Figure

I guess it depends on the orientation. See what I did there?

Cool Ideas

Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

I was looking through my fridge and pantry tonight to see what meal I could work up for tomorrow night when Carlos comes over. (Tonight, I'm eating leftovers; Carlos is at his parent's house.)

I have carrots, celery, chicken stock, egg noodles, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, among other things. Pretending I was on an episode of Chopped...



...I came up with Chicken Noodle Soup.

 After a quick search through the Food Network's site, I found this recipe...

Chicken Noodle Soup

by Paula Deen

Ingredients

Stock:

• 1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) fryer chicken, cut up
• 3 1/2 quarts water
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
• 2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/3 cup cooking sherry
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 cup grated Parmesan, optional
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
• Seasoning salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Crusty French bread, for serving

Directions

For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin, and cartilage. Set chicken aside.

For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

Here's the link to the original recipe.

List: The 50 Most Powerful Coming Outs of 2012

Another list, to add to my last post...

From Towleroad -

I'm Gay: The 50 Most Powerful Coming Outs of 2012

2012: GAYEST YEAR EVER

"The fact is, I'm gay." Anderson Cooper's long-awaited announcement sums what it meant to come out in 2012. Again and again we heard the same sentiment — from pop singer Mika's equally anticipated confirmation, "If you ask me am I gay, I say yeah," to actor Andrew Rannells casually remarking about relating to a gay character, "I am gay in real life, so I definitely get it." —  proving that coming out today is in many cases a non-event, and certainly secondary to other achievements.

Yes, a lot has changed in the 15 years since Time magazine ran that cover of Ellen DeGeneres declaring, "Yep, I'm Gay," and even in the six since Lance Bass told People, "I'm Gay." Entertainment Weekly published a cover story this summer called "The New Art Of Coming Out," concluding, "The current vibe for discussing one’s sexuality is almost defiantly mellow."
Yet most of this positive change has happened in familiar territory.

Former NFL star Wade Davis' coming out was a first, as was current professional boxer Orlando Cruz's. And Lee "Uncle Poodle" Thompson from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo helped broaden the overall discussion about LGBT people. But there are a few people on this list who were less valiant, like Republican Sheriff Paul Babeu, and still others who remained quiet about their sexuality to the day they died. The debate over balance between privacy and responsibility is still one worth having, and clearly there are more arenas where LGBT people need space to shine.

All in all, though, 2012 shows that gay people who break down that closet can have it all.
Who had the 50 Most Powerful Coming Outs of 2012?

Read the list here.

A List of Lists

Constant Readers - to borrow an expression from Stephen King - of my blog know that I love lists.

Click here for past posts tagged with that term.

Today, I was perusing some websites that I frequent when I realized that a few of them were sites about lists. Apparently, even the sites I visit are related to lists. That's how much I like lists.

Which brings me to today's topic: A listing of sites that I like that show lists or...

A List of Lists

Ultimate Classic Rock -
Featuring such lists as:
Top 10 Songs of 1977
Top 10 AC/DC Songs (we agree on three of the choices)
Top 100 Classic Rock Songs

11 Points -
featuring such lists as:
11 Studies That Prove Christmas and Science Mix Wonderfully
11 Wonderfully Misspelled Messages of Anger and Bigotry
11 Very Unfortunate Mistakes on TV News Graphics
11 Magazines with Surprisingly High or Low Circulations (and a bonus point for illustrating each magazine with a Sally Field cover)

Marc and Angel Hack Life -
featuring such lists as:
8 Things You Must Give Up To Find Peace
10 Lessons from 10 Quotes that Changed My Life
10 Things Your Friends Wish You Knew
10 Life Lessons People Learn Too Late


 Those are the ones for today. I'll have a Part II another day.

Christmas Morning Menu

For the past few years, Carlos and I have hosted Christmas Morning Breakfast - where we eat, drink and exchange presents, before heading off to the get together with our extended family. (This year, we have 36 attending.)

I thought I'd share this year's menu.

To Drink:

Coffee

Eggnog

Candy Cane Cocoa

To Eat:

Cinnamon Toast

Sausage Casserole

Biscuits

Grits and Grillades

I have seen many versions of the Grits and Grillades recipe. The one I have linked is Paula Deen's and is my favorite.

Boy Bands

So I was driving down Airline Drive on my way home from work today, blasting this song...

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

...when I came to a stop light. The passenger in the large red truck on my left side gave me a strange look. I rocked on.

That got me thinking...

One of my hobbies is trading shirtless photos of celebrities. I guess it's the modern day, gay version of baseball cards.

I run three fairly successful Yahoo groups - 

Male Stars Shirtless

Male Stars Undressed

Male Stars Update

I also frequent and contribute to a message board called Famous Males Forum. Because it's based in the UK, I find out about many stars that never cross over to here in the US.

Even though I have over 100 shirtless photos of, for example, Lee Ryan...

until last week I had never heard a note of his band Blue. That is, until I started compiling my list of...

Top Ten Boy Band Songs of All Time

Or at least that was the original idea of this post. I quickly realized that I liked looking at the members of the boy bands much more than actually listening to their music. Even with 89 listed American Boy Bands -- and 58 listed English Boy Bands - plus the 50+ ones from the rest of the world, this is the best list I could assemble.

Once I assemble a Top Ten Boy Band Members for my other blog, I'll post a link here.

Starting off our countdown is One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful at #7. You saw that video above.

Here's how to correctly remake a song - with style, humor, and a wink to the original version...

#6 - Westlife - Uptown Girl

Bonus points for the best looking member being the one who came out (and the fan base didn't care)...

Here is Billy Joel's original version...

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl

The aforementioned boy band Blue has done both a classy remake...

#5 - Blue featuring Elton John - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

...and a fumbled attempt...

Blue (featuring Kool & the Gang and Lil' Kim) - Get Down On It

Here is Kool & The Gang's original version...

Kool & The Gang - Get Down On It

Of the Disney-Channel-spawned band The Jonas Brothers, this is their best song (though they actually do have some other good ones)...

#4 - The Jonas Brothers - Year 3000

The youngest brother Nick is especially talented. I've heard his solo album - and it's quite good.

Going back to 1996, I still sneak this song onto mixed CD's that I create...

#3 - Hanson - MMMBop

Zac Hanson, the 10-year-old drummer in the video, is now 27 years old, and married with two kids. Taylor Hanson, the lead singer, is now 29, married with five kids. Don't you feel old now?

Interestingly, my top two songs both have the same title..

#2 - The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back

The top of my chart of Top Ten Seven Boy Band Songs of All Time was always going to be this one...

#1 - NSYNC - I Want You Back

What are your favorite boy band songs?

Gay Marriage Discussion

Here is a Facebook discussion I came across yesterday afternoon.

My cousin Jonathan:

There is an issue with same sex marriages in its title. Websters definition of marriage is the union between a man and woman. Biblical definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. Hence, same sex union can't be titled/labeld as a marriage. Just Sayin!!!

His friend Jason:

Wanna get married?

His friend Shawn:

And who says it can not be labeled as such? Legally that law is called as such and any argument against it is a waste of time as it was voted into law. And the biblical term holds no water at all. More than likely if the Supreme Court tosses out DOMA you could very well see Webster change the defintion. 

His friend Jason:

Shawn, you are what's wrong with this country. What morals? U should then believe and be fine with the notion that it's ok to marry farm animals. Let's vote on that. I hate liberal minded idiots.

His friend Shawn:

And the backwards, backwoods minded conservative thinking is a dead product and your point shows it. The whole farm animal/incest argument is rediculous. Look you can be against same sex marrage personlly but it is civil rights issue that should neverhave been voted on. If Women'sSuffrage in 1920 and the Civil Rights Act of 1965 had been brought to a pubic vote it would have not passed in a large part of the country due to the ignorance and backwards thinking of some people. But the law passed so the argument is settled.

His friend Rob:

Sorry Jon, looks like they already changed it: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marriage

 His brother Christopher (also my cousin):
Definition of MARRIAGE
1
a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage

His friend Jason:
The backwards backwoods conservative folk are the ones growing your food and employing you.

His friend Joe:
Whatever words are used, even gay couples still deserve to celebrate their life long love for each other.

My cousin Jonathan:
Not trying to argue against whetherr gays are priviledged to marry or not. Just saying that if you receive a certificate titled 'Marriage certificate' you need to be issued a new one due to incorrect terminology.

His friend Rob:

Chris, most words in the English language have more than one definition and the order in which they appear doesn't make them more or less accurate. The dictionary definition argument hardly matters for either side though because dictionaries are always changing to reflect common usage.

His friend Joe:

I don't think Marriage should be part of the government. It was such a pain in the ass to get the certificate from the county clerk, talk about bureaucratic BS. And I have to pay them to file that I got married, what a scam.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I didn't want to get into that discussion on Facebook so emailed Jonathan personally.

Jonathan,

I just saw your post about same sex marriage. I don't want to get into a discussion about it - here or at your post - but I wanted to be sure I was clear: You went out of your way to post your opposition to same sex marriage, fully knowing your words would be read by the gay and enlightened members of your family? Just Sayin!!!

Or was your intent to be "funny"?

He responded to me a few hours later.

Actually, I voted in favor of gay marriage here in Washington with the sole reason of family, you and Christine, in mind. I absolutely don't see any reason why someone should be bound by any government entity for sexual orientation, religion, etc... I was only pointing out the contradiction of the term marriage and it's defining meaning. As stated, I didn't seek to start any kind of argument. I did not take into account the beliefs of others and that they would post the things they said. For that I am very sorry. I am also very sorry for any offense that was taken.

I replied to him this morning.

Thanks for clarifying, Jonathan. I really appreciate it.

I had heard that some people somehow shoehorned animals into the argument, but until yesterday, I had never actually seen someone mention that point. That is just bizarre. Thankfully, I feel that person will find himself on the wrong side of history. In 10 (50?) years, I feel that the gay marriage debate will seem as quaint as the debate about separate fountains for blacks.

The key rebuttal to his argument is consent. Animals cannot provide consent and bestiality is an avenue where consent cannot be provided in a “loving” relationship. And there are medical reasons why incest is frowned upon. But there is no decent, scientific, medical or moral reason why two loving, consenting, non-related adults should not be afforded the same rights as the majority.

Gays want the same rights as straights. Incest will still be disallowed. Bestiality will still be disallowed. Marriage should be the committed relationship between two persons of consenting age which is lawful in all other ways. The "slippery slope" is all in the minds of these poor people - they are so afraid their way of life is being threatened that they are grasping at whatever straw seems to be waving their way.

As far as using the word “marriage” and not “civil union” or some other substitute: Because separate but equal is not equality, and it is not good enough. "Pretty much" has never been good enough for any minority group, and never will be. Every citizen should be accorded equal treatment under the law as a Constitutional right in the United States of America. That simple. If you want to say that "marriage is just a word," then what's the big deal? The truth is, marriage is far more than "just a word," and that's why it's so important.  

His reply to me this afternoon.

Full heartedly agree. With the debacle of same sex marriage for as long as it has been going on. Down the road, someone will argue the defining meaning to be either changed or certificates be re-issued with different terminology. Honestly, the reason I even posted it was because I was reading an article of a construction crew in Ohio that had to stop work because someone was up in arms with the 'Men At Work' sign was politically incorrect.

Unfortunately, tunnelled vision comments were made on my post, setting a negative tone to an unattended mindset/argument, that I wasn't wanting. As a result, I have taken the post down. I hope I did not offend Christine either. If so, I would like to explain.

On a side note, do you drink wine? and what is your preference? I just have one more thing to pick up before sending off your gift.

 

Our extended family picks names for Christmas. Jonathan happens to have my name this year. My response is below.

Christine did not see the post. I asked her. I'll see her this weekend and explain to her anyway. There's no need to have any misinformation out there.

Sure, I love wine. Cabernet is my favorite, but any red is fine.

Thanks, Cuz!

And his final comments...

absolutley. I'm glad you allowed me to explain. Thanks