run, his troops going along every available road, and rushing out on the east side, closely followed by the enemy. One of his brigades came along the "Tape-worm" with a Confederate brigade on each side of it. All three were abreast, running as hard as they could—the two outside ones pouring a heavy fire into the centre, out of which men dropped, killed or wounded, at almost every footstep. This Federal brigade, in running that terrible gauntlet, lost half of its men. General Reynolds was killed, and Gettysburg was lost; but the Federal troops succeeded in mounting the Cemetery Hill, and the enemy ceased pursuing. At night the enemy encamped in the town, and the Federal troops on the hill.
During Wednesday night and Thursday morning the two armies were concentrating on the two ridges, which were to be the next day's line of battle, and by noon on
Thursday each general had a force of 80,000 men at his disposal. Then began the great artillery contest, the infantry on both sides crouching behind fences and trees and in rifle-pits. The Federal soldiers in the cemetery laid many of the tombstones on the ground to prevent injury, so that many escaped. There was but little infantry fighting on Thursday, and neither party made much impression upon the other. The Confederates in the other town erected barricades, and had their sharp-shooters posted in every available spot, picking off Federal soldiers on the hills to the north of the cemetery. The cannonade was fierce and incessant, and shells from both sides flew over and into the devoted town. Beyond killing and wounding, breaking trees and shattering houses, and making an awful noise, however, this cannonade had but little effect on the result of the battle. Both sides fought with great ferocity, and neither could drive the other out of position.
On Thursday night, fearing that the enemy had flank parties which might turn his rear, General Meade had serious intentions of retreating, and he called a council of war. The advice of some of his generals, however, and the capture of the courier with dispatches from Richmond, from which it was learned that the enemy could receive no reinforcements, made him decide to remain.
On Friday morning General Lee did not desire to make the attack. He saw the superiority of the Federal position, and wished to entice them out of it, and down into the valley. With this design he withdrew all of his sharpshooters and infantry from Gettysburg. The deserted town lay there a very tempting bait, but General Meade's men hid quietly behind the fences and trees, and banks upon the hills. They could look down into the streets and see every thing which was in progress. They saw the enemy march out and retire to the seminary, but made no advance, and the Confederates gained nothing by the movement. A parting salute of musketry, however, from a knoll north of the cemetery, accelerated the Confederate retreat. For some time the town had scarcely a soldier in it. Scores of dead and wounded men and horses, with broken wagons, bricks, stones, timber, torn clothing, and abandoned accoutrements, lay there. The frightened inhabitants peered out of their windows to see what the armies were doing to cause such a lull, and, almost afraid of their own shadows, they hastened away and crouched in corners and cellars at the sound of every shot or shell.
General Lee's evacuation had no effect. Meade was neither to be enticed into the town nor into the valley. Enough dead bodies lay in the fields and streets to give him warning of what happened to poor Reynolds two days before, and he wisely determined to stay where he was and let events shape themselves. The enemy soon became impatient. They could wait no longer; and after much solicitation from his subordinates, General Lee permitted General Longstreet to send his grand division on a charge upon the cemetery. The Federal soldiers were on the alert. They were hid behind their embankments, some kneeling, and some flat on the ground. The Confederate artillery opened. It was as fierce a cannonade as the one the day before, but instead of being spread all over the line, every shell was thrown at the cemetery. Experienced soldiers soon divined what was coming, and in every portion of the Federal line the cannon were directed toward the valley in front of the cemetery. All were ready. Amidst the furious fire from the Confederate cannon scarcely a Federal shot was heard. The artillerists, implements in hand, crouched in the little ditches dug behind their cannon. With arms loaded, the infantry awaited the charge.
It soon came. From the woods of short, scrubby timber and the rocks near the seminary there rose a yell. It was a long, loud, unremitting, hideous screech from thousands of voices. At the yell the Federal cannon opened. Soon the enemy's columns emerged from the woods. They came on a rush down the hill, waving their arms and still screeching. They climbed the fences and rushed along, each one bent upon getting first into the cemetery. The cannon roared, and grape and canister and spherical case fell thick among them. Still they rushed onward, hundreds falling out of the line. They came within musket-shot of the Federal troops. Then the small-arms began to rattle. The Confederates approached the outer line of works. They were laboring up the hill. As they mounted the low bank in front of the rifle-pits, the Federal soldiers retreated out of the ditch behind, turning and firing as they went along. It was a hand-to-hand conflict. Every man fought by himself and for himself. Myriads of the enemy pushed forward down the hill, across into the works, and up to the cemetery. All were shouting, and screaming, and swearing, clashing their arms and firing their pieces. The enemy's shells flew over the field upon the Federal artillerists on the hills above. These, almost disregarding the storm which raged around them, directed all their fire upon the surging columns of the enemy's charge. Every available cannon on the Cemetery Hill, and to the right and left, threw its shells and shot in the valley. The fight was terrible; but despite every effort the enemy pushed up the hill and across the second line of works. The fire became hotter. The fight swayed back and forth. One moment the enemy would be at the railings of the cemetery; then a rush from the Federal side would drive them down into the valley. Then, with one of their horrid screeches, they would fiercely run up the hill again into the cemetery, and have a tierce battle among the tombstones. It was the hardest fight of the day, and hundreds were slain there. Reckless daring, however, will not always succeed. Several attempts were made to take the place, but they were not successful; and late in the afternoon, leaving dead and wounded behind them, the enemy's forces slowly retreated upon their own hill and into their woods again.
They were not routed. They can scarcely be said to have been driven. They have made an attack and been repulsed, and after renewed attempts, feeling that it was useless to try any more, they retreated. It was now General Meade's turn to make an attack. Though they had lost heavily, his soldiers felt elated. They saw hopes of a victory, and were ready to to almost any thing to secure it. Although there had been a battle in the valley below Gettysburg, yet the town was as quiet and as much deserted as ever. Shells flew over it, and now and then one of its houses would have a wall cracked or a roof broken, but neither force possessed it. General Meade turned his attention there.
The day was waning and the battle had lulled, and he determined, if possible, to drive the enmity out of the seminary. His troops were placed in order, and charged down the hill and into the town. They ran along every street, chasing a few of the enemy, still hid there, before them. They came out upon the west side, along the "Tape-worm," and the Emmettsburg and Chambersburg roads, and ascended the enemy's hills amidst a storm of grape and shell. At the seminary the Confederates were not very strong. They had weakened that portion of the line to make their attack further to the south upon the cemetery. They had but few cannon; and though they resisted some time, they finally retreated from the edge of the hill and abandoned the seminary.
The Federal troops did not chase them. The land back of the seminary was rather flat and cut up into grain fields, with here and there a patch of woods. The rifle-pits on t he brow of the hill proved an effectual aid to the Federal soldiers in maintaining their ground; and as they lay behind the bank, with the ditch in front, they could pick off the stragglers from the retreating enemy. There was but little serious fighting after that, and night put an end to Friday's struggle, the Confederates having retired about a mile on the north, near the seminary, and half a mile on the south, at a little stream.
During the night the dead in the streets of Gettysburg were buried, and the wounded on all parts of the field were collected and carried to the rear. On the next morning General Meade expected another attack; but, instead of making it, the enemy retreated further, abandoning their entire line of battle, and the pickets reported that they were intrenching at the foot of South Mountain. The Federal army was terribly crippled and sadly in want of rest, and no advance was made, although pickets were thrown out across the enemy's old line of battle, and toward the place where they were building intrenchments. All the day was spent in feeding and resting the men. Gettysburg was turned into a vast hospital, and impromptu ones were made at a dozen places on the field. The rain came, too, and with it cool air and refreshment both from wind and rain. No one could tell what the enemy were doing; every picket reported that they were intrenching, and the night of the 4th of July closed upon the field with it in the Federal possession

10 Things Every Father should Teach his Son (Show and Tell 6)

This was an article on Maxim magazine online. Of the ten things I understood 9 of them... whiskey straight up that one got me.


http://www.maxim.com/humor/lists/84725/10-things-father-should-teach-son.html?p=1

Travel Writing (Show and Tell 2 )

I was looking for stories about travel and came across this story of Dapitan Phillipines. I like the way the writer takes you with him and his excitement and estonishment is relevant in his writing.http://thingsasian.com/stories-photos/38630

Food Blog Alliance (Show and Tell 1 revisited)

I found this blog on food writing and although some of the articles are older it has some interesting points about food writing.

I guess the biggest thing that amazes me is that there is actually a blog for good food writers.

Imagine that?

http://foodblogalliance.com

DART Public Awareness Campaign (BAD) (Show and Tell 3)

This offensive ad campaign was ran on DART (Dallas Transit) buses in 2008 and took much slack from men and father's rights groups

One of my favorites

Although i don't agree with the message I do think it is a very powerful image contrasted with modern consumerism and culture.

The relationship between the ipod advertisements as mainstream and the use of the war as a reflection of how detached we are or how we can make the war a marketing ploy (anti-war poster)

WWII Propaganda Posters

Got Milf? Catagories of Mother's milk

You see it all over the news, landing an older more mature woman is the latest craze. They even have their own nicknames, they call them a Cougar or Milf. So how does a young single man find that special older mom?

Just imagine, your in the grocery store, cruising for some late night Ben and Jerry’s when all of a sudden you see her. The goddess of grocery-eden. You take a quick look and notice she is not bound by a wedding band, so you quickly move in for a better look see. Well the only thing you can tell is she has milk in her cart and rolling towards the checkout. Not much time, how do you approach her? How can you tell she is “the one?”

I intend to help you my young apprentice to define the mother by her milk. When it comes to mother’s milk, what can we learn? With grocery store romance we only need to ask one question.

Do you “got milk” or do you “got Milf?”

got Milf?
Grocery Shopping for Hot Moms by their Milk

Vitamin D (Molly)
This hot Mom is the kind you can take home to your own. She is a good cook and loves to please her man. She tends to obsess about a particular type of nic-nac be it pig, cow, eagle or dolphin.

Warning: This mom can also have a very small infant and has potential to become obese by her own cooking or if she goes any length of time without a man. This Mom fits the couch potato category.

2% Lowfat (Victoria)This hot Mom has cooking from a box down to a science. Hamburger helper has never tasted so good. Her kids are older and not much of a bother. This is the category you find the soccer Mom. This Mom is active and looks really good when going out.

Warning: This mom is an expert at the online pick-up and can replace you rather quickly. This mom ages nicely but frequent trips to the tanning booth may lead to skin cancer.

1% Lowfat (Samantha)
This hot Mom is particular about what she eats, when you’re watching that is. She is losing weight by cutting back the 1% milkfat. Her children tend to be in their late teens, which means the house is free most of the time. This Mom is active and has lots of energy.

Warning: This Mom yo-yo diets, which leaves the potential for her to gain lots of weight. She is also bossy and vindictive if crossed. Handle this one with velvet gloves

Skim Milk (Christine)
This hot Mom is creative and fit. She is introverted and artistic. To her milk is cow puss. Her children are either grown up, out of the house or in elementary school. In either case she waits on them hand and foot. Her diet consists of leafy greens and not much else. Sugar is anthrax to this mom and she is often found running 8 miles a day.

Warning: This mom holds a deep hatred for men and shares it. She knows everything and if you don’t believe her just ask her.

Soy Milk (Danielle)
This Mom is either down to earth or out of her mind. She swears off real milk because “eww that came out of a cow”, or she is making a political statement. This Mom’s kids are young and she thinks they are the cutest redheads in the world.

Warning: This Mom has mental issues. Her children are allergic to everything. This Mom claims to be athletic but in truth she is just skinny.

Ok, so the idea of using milk to define a good woman might be a bit of a stretch but according to http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/extraordinary-uses-for-milk/article23896.html there are some ingenious uses for the bovine lactation.

Make frozen fish taste fresh
If you want fish from your freezer to taste like it was fresh caught, try this trick: Place the frozen fish in a bath of milk until it thaws. The milk will make it taste fresher.

Repair cracked china
Before you throw out that cracked plate from your grandmother's old china set, try mending it with milk. Place the plate in a pan, cover it with milk (fresh or reconstituted powdered milk), and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. The protein in the milk will miraculously meld most fine cracks.

Polish silverware
Tarnished silverware will look like new with a little help from some sour milk. If you don't have any sour milk on hand, you can make some by adding vinegar to fresh milk. Then simply soak the silver in the milk for half an hour to loosen the tarnish, wash in warm, soapy water, and buff with a soft cloth.



Soothe sunburn and bug bites
If your skin feels like it's burning up from too much sun exposure or if itchy bug bites are driving you crazy, try using a little milk paste for soothing relief. Mix one part powdered milk with two parts water and add a pinch or two of salt. Dab it on the burn or bite. The enzymes in the milk powder will help neutralize the insect-bite venom and help relieve sunburn pain.

Clean and soften dirty hands
You come back from the garden with stained and gritty hands. Regular soap just won't do, but this will: Make a paste of oatmeal and milk and rub it vigorously on your hands. The stains will be gone and the oatmeal-and-milk mixture will soften and soothe your skin.

Clean patent leather
Make your patent-leather purses or shoes look like new again. Just dab on a little milk, let it dry, and buff with a soft cloth.

Remove ink stains from clothes
To remove ink stains from colored clothes, an overnight milk bath will often do the trick. Just soak the affected garment in milk overnight and launder as usual the next day.


However if your PETA you just want Ben and Jerry’s to switch to human milk. Happy hunting!

Father's Rights Poster/Ad/postcard

Could use some feedback on what might work best for the poster
Thanks

Be the difference
Be a dad

Be there
Be a dad
They need you to be a Dad

Just be there
We will do the rest

The laws won’t change unless your there
Be a dad

The first battle is being there
Be a Dad

Only you can be a Dad
You’re the only father he will ever have

Don’t give up the fight
Be there

Stay tough Dad
He is counting on you

Without you
We all lose

There is no hiding
From being a Dad

Persistence Wins Dad

Winners never quit
Dad

Dad aka Hero
Be there

Superhero wanted
Dad

Iwo Jima

For some reason I thought it was much bigger on film or maybe it was John Wayne who made it appear that way. In black and white the “Sands of Iwo Jima” just didn’t have the same appeal as it does here in front of me.

As we approach the way the Marines did back then there are strange rock formations that jetty out of the water, which give an evil and unforgiving feeling. The island looks deserted and for good reason. Nothing is native here anymore and even the vegetation needs help to grow.

Mt Suribachi is on our left as we approach, the Landing craft bobs up and down in the waves like a bad carnival ride as its diesel engine moans. The pork chop shaped island looks neither inviting nor hospitable. The entire surface area of this island is only seven and a half miles of area mass. It’s hard to believe 50,000 men once fought here. The Americans landed on the island but the Japanese were inside it.

Virtually untouched since 1945 this small island once was occupied by over 50,000 men. Out of the original 30,000 men that landed 20,196 American became casualties and 4,189 were killed. The Japanese loses were staggeringly worse, as they nearly fought to last man. Out of the original 23,000 on this island 21,000 were killed, and only 200 surrendered.

There were even two Japanese soldiers who managed to live within the tunnels until finally surrendering in 1949. Four years after the war was over by stealing food and supplies.
The heavy steel door lowers with a crankily sound. In my mind I can imagine the ricocheting bullets that must have been heard as the Marines exited the LCU.

I sink to my ankles in the ash and black sand. I can imagine now what would be like to walk through two feet of pepper. My steps are labored as I reach the end of the beach. As I stop a moment and look down the beach I can see a tank rusty and sticking about halfway out of the sand. It looks surreal.

The island is attempting to reclaim the remnants of the battle but it appears to be just too big to swallow. Maybe it’s too much for such a small island.

There are reinforced fighting positions called pill boxes on the beach and with closer examination there are shell casings littering the ground. The story becomes evident that this is where a Marine took out this position with heavy amounts of fire.

As we approach Mt Suribachi I notice tunnels that I did not see from the beach. They are everywhere on the island. As we approach there is a pillar with Japanese writing to mark its location. This marker is a recent addition, honoring those who died here. The Japanese believe a place that someone dies is sacred and these markings are found everywhere on the island.

Inside the tunnels not much has changed. The name Iwo Jima means Sulfur Island and as you go deeper the heat becomes almost unbearable. White concentrations of sulfur are forming on the tunnel walls.

Everything is as it was in 1945, pictures of Japanese women are posted on the walls and bamboo mats are on the floor. The tunnels are dry from the volcanic heat which helps preserve its contents.

Pieces of Japanese uniforms and shoes are found. Every turn uncovers a new discovery. The rusty and metal barrels of weapons are found but the wood stocks are long gone. We notice colored streamers running throughout some of the tunnels as they mark the areas where human remains are located.

Bottles of rice wine and water purification units seem ready for use and food rations are unspoiled and appear ready to eat.

As we walk the island there are some Japanese making new discoveries. New tunnels are being found every day and some are marked with the original date they were mustard gassed by the Americans and sealed entombing the Japanese soldiers indefinitely.

Many dangers are found here as well and much caution is needed. Japanese grenades are found by some of the entrances and their chemical based fuses are very unstable. Watching where you step and place your hands is a delicate proposition.

The airfield is the only place where any life flourishes. The Americans have given back the island to Japan and the Airfield now reads Iwo To. Still meaning sulfur island Iwo To is the new name for the island as the Japanese try to cover some of the history with the new name.

You won’t find this trip in any travel literature or any honeymoon destination, but for those looking for a step back into time it is worth the trip. The island was bombed for an entire month before the battle and another forty-five days of fighting stripped any vegetation that was originally found here. Over the years however, environmental bombings have taken place with seeds dropped from airplanes to help the island grow back to its natural state.

More than any museum or history book, a trip to Iwo Jima is both breath taking and awe inspiring. From exploring the unseen to standing at the point of that famous flag raising Iwo Jima is among my all time favorite experiences.

Fathers rights issue

Poster design

What did I do wrong?

why don't you come see me daddy?

Why don't you call me?

I miss the fun we had.

Don't you love me anymore?

without you

I might not graduate high school

I might not go to college

I might do drugs

I might get arrested

Dad's do make a difference

be there today so they will be here tomorrow

Fathers4Justice

Cheesesteak Round II

A Steak and Cheese is not a Cheesesteak

One thing I learned quickly leaving Southeastern Pennsylvania when I joined the Marines, was that there were no more cheesesteaks.

Cheesesteaks are a staple growing up around Philadelphia. I could still watch my Eagles and Phillies on TV but I had no idea that you could not find a cheesesteak.

My first experience was while in California I saw a menu item called a Philly Steak and Cheese. Excited I ordered it in a hurry. When it arrived it didn’t have the Amoroso bread, it was not that marinated chopped It had no tomato-based sauce. The cheese was not American or Cheese Whiz but cheddar cheese. There was no dripping grease on my plate and none to wash it down.

Laying in front of me was the most pathetic excuse for counterfeit Cheesesteakness, I wish I had ever seen. It couldn’t have even passed for a Weber which is a cheesesteak with lettuce tomato and mayonnaise. Nope it had a solid piece of lettuce, not the shredded kind and the bun was cut in half. Isn’t that sacrilegious?

Since that first time I have been across this country and occasionally I will get sucked into some advertisement saying they have authentic Philly Cheesesteaks only to find out they are also frauds.

In North Carolina there is one with brown gravy and mushrooms, Ewwww.
In Tennesee I had one that actually had green peppers and the owner was going to tell me that, that is the way they make em up in Philly. Even though I told him that was not the case he didn’t want to hear it.

No Steakums are not cheesesteaks, even my spell check is trying to tell me I have spelled it wrong. Cheesesteak is one word not two. Doesn’t anyone get it?

John Kerry didn’t get it when he asked for one with Swiss Cheese and was met with laughs while visiting Philadelphia during the 2004 election. Maybe that is why he didn’t get elected.

If you want a cheesesteak your gonna have to go to Philadelphia, you simply cannot get it anywhere else.

I live in Maryland now and close enough to make that three hour trip for my cheesesteak cravings. Going anywhere else for a cheesesteak is like going to Taco Bell for Mexican food.

Gound Hog Day

Groundhog day...
Hmmmm

So what is on my mind today? Allot of things... It's been a week and a half since Smoofy was killed and I still can't believe it...

The sign is still in my yard, but not a single person has admitted to hitting her. A note in my mailbox would be fine... Just something to show me that she mattered to who ever hit her.

It drives me nuts thinking that someone hit her and didn't even stop... I live in a development with a 15 mph speed limit and the dang dog was white!!!

I think about the movie Ground hog day and like Bill Murray's character, I wish I could have that day over again, so maybe I could change the outcome...

I am back in school for the semester but actually didn't make it to class last week because of the snow... Honestly it's supposed to snow again this Friday and Saturday... So I am not sure if I will have class this week either...

Settlement and closing day on my new house is getting closer.... only 24 days away. But with that brings allot more stress... Kids, dog, work, school, buying a house, homework... Sometimes it feels as though my head will explode...

Whoever said it would get easier as we got older? They lied...

I have had to completely stop watching the news... This President, this Congress... they are so far out of touch with what the American people want. The government is so far from what our founding fathers invisioned for this country that watching the news only makes me angry... Our complete government has become a joke...

Well enough ranting for now... write more later

My First Project

The first project for class is a 250-300 word description that has some aspect of food...
I am thinking about the Restaurant that I grew up with in Pennsylvania named "Frank's Pizza."

In many ways it is just your typical Italian owned Mom and Pop Pizza joint, common in south eastern Pennsylvania. I have been going there since I was 9 yrs old and still make special efforts to stop there on my way to visit friends and relatives. I remember walking in there and not being able to see over the red brick counter but the smells are still the same. Garlic and tomato, basil and dough. The sounds of searing steak and the two brothers, John and Veto, going back and forth in Italian to what sounds like arguing. Unknown to me as I do not speak Italian it maybe just normal conversation.

Of course the big item would be the Cheese steak and as a Philly area staple it has a few different variations. The normal Cheese steak comes with Sauce and Onions. The sauce is a tomato based sauce and the onions are grilled and mixed within the steak. The pizza steak with its mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce. The cheese steak Weber, which is steak, raw onions, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, to the chicken cheese steak which is not really a cheese steak at all.

The menu has expanded over the years but the food tastes the same. I remember being in the Marines and craving those cheese steaks... The atmosphere has changed somewhat too, Veto has retired and now John has some younger workers helping him. Not Italian though, they are Guatemalan but they understand each other with the similarities between the Spanish and Italian languages makes me jealous that I never learned either.

Now I can see over the counter top and watch the delicious food and see the faces I once only knew if they came from behind the counter to bring me my food. It is however, the taste of the food that keeps everyone coming back for more.

Smoofy

My Smoo-Pot, Smoo-face, my little Smoo-me-moo
What drew you in the road today
Then took you far away
Did you know I was here for you?
Did you know how much I cared?
I don’t know what made you stray today
But alone here I must stay

I called for you, heard your collar then a sound I dismay
Oh no, no, no, I cried as the wind and door swayed
I rushed to you on the road where your little body lay
Panic filled my chest as I held you in my arms and prayed

I knew in that moment you were gone Smoo
Did you know I was here?

Could you feel my frightened tears as they fell across your face?
Did you hear the panic in my voice as I pleaded you to stay?
All the pleading in the world could not keep you here today
How could this be happening so soon and in this way?

My constant companion, my baby girl, my Smoofy, my friend
I hate your life ends today
Especially this way
Apart we now are but my love with you will stay
Goodnight my angel, my Smoofy, , my best friend

I pray your spirit stays with me until my bitter end
Someday we will be together
To laugh, play and hold you once again
Goodbye my little angel, my Smoofy, my friend